Crius: I flew rc heli's for about 5 years, and after spending more money than than I care to remember in upgrades on all those heli's, I eventually realized that all those aluminum upgrades weren't needed for general sport flying, and anytime I would put one into the dirt, instead of a few inexpensive plastic parts breaking away, all those fancy aluminum parts would hold together resulting in a twisted up train wreck. Now whenever I get something new I give the plastic parts a chance, and since this is my first tank, I will have to see how it holds up for the way I use it. As to being Tamiya compatible, there are no tank clubs around where I live, so any battles will be between me and friends, and at this point its not so important. If I buy an aftermarket control board, then I would want it to be Tamiya compatible in case it becomes important in the future.