Thanks Shaun,

I gathered there was quality differences along with major price differences between MFG - I don't think at this point I am worried about having the higher end or metal tanks. I know I would enjoy painting them an occasionally spinning them around the house and yard, possibly playing some games like target shooting or 1v1 with the wife using some kind of target stuck to the tank that could come off when hit, unless the IR version have some decent range - I have been able to find zero info on the range of the IR tanks or if they are front hit detection only... that would play a role in decisions for my purposes. All the video's I have seen of IR online the tanks are basically nose to nose...

Am I correct that most tanks from same MFG use more or less the same chasis with different bodies? For example Heng Long Tiger and JagdPanther/ Panther - do they all handle the same, have more or less the same stuff in them?

I am thinking of getting the Heng Long Tiger with smoke, sound and metal upgrades and a Heng Long either Panther or Jagdpanther more or less plain (maybe with smoke/sound) to compare them... does this seem like a good starter plan?