I emailed them and asked about many of the above questions and more. To their credit they actually responded. Yes to metal idler and sprocket on "pro version" and Yes to steel gears for both. The down side is the suspension components (arms and road wheels) are only being offered in plastic (they even sent a photo of the parts). They indicated these parts are NOT the "off the shelf" HL Challenger 2 parts that were used in the prototype stages and thus not compatible. Meaning no easy metal upgrades and no indication if any will follow. Also no indication if spare plastic suspension parts will be available either. For $500-600 US thats just not acceptable as these plastic parts will be subjected to the typical plastic on plastic wear that is so commonly seen on the basic Heng Long tanks when driven in dirt or sandy terrain leading to a limited usable life if one enjoys driving and fighting their tank in dirt.


Chieftain suspension

They are using the new 6.0/1 Heng Long electronics which are a huge improvement over the old 5.3 electronics and in some ways it is better then Tamiya in handling performance even with 3:1 gears (though not in quality) based on my side by side testing of a HL T72 vs Tamiya M4 and Abrams systems.

The IR battling compatibility DOES have limits, but these can be worked around with setting guide lines to "even things out" before fighting begins. We have found setting the 6.0 HL system on low power/speed mode coupled with when hit the HL tank stops for ~3 seconds to do its "hit and flashing light dance" tends to even out the odds. They become "sitting ducks" while stopped and can be hit repeatedly, maneuvered on and do not have the 1 second invulnerability during firing that Tamiya does. A Tamiya tank set on light or med with average drivers running both tanks wins more often then not against the HL 6.0 on low power mode. On the HL high power mode YES, it then becomes an uneven fight and the HL tends to win more. Point is it can be made to work in a reasonably fair manner and for the new or casual IR battler a 6.0/1 system is a cheap why to start getting hooked.

All the above said I can't see keeping the 6.0/1 it in what will be rare $600+ tank. Mine will be getting a Tamiya system or Clark 60/80 and will most likely have the suspension modified with brass sleeves on the road wheel axles to extend their useful life or bearings added to the road wheels if possible.