ORIGINAL: swathdiver
I don't think it's fair to say that the Tamiya's are a ripoff. Price is determined by what the market will bear, by how much people are willing to pay for them. The Heng Long tanks offer a lot of bang for the buck. The same could be said with the Tamiya's, just at a different level of sophistication and quality. Unlike the Tamiya, Heng Long tanks are not targeted to modelers. As they improve and come with more features and accessories, their prices may well go up. If Tamiya sees that they're losing $$ to the modelers who buy HL tanks, then they may adjust their pricing.
Two different products with a segment of the market that overlaps. Can't we all just get along?
Makes sense, Swath. I don't see the Tamiya price coming down too much, though. Would be kinda' nice.
This whole deal reminds me of model railroading. Some people start off the hobby by purchasing a cheap ready to run set with minimal detailing, etc, that can be quickly put together with just the minimum of effort. This does one of two things. They either get hooked and start a lifetime hobby of research and emulation, or they get bored watching it go around in circles and put it in the attic (or sell it on E-bay to the next guy
). The interest is there and that first impression is everything. If the locomotive starts smoking (and not because it was meant to!), chances are that interest will be short lived. If it runs pretty good, it just might get them hooked and purchase more expensive stuff detailed to the Nth' degree. Or they take the decent running equipment and upgrade it with details themselves. Just depends on interest, budget, etc. The main thing is they have fun in the hobby. Some manufacturers that started off making these starter sets are actually pretty decent ones today. Others are mere "also rans" that faded into obscurity......