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?
I've tried to make myself feel better using this exact reasoning, but I just can't convince myself with it. I'd have to agree with you if we narrow the market down to RC tank and RC tank ONLY, but with very similar markets (rc truck, cars, jets, etc.) getting WAY better deals, I can't just deny that pricing on Tamiya feels like a ripoff. And Henlong tanks offering such low quality products doesn't make it any better for me.
Perhaps I might feel better about Tamiya tanks once I finish building my Leo 2A6 and give it a good off road experience, but as of right now it doesn't justify $792 I've paid for it.