Right on. But if you really give it some thought, both the Heng Long tanks and the Tamiya tanks are built. The Tamiyas are built from a kit and the HL tanks are preassembled, disassembled and built again. There are some key scale detail deficiencies in every HL tank that can be fixed so that is the challenge as well as individual modifications.

Most of the 1/16 tanks have realistic functions such as engine noises, gun sounds, recoil action, turret rotation, main gun elevation/depression and so on. It is true that the HL tanks shoot an actual projectile and can also shoot the 6mm paintballs provided you do your homework. I don't believe anyone has used the paintballs to do actual backyard battles yet. The Smoke & Sound HL tanks come with a built-in smoke generator that emits smoke from the tank's exhaust pipes so that also adds to the gee-whiz factor and makes the experience a bit whimsical.

Best thing yet is the forthcoming Tamiya compatible battle system for HL tanks. It will of course require a hands-on approach to install it but it will make the HL tanks fully capable of taking out the Tamiya tanks.

-Harque