First, a disclamer: I'm not trying to defend nor start an argurment. (Alot of that going on around here.)

Just curious as to what background you are drawing your comparison from. I have done both for over 25 years, was once ASE Certified and worked on BMW's, domestic and other imports. Comparing the cost of one automobile manufacturer to another isn't a very good comparison for comparing Hen Long to Tamiya.

Like I said, if you have built and owned them you'll know that the quantity of parts combined with the quality will dictate the price of a R/C tank. A lot of engineering went into the Tamiya tanks, so that will reflect in it's cost.