Hi Averec and welcome- from one newbie to another. Very recently I was grass green on tanks, now I know just enough to be dangerous.

Here in point form is the sum of what I’ve learned-

1) There are two major manufacturers of 1/16 R/C tanks- Tamiya and Heng Long. There are others, but I do not know squat about them. Tamiya will run you $500 and up, Heng Long (HL) will start at about $80. So, I went with HL.
2) There is two types of tank from Heng Long- the basic one and the smoke and sound (S&S). It is highly recommended by everyone to get the S&S for the extra $10, you get the smoke exhaust, the sound of the tank starting and running and the cannon and machine gun, etc, but most importantly instead of the two speeds forward and two back you get proportional speed (and therefore proportional steering as well). I’ve seen posted that you actually get 10 speeds instead of actually proportional speed, but it’s close enough for me. Most who get the basic end up upgrading to the better control.
3) The other two types of tanks from HL are the basic plastic gears and tracks versus the metal gears and tracks. I’ve got one of each, there are pros and cons for each. Pro for plastic is no break-in and longer battery life, pro for metal is the jerkiness is smoothed out, rides heavier and therefore has better traction, and it sounds cool. I prefer the metal upgrade myself, but was perfectly happy with the plastic. I’d say unless you get a great deal, get plastic and upgrade in the future if the tracks or gears wear out or break on you.
4) There are quite a few models of tanks from HL, they are almost exclusively WWII era and mostly German armored. The Tiger I is (one of ?) the first model made, it is also probably the most popular. There are guys in this forum who half a dozen Tiger I’s done up in different camouflage and such. Also popular is the M26 Pershing (an American one)- it is fairly accurate and is well designed. Unless you are just looking for a toy, stay away from the Panther- it is very inaccurate and is nicknamed “PanTiger” as it is built on the Tiger I chassis. Also, rule of thumb is that the newer the model the more accurate it is.
5) If you want exact 1/16 scale, you are out of luck. All the tanks I’ve looked at are about the same size- 15-16” long and 9” wide in the body. Also, the cannons never seem to be right either. However, the newest releases seem to be more accurately to scale. Unfortunately they are small tanks in real life, so they are smaller than the established ones. Still, who cares?
6) If you open up a HL body, get your soldering gun warming up. The wire that the manufacturer uses is brittle and you WILL have a broken wire each and every time you go inside. At least I have….never from use, but from poking in around inside. I don’t know how durable the wires are with use- I just have not had my tanks long enough to form an opinion.
7) If you get a tank with metal gears or you upgrade to metal gears, break them in. I tried to use my Pershing right out of the box and was very disappointed at the lack of power and speed. I did the break-in as outlined in the FAQ, now my tank is very powerful and smooth. I also broke in the motors at the same time, but will be replacing them soon (just because I can- not from any fault of the stock motors).
8) Finally (and this is the most important point) if you have any questions or problems, ask these guys in this forum. They are helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. They may banter back and forth in a thread, but never so as to confuse the issue. This forum is tops, and so are the members.

It looks like you are in the US, so I’ll leave it to others to tell you the best place(s) to order your tank and parts from. I learned the hard way not to go it alone- I had over a month of agony dealing with a “reputable” seller who had been posted as unreliable on this forum. I ended up buying privately (off evilbay), but only because I did not ask where to deal with in advance. The recommendations given to me are now part of my favorites, and I’ve ordered my motors according to this forum’s recommendations.

Anyway, welcome to the insanity! You’re going to love this! [8D]


Dmon1996