This is a thread about the difference between a Tamiya KT and a Panther, not so sure why the "toy grade" HL product had to be brought up

Pcsguy88. You are doing the right thing. You need to buy one Tamiya and see for yourself how much more overall enjoyment you get out of the final build. Keep on open mind, and just determine what do you find most rewarding about this hobby. Once I bought a Tamiya I came to understand the quality and value they present, and I quit ranting on here about their high price, because in the end they offered fair value IMO.

However I don't find them as challenging. It is a kit, everything is there and you put it together. What upgrades you need are readily available, and there is not much tinkering to do. You put it together just like the instructions say and it works fine. Good product.

For me I like to tinker, scratchbuild and improvise. For me the Heng Longs offer that opportunity at a low price. With that in mind I am sure that is why there are so many Tamiya Sherman Fans. What made that tank popular was not the fact is was a great Tamiya kit, but the fact you NEEDED to kitbash and improvise to get it to look different then it came stock. Some people enjoy this part of the hobby immensly, so a shake the box, everything you need kit may not necessarily be as much fun. It all depends on you. Only you can decide what it is about this hobby that you enjoy most. You will then lean to the product that does that for you. So Buy a Tamiya, build it and run it and then let your hobby dollars go to the place that give you the most enjoyment
In the end only you know what you like best. Some people don't seem to understand that this isn't just about money, or out of the box quality for some of us. It is about overall satisfaction in the result, and yes depending on the individual, a Toy heng long can give you more of that then a Tamiya kit, and too be fair, the flip side could also be true. I have heard some people throwing away their Heng Longs in the garbage, so obviously those types of individual did not get much hobby satisfaction out of their Heng Long purchase. If something ends up in the garbage it doesn't matter how much you spent on it, it was too much.

Sorry for the rant. There are a couple of phrases that set me off, one is "Toy like Heng Long" and "overly priced Tamiya" Both of these are very subjective, and I feel compelled to debate either remark when they are presented as negatives.