YHR

Mato are offering the complete metal hull, wheels, tracks. and 3:1 gears for $299

Captain Action

Ho boy, that look like a great deal...hummm....any word about a metal top being in development.. thinking....

YHR

What I have been noticing is that over the last few months Mato has been coming out with more and more metal tank parts for the Tiger. I would think that the metal top is in the works.

pattoncommander

Mato would do a lot better to bring out Sherman variations/conversions as originally advertized...

YHR

Mato advertised and delivered a M4A1 76W Sherman. Now Swathdiver with his heartfelt desire to be involved in more Shermans gave us some information that other variants were being contemplated, but nothing official was ever mentioned.

The economy and slow sales of the Sherman may have given them reason to hold off on more. Or it could be the Sherman is selling so well that the production line schedule that Mato has at the contract plant where these are built is full just keeping up with demand. It is really hard to know without seeing sales numbers. If you are limited by your production schedule, there is no economic driver to release more.

If Mato is going all metal tanks, maybe an all metal sherman variant is in the cards. How sweet would an all metal Sherman variant be. Metal VVSS, Hull upperhull and turret would be welcome by this modeler. So I am not disappointed to see Mato moving in this direction. Let Heng Long do the plastic stuff. Carve out you niche in all metal. If you can do that and still keep it priced less then Tamiya, you will attract your own market ,by delivering something different. All metal tanks have an appeal of their own.

Panther G

No thanks. I'm 3/5ths on the way to a Tamiya Pershing complete for that price. Got plenty of radios too use.

YHR

No doubt about it they are more expensive, and getting into Tamiya prices. However a completely different animal, and another choice. Would you put your foot on your Tamiya, and shift all your weight to it. With a metal tank I think you could.

This price also doesn't include electronics or sound system, so in the end it will be more or at least as expensive as a Tamiya. I don't think anyone was expecting an all metal 1/16 scale tank for under $500 were they.

Some won't care and will prefer to stay with Tamiya. Others who like modifying airsoft or firing black powder, may find an all metal version intriguing.

An all metal tank has an appeal all of its own.

Panther G

No,Ii would not expect to see an all metal tank for less than that but i also wouldn't put my foot on it either. LOL It will be a god send for some and a little impracticable for others.

DirtyBird69

hmmm...I'll have to check that out, thanks for the info......

Gerula

Without a metal top available, I think it makes little to no sense at all to purchase the Mato combo. As things are now, you'll only end up with something that looks half toyish and half serious.If they sold a full metal tank minus electronics for 500$, it would have been an totally different story...

YHR

Metal swing arms, metal wheels, 3:1 gears, metal tracks, pretty standard upgrades that are all packaged up, the metal hull is almost thrown in for free.

You want an all Metal tiger. Stay tuned.

Eggman1965

My Feedback: (3)

I wish you hadn't show us that, now I want one too.

Panther G

The only real advantage I see with this hull is it is water proof. atleast up too the hull line. Nice feature. With out a decent electronics package it is still costly. then 2 or 3 hundred more for El-Mod or Tamiya, so you are right there with Tamiya cost wise. But there are advantages and disadvantages, just like everything. How much radio interference should we expect. That could be a killer with cheap electronics.

Captain Action

I for one think its great and no matter what toy tank you buy you have to spend money on it to make it work the way others want it to.
It has the 3 to 1 gears every one wants, its has metal tracks that everyone wants, its got metal road wheels and suspension arms.
I thank Mato for bringing such a cool tank hull to the mass R/C market place. I for one will support the hobby and pick one of these babys up, now that the price is lower.

Gerula

The link is gone?

DukeSedan

I am considering the Mato hull for my Tiger 1.  My scratch-built metal Tiger has some serious flaws in it .  The thing that interests me is all the bits and pieces that come with this set-up.  You get the hull, suspension, transmission covers (they are part of the hull casting as far as I could see), exhaust assemblies, mud flaps and air-cleaners.  Now I don't remember seeing metal tow shackles (I don't think Mato carries them anyway).  Then if you add on the cost of Mato 3:1 gears ($80), the metal tracks ($80) and metal road wheels ($100), it starts sounding like a pretty sweet deal.  The only thing I am debating over is whether I want to buy the Mato package or go with an Asiatam hull so I can get torsion bar suspension.  Either way I am into a complete tear down of my Tiger (the top and bottom are welded together).

YHR

Ask yourself, what are you getting with torsion bars that will make it perform better then this mato hull with the metal swing arms and heavy springs???? I don't even think it is a compromise in any way with respect to how the model tank suspension fucntions is it??? Can some one tell me why the torsion bar suspension would be better? I don't have a model with torsion bar suspension, so really have no idea, what makes it shine compared to the all metal set up in this tiger

swathdiver

When covered with paint how does a plastic top appear toyish compared to a metal top??? [:-]

Gerula

I swhould have said "feels"

But really, unless you're a true airbrush artist, plastic will still look different then metal, even when painted. It's hard to describe, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

DukeSedan

The torsion bar vs. coiled spring itself is not they key in my situation. Ihave scratch built a full metal tank and installation of a Asiatam suspension would be easier for me than rebuilding my tank on a completely new lower hull (is my guess really). It's just due to the way Ibuilt my hull.

DukeSedan

Sorry, there was more to my last comment: A full metal hull would resolve most of the problems that arise due to the plastic hull with HL suspension (slop/play in arms, hull flex, alignment, etc...) where in my mind I think, for someone who already has a metal tank, the torsion bar set-up also could solve my alignment issues. I also like the idea of having the least amount of suspension open to water/mud. Ihave to clean the dirt occasionally out of my suspension (includes complete disassembly) because my swing arms gum up and stick.