I am new to this hobby as well as many others, and I debated this question in my head for over two months before I decided what to do: Do you save up $1000.00 or more for a Tamiya with all the gadgets and gizmos, or do you spend about $60.00-$80.00 for a cheaper alternative?

I went with the Hen Long.

We have all heard how much better Tamiya's are compared to the HL's. There can be NO DOUBT that the Tam's are far and away a better quality item for many reasons. I won't bore anybody with rehashing the things that Tam's are known for. Likewise, I won't go into the HL's shortcomings either.

Some people will ask why I went with an "inferior" tank as opposed to the high quality, fun filled Tamiya? The answer is simple, and no, it was not only the price tag... I bought the HL because the HL can SHOOT!! I will say that the gun in MY tank is pitifully weak, but still, it IS a gun. I do have plans to modify the turret to accept a MUCH stronger shooting mechanism.

We are all hobbyists here, and we all tinker with our stuff to make it better, right? I mean, isn't that what it's all about? I know that my HL has a so-so suspension, plastic gears, crappy electronics and certain built in "mistakes". but these things are all correctable. Well, I admit, I have not come up with an alternative suspension idea yet, but I'm working on that... I plan on throwing about $300-$400 dollars at my HL to make it better. Most of that cost will be for electronics.

I know the die hard Tamiya folks are going loopy right now asking why would anyone put so much money into a cheap knock-off of a Tamiya instead of saving up for a REAL Tamiya? To this, my answer is... The HL can SHOOT! I don't need recoil or flash or sound (although that WOULD be cool!). I need to shoot stuff!

Lets face it, everyone who owns a Tamiya wishes it could shoot, and everyone who owns a HL wishes it was built like a Tamiya. Let me ask you this, could you make a Tamiya shoot bb's with all that recoil stuff in there? Not without a LOT of work I'm sure. Can you make a HL drive and sound like a Tamiya? Not without a LOT of work I'm sure. So we come down to simple economics... Hmmm... a $65.00 tank with $300.00 worth of upgrades that will perform at ( I'm guessing) 75% of a Tamiya, or, a $ 1000.00 tank that will need even MORE money to make it shoot like a $65.00 knock-off?

Maybe some day I will get a Tamiya. No, make that I WILL get a Tamiya someday. But until then, I'll throw some bucks into my knock-off, and have fun shooting stuff. I bought this tank knowing that it is a toy. The Tamiyas are not. That much is clear. But the HL is NOT a bad tank, it's not junk. It's just simply NOT a Tamiya. You can't compare them. Let the flaming begin now. I can take it.

Im with you,I want a tank that will shoot!
But I dont know about the hen long I read thigns as well as heard of people sayign its junk and wont last a few runs. You admit that gun is weak,so is there options you can buy to make it stronger?
Im still deciding wich tank to get,its either a the HL or the Vstank.
Vs tank is fine I just wanted 1/16 scale,but I heard the gun is rather powerful,well atleast way stronger then the HL.
Do you think you can post a vid of your tank so I can see what it can do?
If not tell me how and where you run it and what it can climb etc.
Sounds like your happy with it,as well as some others.

Here here! Finally someone with some common sence!

After having bought 4 different types Heng Longs and a WSN T34, I broke down and went for the Tamiya King Tiger......cause I wanted to join a RC Tank Club(just for fun).
So, I save the KT for the battleground and the HL's to beat the hell out of in the backyard.
It is nice to have BOTH!!!

If a person buys a HL tank and it works well, then that is all that is important. [sm=thumbup.gif] I enjoyed detailing and playing with my HL Tiger 1 (when it worked) just as much as as I do the Tamiyas. After all, they are able to handle the same terraine and the details are really good on both brands, so I agree that HL tanks are definitely a great alternative to the high dollar Tamiya tanks.

With the variety and quality of upgrades that are becoming available for the HL tanks, they can be made better and better, so I would not put them down for their price tag. I just happen to have had a bad experience with the two that I have had, so I do not recommend them in the event that they turn out to be a bad investment for a first-timer.

You're right, it is nice to have a tank that shoots. The main thing is that we all have something to customize and enjoy, no matter what the price range.

Good luck with your tank! [sm=thumbup.gif]
Jason

If you want something that really shoots build a paintball tank.

Another option to HL, Tamaya, and whatever else is out there is always scratch built.


Steve
RCTankCombat.com

I decided to spend $10 more and get a VS tank Actually I'm getting two of them so I can have some battles. It will be a couple of more weeks before I will place my order.

The link that Mariodx3 posted, the other legitimate complaints that I have heard, and the bit about illegal frequencies convinced me that the HL tanks just aren't worth the trouble.

http://www.vstank.com/compare/index.html

1/16 would have been nice, but like you I can't afford a Tamiya at this time. Since I'm new to R/C tanks as well, I felt it was better to go with higher quality even if it meant going to a smaller scale.

Why not get a Bandai tank then? You can get the base kits for about $200, and do the upgrades at your leisure. Later this year I'm planning to get a Bandai StuG III and do exactly that.

There's also uncle eBay. I recently saw a partially completed Tamiya King Tiger for sale. The owner died before he could finish it. Final sale price was around $250.

I had a 4.5mm metal bb shooting tank. here; http://tomsrctanks.com/bbKTfo.asp
watch the video, watch the bb stuck on the wooden door.
I like shooting too.

I have the Tamiya tanks, three of them, Pershing, Sherman and Tiger I. All are battle ready with infrared battle systems. They are a blast when fighting other people. I also have had two Marui tanks with airsoft guns, the 1/24 scale that came out first before the Hen Long knockoffs. They are fun and great because they shoot, but when I battled against someone else it was hard to determine if anyine made a hit unless you saw the BB hit or bounce off the tank, then all we did was shoot at eachother, there was no simulated explosion or tank shutdown after so many hits. So they are more fun shooting at targets that fall over or react to hits.

It's a matter of how you play with your tanks I guess. I recently got the 1/6 Stuart that is RC. I'm chucking out the electronics and I'm going to replace them and the gun with a REAL airsoft mechanism, I talking 300-400 fps velocity. It will not be cheap but it's a long term project. I have one of the airsoft high end "Automatic Electric Guns" and they are awesome, I doubt it will fit into a 1/16 scale but maybe with a lot of work. Plenty of room in the Stuart.

Nick C.
www.tankhobby.com

Sure it will fit, most 1/6 scale tanks pack paintball guns, definatly room for an airsoft mech box the AEGs from Mauri are not much larger then the airsofts that come in 1/16 tanks so you will have no problem fitting one into a 1/6th scale tank.
Chris Rummel

Excellent!

I was toying with the idea of putting co2 .177 pellet firing mechanism in some vs tanks to fight against eachother. Using a wireless cam and target laser this would make fighting at realistc scale ranges possible. And the VS tank hulls are tough enough to absorb the punishment. And if they do crack, replacement hulls are cheap. However I think now I'm realizing that BBs, although less accurate, would be more practical because of the feeding mechanism. Pellets would require a more elaborate magazine and feeding mechanism that would take up more space.

Tomzag do you think that system could fit into a 1/24 scale tank?

Shagnifico
1/24 is too small.

my desing, only production king tiger will be big enough.
good luck.
tom