Hi all. I'm not new to rc in general (20 + yrs ) but I have never owned a tank. I always thought about getting one . Though not a tank I do have a tracked rig called the Kyosho Blizzard. My question is how durable are these hobby grade tanks that Tamiya makes? I like to run not display and when I say run I don't mean around on carpet. Can these tanks be ran out in the dirt and grass without much problems? Are there other brands out there besides Tamiya and those super cool and expensive giant Russian tanks I found on the net? Thanks for your input.

Hello RCgasserman. Welcome. If you are new to tanks, you've come to the right place! I'm also fairly new to tanks. I had a tamiya leopard a long time ago, around 1986, and it was pretty tough. Tamiya seems to be the premier company for 1/16 scale tanks, but there are others such as heng long, Wsn and a few others. Most seem pretty durable but I would have to say that because they are tracked vehicles and the conditions they are run in, they can be parts -eaters if you tend to "drive it like you stole it". Like I said I am relatively new to tanks and there are many others on this forum who can share volumes of knowledge about rc tanks. Regards, John Z

For the price, Heng long tanks must be looked at. Many people run these stock tanks hard, and they keep on going. Others have upgraded every aspect of these Toy tanks to make them equal to tanks that cost 10 times as much. The size of these tanks means they are a tinkerers dream. Parts can be scrounged and purchased just about every where from Hobby shops to home hardware establishments. From what I have seen there is no reason to believe you can 't turn a Heng Long into a machine that rivals the Tamiya's.

So my answer to you would be to buy a Heng Long, and follow this board to get idea on how much you want to up grade it.

I have no doubt the Tamiya's are rock solid, but the Heng longs are so damn inexpensive in comparison, and upgrades so plentiful, I really got to wonder how Tamiya plan on supporting their entry price.

If you just want a good runaround tank then the HengLong Bulldog is just the ticket. It's cheap and is the best tank in the HL range (for reliability and drivability). Also you can run them straight out of the box as there's no building required. Also because they're so cheap it doesn't hurt so much when things break.

You can upgrade them as you like to make them more reliable or just to make it look better and all the parts are pretty cheap.

Tamiyas are more a serious modellers tank and are ideal if model accuracy is improtant. These are meant to be more reliable but the HL's are getting better and better.

The amount of work you spend on your tank can make a huge difference, I've done a few mods to my HL Tiger 1 (which is meant to be the worst tank in the HL range) and the only two problems I've had with it were my own fault (tracks jammed due to driving in wet sand and a when stone jammed the drive sprocket.) You have to remember that tanks aren't indistructable.


My WSN T34 is a great runner but I've only used it indoors and the electronics suck.

The other members covered the HL tanks pretty well. I own Tamiya tanks (Sherman, Pershing, and Tiger I). The Tamiyas kits are going to cost abou $480 for the Sherman, to $595 for the KT (source BackYard Armor-USA). If you want something modern, they have a Leopard 2A6 for $865. The Tamiya tanks need few upgrades out of the box, though many available. Idler upgrades seem to be required on the King Tiger, and helpful on the others. You still need a Radio system and batteris. The stuff from you Blizzard (assuming it is electric) should work. The HL are the ARF of tanks, take em out of the box, add/charge batteries, and away you go!. Tamiiyas are KITS. You can put one together in a couple of evenings, or spend weeks detailing it. They are REASONABLY strong. Drive them hard constantly, and you will break something. Replacement plastic parts from Tamiya are inexpensive, but he gearboxes and electronics are not.

The HL's seem to be great if you have a limited budget, or just want to check out the hobby. Also great if you like tinkering and modifying. You can get more about their reliabilty and mod ideas by searching the forums. They do come with an airsoft gun, so you can also protect you yard from local critters. If you like building what you drive, the Tamiyas are alot fun. The detailing is more precise and the recoil/tank sounds are more realistic. The big appeal of the Tamiyas is they also have an optional Infrared Battle Sytem (TBU) ($90). If you have a group of people with the same weakness for RC, you can stage tank batlles. There is talk about batlle systems for the HL's but nothing commercially availbe yet.

Hope this helped.

Here is our club site - check out the video page (the usual www.socalareatankers.com link is temporarily down)

http://web.mac.com/ksoc/iWeb/S.C.A.T./Welcome.html

Kevin O
<S.C.A.T>

Not only can they be run out in the dirt and grass, but mud and snow also:

* [link=http://www.whitetyphoon.com/rc_tanks/videos/walker_bulldog01.wmv]Heng Long 1:16 M41A3 in the Snow Vid #1[/link]
* [link=http://www.whitetyphoon.com/rc_tanks/videos/walker_bulldog02.wmv]Heng Long 1:16 M41A3 in the Snow Vid #2[/link]
* [link=http://www.whitetyphoon.com/rc_tanks/videos/tiger1.wmv]Heng Long 1:16 Tiger I in the Snow Vid[/link]
* [link=http://www.whitetyphoon.com/rc_tanks/videos/t-34.wmv]WSN 1:16 T-34/85 in the Snow Vid[/link]

What about the mud and deep puddles?

Found one that I had remembered: [link=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3158619403553924055]Semseyp's Tiger I[/link]

I know there are countless other examples.

Thanks for all the replys fellas. Giant scale gas off road cars are my main rc addiction as well as rc crawlers so modding and tinkering are enjoyable to me. I am very interested in a rc tank. I pretty much wanted one since my first GI Joe battery powerd tank when I was kid but just never got one. I will check out the HL brand mentioned as well as surf the forum for all the info I can find. I like to do my home work before I jump in feet first. I'll be seeing ya.

If you get an HL, be sure to get one with smoke and sound since it also comes with semi-proportional 10-speed speed controller. Mato Toys is a good source.

Cool. Thanks for the info.

rcgasserman, i always had an interest in tanks as well....all started with my cobra crimson C.A.T. tank back in the 80's when i was a kid.

like this one.

Mine was like that but the green GI Goe version.

MM

This might be perfect for you

http://www.dansdata.com/pershing.htm

Kevin O
<S.C.A.T.>