Hey all, I am looking into these tanks and had some questions.
I have searched over the board and found some answers, some great info here.

My questions are, are the HL's worth the investment? What I mean by that is how much will it cost to get one up to a reliable standard, are they good out of the box? If not, what are the upgrades I will need?
I am debating between buying HL now, or saving for a Tamiya down the line.

The other question I have, should I go directly to metal tracks if I pick one up? I plan on going with Mato for purchase so it will come with the metal drivetrain upgrade. Are metal tracks a necessity?

Anything else I should order at the time I order the tank?

I am interested in the Bulldog if that helps.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

JQuest,

Wow the list is sooooo long.

As for what tank... if you want to make Mods... I recommend the tiger. It seems like the simplest, has the largest hull for mods, lots of ideas out there, lots of parts out there.... I started with a tiger and am still working on it... it rocks.

As for what else to order with it..... If you are just going to boot around.. get just the plastic tracks. I found it was not till way later, because of all of my mods.. I felt a need for metal tracks. Make sure you heed our advice though.... at the very least.... break in the motors, break in the gear boxes, install a simple fan, flip the board so the heat sink is up....

I think if you do at least those things you will have many hours of enjoyable driving. I personally would have purchased a better charger and batteries if I was buying my first tank again.. and let the metal tracks come later.

Use the search engine at teh bottom of the page. The list of possibilities is endless... especially with the Tiger.

KT

Well, it all comes down to cost, if you reckon you can save up for a Tamiya then I personally would get one of these. However if you are 'poor' like some of us on this forum and want something that with a few weeks work is pretty much just as good and will cost half the price (including the full upgrades) of a stock Tamiya then get the Heng Long.

I have one, mine is reliable some people have had problems, quality is an issue I guess, however if you are a keen modeller then you will enjoy fixing it up and doing all the upgrades to get it fully realistic and running on metal tracks (I think they are essential but you can get away without them).

You will find loads of opinions on this forum just search for heng Long

good Luck

I just want to add one thing about Tamiya.... they are great! I do not own one and maybe one day I will but.... the thing I like about the HL is the personal mods that you can do. And they are not just things to make it more realistic but to actually function better than a stock HL. I would have to say that is why I would choose an HL over a Tamiya. But that is my opinion and I do not want to start another manufacture related war.

Peace OUT

KT

I have a nice one up for sale in the tank classifieds

Thanks for the replies one and all. I really like the looks on these tanks and like the challenge trying to bring authenticity to them will bring.

I like to tinker so it sounds like these tanks are for me. Time to search for some mod tips on these boards especially on keep the electronics working properly, any help with them is appreciated.

I appreciate the info on which tank, for some reason I just love the look of the Bulldog. If this one works out well though I plan to pick one up for my son. He likes the Panther but perhaps I can sell him on the Tiger.

Thanks again for helping the noob!!

Look at the Gruppe Fehrmann F01 Build Thread... for some ideas.. by no means a complete list

Thanks, great thread. Just what I was looking for.

Hey, Quest. I see you are branching out from the Tamiya F-350. If you are still enjoying your Highlift, you would love a Tamiya tank (both good quality), but a HL will help you determine if you have enough interest for that kind of purchase. Some people buy four or five HL tanks, rather than one Tamiya and are happy. I've owned a few of each and they all need something, IMO. Tamiyas can't be beat for better realism, but they aren't perfect and have their own weaknesses. Hen Long prices allow you to get your feet wet and learn as you try to modify them and make them more accurate, without borrowing money from the bank.

Good luck with your first tank! We'll be here to help. [sm=thumbup.gif]
Jason

My Bulldog has been pretty reliable from the box. The radio that came with it however.. died.. luckily for me, I had the Panzer III on the way when it happened, so I use that radio for both my tanks. My Panzer has given me a few problems. Throwing tracks, then some gears sheared off.. I have replacement metal gears now and some metal tracks, so we'll see how it all goes.

I wrote this a while back and I don't know if much has changed, as far as current versions of the tank goes. It may or may not reflect popular opinion, but might be of use to you:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_44...tm.htm#4427108

Jason

P.S. There are a lot of great modelers here and some guys who seem to have a knack for keeping these tanks running indefinitely, but Stern is the man on the Tiger 1:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3592742/tm.htm

Hey Ice, you know how this hobby is. You can never get enough.

One of the main reasons I looked at the HL tanks was uncertainty of how much I would like a tank in general. The price point definitely helps and I love to play around and mod things.
I decided to order two of the HL's. One Walker Bulldog for me and my son is still deciding which he likes. He loves the look of modern tanks but apparently HL does not make any in 1/16th.