I have been scouring the internet for a few weeks now in order to try and determine the best sub-$200 R/C tank and have fortunately come across this site - a veritable minefield of useful information and opinion. Trusting you all to enable me to make a more informed decision, I would like to give you my specification for my first purchase of a R/C tank so that you may best advise me on which machine to purchase. I am not new to R/C vehicles as I used to race HPI road cars but the off-road and firing capabilities of R/C tanks promise much more enjoyment than on-road racing.

• £100 ($200) is the absolute top price I am able to pay. Ideally, I'm looking at spending about £50-£70.
• I would like a respectable firing mechanism capable of shooting powerfully at a good distance - not only BB pellets but 6mm paintball pellets as well (http://www.airsoftnewmexico.com/modu...aq.php?faqid=6)
• The tank must have decent, if not extraordinary, off-road capabilities and capable of running in long grass and over sand
• Realistic graphics/design are not essential as this will primarily be a 'toy' and not a serious replica (I'll use my race car as the serious machine)
• Smoke and sound are not essential, smoke would be preferable

So far, I am attracted to the Heng Long Panzer III (available on eBay for £80 inc. shipping). Ideally, I'd be looking at a 1/16 model but if the 1/24 models were sold to me on the basis of being better built, faster and having more powerful guns, I would not hesitate in opting for one.

All in all, I'm hoping the educated minds on this forum may be able to advise me as to the best machine to get for the money.

Many thanks,

Astraeus

Astraeus -

$200 is very low for a tank of hobby quality. Many of the sought after Tamiya kits are well above $300 for the vehicle alone, plus the transmitter.

If you are fortunate, you may be able to find one used somewhere. There are several toy type tanks, some of which fire airsoft BB's, available for approx $50-$100 each.

Welcome to the forum!

First of you'll want a smoke and sound tank. The driving speed is near proportional, not 2 speed stop and go like the non-smokers. All non-smoke and all smokers use the same electronicsin the Heng Long brand.

The most maneuverable tanks are the American Pershing and Walker Bulldog. Their suspension systems as in real life are more robust and less prone to jamming, throwing tracks, etc.

1/24 scale VS tanks have more powerful guns. They shoot about 130fps stock. A stock HL about 80fps. However, you can easily upgrade your gun to shoot 180-200fps.

If you plan to run the tank outside and through rough terrain, make sure your tank comes with metal gears. Newer tanks equipped with plastic gears have a slipper clutch that engages when the tank encounters heavy resistance, such as busting through weeds or traveling through 3 inches of muck. Get the metal tracks too, the Panther, Tiger plastic tracks break easily and the pins fall out of the PZIIIs without modification. Never had a problem with my American tanks plastic tracks. Real tanks have metal tracks, metal tracks are cool, all of my tanks have metal tracks! Love the clankety clank clank clinking when they travel down the road!
You probably already have these, you'll want a 3000mah+ battery and a peak charger. Throw away the stock BBs, they will wreck the gun. Only shoot high quality like Crosman Glos. Most Paintballs are not round and have seems. Look for seamless paintballs.

These tanks are realistic looking and in their operation, they break! Sometimes before you ever fire them up! Know and accept this ahead of time and you will not be disappointed. You need spare parts to keep them running and you'll undoubtedly want to modify and upgrade your tank. You can't have just one either! Nobody on this forum has just one! I lost count after 12. That being said, you can budget $200 for the initial purchase, you'll easily double that with spare parts and accessories the first time you order!

Thank you both for the quick replies. The reason I am reluctant to spend so much initially is because I tend to phase in-and-out of hobbies very quickly. I don't fancy finding myself £250 out of pocket for a hobby which I may fall out of love for in only six months. That's why I said my absolute upper limit was £100 ($200). It's therefore something of a concern to learn about the unreliability of these models - especially as my RS4 has lasted a good few years with minimal upgrades and replacements!

It may very well be that, six-twelve months down the line, I decide I'm interested enough to upgrade or to purchase an additional tank but for the time being, I'd just like a simple, RTR unit for sub-£100. Any recommendations with that specification?

I would buy the Heng Long PZ III with the metal track up grade. This will give you a fine running tank for you to get your feet wet. The Walker bulldog is very sound too, but doesn`t have the WWII history that many of us like. Get the smoke and sound electronics, they are much better, and if you keep it properely cooled are pretty robust. Once I figured out you need to flip them over to expose the cooling fin, I haven`t cooked a board since. I add heatrsinks as well to ensure the heat transfer rate is suffucient to keep the electonics cool.

And would you say an online auction site is a decent enough place to get them from? Other than that, I'm stumped as to where in the UK sells the model at a reasonable price.

You should be able to get the HL PzIII, shipped within your buget from Mato Toys in Canada

Astraeus,

As someone who is running three Tamiya tanks, I think you have the right idea. If you end up really liking tanks, you can always upgrade. If you don't, your not out a lot of money. I have a Panzer III Smoke & Sound (S&S) on order. From posts on the forum the smoking units seem to be a lot of trouble, but the upgraded tanks come with sound and a better speed controller. For info about the Airsoft gun you can search past posts. From what I read and heard the one thing that HAS to be replaced is the Rear Idler Wheel - they just don't hold up. All the suspension and track upgrades can wait till after you've had a chance to drive a bit. We have a club that battles tanks using the Tamiya inferred system. A couple of members have converted Panzer III's, and are basically happy. They get the track pins to stay in place with a drop of super glue. Neither is running metal tracks.

Good luck

Recently reports on many forums (including here) are that the PzIII and likely others are now having there trackpins glued at the factory rather than relying on the interference fit -- good for endurance, harder when you wanna take the buggers off (but its not impossible).

Go with the PzIII S&S, you wouldnt wanna shell out for a Tamiya then find you don't wanna be in it - plus with them (Tamiya) theres building, paints, glue etc, factory errors/fit problems/part troubles and even if you've shell out a few hundred for the kit, and build it, you still aren't RTR and need all the crystals and receiver gear, controller blah blah). Heng Long - cheap, tons of upgrades available and RTR out of the box (unless you're really unlucky)