Jeff, you can always borrow my V-2. :)

Seriously, though, you can sometimes find them on ebay and I only paid $59.99 for mine.

Now I'm looking forward to what Bill has to tell us. I'm still a tad unclear on the Imex/Taigen relationship, but I'm sure he'll fix that for me.

And I'm seriously pleased that you have no plans to leave Imex, Erik. The whole hobby would suffer if you did, Bro. :)

Hey, Bill, GIVE THAT MAN A RAISE!! A BIG ONE!!

Yea bossman will clarify the working relationship between us, Torro, and Taigen. I'm just the tankologist here so the business side is not my forte. He is always out on some business trip (back to the factory next month actually in Ningbo) but he and I talk every day throughout the day. I told him to stop by and post for you guys so give him a bit of time, he isn't the fastest typer.

Here is a little history of IMEX ....
IMEX was originally by myself in March 1974 as Island Modelcraft Supply Inc. In my parents house in Hauppauge New York
1977 Moved warehouse to Deer Park New York
1981 Moved warehouse to Central Islip New York
1982 First buying Trip to Nurnburg Toyfair Germany
1983 First buying Trip to Shizouka Hobby Show Japan
1987 Moved warehouse to Ronkonkoma New York
1987 Name changed to IMEX Model Company Inc
1992 Built Warehouse in Brooksville Florida and moved there
2002 Expanded warehouse to 31000 square feet

IMEX was originally started as a hobby Wholesaler serving the New York tristate area..And is the only wholesaler in AMERICA still in Business that is
still run by the Original Owner and Founder. We have imported since 1982 and manufactured many of our own products. We also own close to
500 of our own molds

IMEX originally imported a container of Heng Long tanks in 2004 ..But one container of those was enough of the Tank Business for me..

Having travelled to Asia for 32 years I have extensive contacts throughout and in 2010 I was again looking for some Tank items.
I was apporched by a friend in Ningbo China that was doing some tank accesories and which turned out to be the start of
IMEX/TAIGEN North America...A division of IMEX.

IMEX works TAIGEN on projects TORRO works with TAIGEN on projects We distribute TORRO Tanks in North America and
TORRO distributes our Sherman Tank in Europe. The TAIGEN Brand is a collaboration TAIGEN TORRO and IMEX (TTI)
Each with investments in Different Items and Projects..

There are many more Items that will be coming as we grow in the future and many electronic improvements as well. IMEX does
many other items such as toys , RC ( cars trucks Helis Quads Parts and much more ) Chargers Gliders Puzzles Train Buildings
ETC.

I hope that give you a little feeling of who we are and what we do ..BOSSMAN BILL
,

This is all I, and I suspect most tankers, need to hear. It speaks volumes towards your commitment to quality.

Thanks for the info, sorry if it seemed I pushed you into it, but as a fellow New Yorker (Long and Staten Islands aren't that much different) I'm sure you understand.

I have a long time relationship with Stevens and VLS (MMD), knowing that you've been in the game for this long definitely works for me. Extra props for trying to tackle RC tanks. It's a tough nut to crack in terms of the market. It's not really modeling, so AM and detailing is light, RC angle is almost an after thought, so Tx/Rx interest is nil, gearboxes seem to be the biggest concern.

Thanks Bill

Imex has done a lot to expose people to the possibilities of RC tanking as now a person can walk into a hobby shop and actually see a 1/16 tank. This combined with Erik giving outstanding customer service, and no doubt feedback to you, can only help move this hobby forward in the direction most of us want. The fact that you are on this forum and taking notes speaks loudly of listening to what the customer wants.

Here is a quick list of my opinion on what is needed on a quality RC tank, You probably have most of these checked off already as I know Erik has been listening.

Many things that have been requested have come to light. Add on accessories that take RTR and give it a feel of a simple kit.

The features below would be great.

RC grade electronics using standard PWM signals
Better quality gear set. For WWII tanks the four shaft with bearings would be adequate for the long haul.
Good parts supply with bearing upgrades available
Metal part upgrades on key components
IR System that uses the same IR protocol as Tamiya.

Most of what is on my wish list has come to light over the last decade, but there are few that I still long for.

Thanks

Thanks a lot for the history, Bill. I'm not sure why, but I always feel better about doing repeat business with companies that I know a bit about and have seen that they're committed to their business and not just some fly-by-night start-up that may or may not be here next week. I mean, look at places like goRCgo on the web. You can go there right now and order a Jagdtiger and the automated system will tie up your paypal for a month or so, but there's nobody on the other end and you'll never see a tank. Having you right here in the US and knowing you're not going anywhere and I can always reach out to your excellent customer service department via phone makes it a no-brainer when I decide where I plan to spend my hard earned coin-of-the-realm. I ordered a pair of gearboxes during the 20% sale and the automated emails worked perfectly, the item shipped on time (I was provided with tracking and an expected delivery date), and it got to Detroit in three days (for under $9 shipping). Those gearboxes are in my Imex/Taigen Panzer IV as we speak (put 'em in yesterday). I can order smoke units and airsoft cannons from Hong Kong for a couple bucks less than from Imex, but that would be stupid (IMO). First, it will take them forever to get here, then they may or may not work since they won't be genuine Imex/Taigen parts, and if there is a problem I'm pretty much on my own. Not to mention that forgoing a long standing relationship with a trusted vendor simply to save a couple bucks is the utmost in folly, if you ask this crazy old hippie. If you've been trying to establish customer loyalty, it definitely worked on me, for very good reasons. :)

But I still think you should try to sign Erik to a 5 year contract (at least). :)

Thanks for the background/history of Imex. It is impressive to say the least. I would like to ditto on the service from Erik and your company. I have placed three orders so far and all have arrived in three to four days. This last order had a defective part, one of the return rollers was broken in a KV-1 metal road wheel set. I e-mail Erik about it and he replied same day to let me know a replacement would be mailed out today. This kind responsive and quick customer service will have me making repeat orders in the future. Like Ausf, I am familiar with Stevens and VLS (MMD) so to see your business has been around as long shows how committed you have been. I am looking forward to see what the future of RC tanking holds for us as IMEX continues to add to their product line.

Erik took care of the broken tow cables, the ends were snapped off, that came with my Panther G. An established company, with a long history, and a customer service rep. that takes care of the customers. I most certainly will be spending more of my hard earned cash with Imex.

Thanks for the kind words guys! Please stick with us and I promise you wont regret it. Taigen will continue to expand and release NEW stuff in the future for you guys :) We have a lot we are planning, we plan on standing out from the regular crowd soon...

A run of airsoft Panzer IVs, with the barrel recoil, and I'll know what my next tank will be. Unless I decide on a King Tiger with said recoil set up.

I am a pretty big fan of the PIV, I'll see what I can do :) Not sure about the recoil option yet, but I'll go bother bossman about the PIV :)

I just noticed, Phoenix Model company on Amazon, along with the address the replacement cables was sent from. Imex's Amazon.com storefront..

And on ebay it's Island-Enterprises

Well, i am grateful for the Taigen brand. They have gotten the hobby on wheels again as far as i'm concerned. The new models they are selling is pushing the other brands to step up production on new models and anything that drives the industry is a good thing. They are also filling a quality gap that many have had a hard time dealing with. Many people just dont have the time money or skill to build a Tamiya kit and dont want or need the head aches of dealing with a hit or miss HL. Taigen gives them the option of getting a good running model OTB with out needing to spend a ton load of extra cash to make it usable.

The Taigen P4 was my first tank and it is still working great almost a year later. I've needed Erik a few times and he has always been there for me. I have a total of six Taigen tanks, a Torro, and one Tamiya. I will continue to support IMEX/Taigen.

Joe

I can not express how good it is to know that IMEX and Taigen are the same company. Surely our feedback is being transmitted to the right ears. I am glad that the IMEX/Taigen this planning to do their own thing in the future. Hopefully this will include modern tanks. Thanks Bill, Thanks Erik.

Thanks guys! And yes, your feedback is always being watched. I don't mean to sound like a creeper but I'm always looking at what people like and are interested in. Some projects take 12-24 months to complete from design to production so I may seem slow but that is just because I want to make sure things are done right that's all.
Just btw, modern tanks are being looked into, the Abrams is being worked on now. Depending on how the Abrams goes we might make something to go with/against it :)

Wait a minute, I thought we just established that while they're closely connected, Imex and Taigen are two separate companies. They're in different places and owned by different people. Even though Imex may have a large interest in Taigen, isn't it still a completely separate entity?

TTI. Taigen Torro Imex.

Taigen is a sub-brand of both IMEX and Torro. IMEX and Torro are separate, but distribute each other. Rising tide lifts all boats. Good for all involved.