Hooben E-100
 

Sooooo anyone here going to spring for Hooben's E100? Paper Panzers need love too!

Jerry

Well June10th was the deadline for the pre-order and it's not on their shop page yet. But there is a new(ish) video of it.

I wish those deadlines worked both ways....

Every time I hear about Hooben I want to shake my head.

I got excited when the Maus was announced way back when... Then I saw the images of the tank when opened and some close ups... other than the roadwheels and tracks, the unit just exudes dirt cheap construction, no way worth $1600+ USD
I also asked Hooben about the price of a set of Maus metal tracks and they told me $230 for them. Holy F%$#. That's stainless steel Tamiya KT track prices... Not zinc alloy price...

Alibaba also shows:
Maus Full Metal Tank New Design
CA$2,346.82 (1-3 Sets) ~ $1700USD
CA$1,877.18 (4-11 Sets) ~ $1350 USD
CA$1,643.05 (12-99 Sets) ~$1200USD
CA$1,408.92 (>=100 Sets) ~$1000USD

Honestly, I love the Maus to death, but the Hooben it isn't even worth $1000USD IMHO.

If it was anyone except hooben I would probably pick one up, but those guys have got such a bad reputation that I'm scared to buy anything from them.

The funny part is this guy William Feng on Facebook who it seems is the CEO thinks they do no wrong. From his responses to folks on FB I can see why their customer service is so bad.

I recently asked when they're going to deliver the 1/10 T-34 and I never received a reply. Paid for it in March and it isn't
as if I've hounded them ever since. I recall hearing July was their delivery date and was just hoping for a confirmation.

I have to say I'd love their E-100 but my confidence in them isn't high either.

I did buy their Maus and I actually like it although it was a tad on the high side.

Jerry

Hey JarLath where's the Maus you were working on? Was hard getting rid of that Juckenburg for dimensions..lol.

Maus is on hiatus currently. Been super busy at work, and the extra time I have had from Covid has been for getting actual tanks I own upgraded.
I'm still looking for a reasonable pricing for Maus Tracks to be manufactured from cast aluminum (Hooben's Nylon tracks suck, and their metal tracks are meh...)
Still have the Juckenburg on a shelf in the box. Well worth it for the details.

I'm going to have to resurrect my Maus build thread :)

What do you consider a 'reasonable' price for aluminum tracks? I believe the only way to keep the cost down for
an aluminum links is for it to be a permanent mold item. For that sort of development the volume sold has to
be great enought to pay for it. I don't see someone doing that anytime soon, but I hope I'm wrong. Perhaps
Kenny Kong will develop a Zn alloy track..


Jerry

I was quoting for a minimum of 25 sets of tracks. Had some quotes come back with molds for 8/16 track pieces at a time, but with such great changes to the track design that it became not feasible at the time.
56 pairs of links per side... 112 main cleats, 224 outer links, and 112 center links per side So a fair volume for quoting...
I was hoping for a $150 USD Price point. It is the mold design that is where all the cost is associated.

Bingo. I checked into having permanent molds made for 1/10 scale Panther tracks 25+ years ago and the
price for just a single place mold with retractable pins (to facilitate track pins) for both re-enforced poly proylene
or aluminum parts; different molds of course and the prices were alarming. Just for the mold. Then there's
negotiating with someone to mount and run the mold - anything less than 10,000 pieces and, at the time, all
you got for your troubles was a 'We'll get back to you'...

With Asian manufacturers having long joined the market I'm sure costs will be competitive. I was flabbergasted at seeing
stainless steel 1/16 tracks for what? 300 bucks a set! And Asiatam selling a 1/10 scale Tiger I set in steel complete with sprokets
for 700. (their current set is Zn alloy)

I wouldn't sneeze at poly tracks; I think in the long run they'd serve a 1/16 Maus well. It's not as if you're going to be thrashing or drifting it......
However when you find those aluminum tracks put me down for a set or two please...

Jerry