differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Ok, I'm sure it is a stupid question, but is there any difference between Matorro and Heng Long? From what I see the Tiger I tanks are identical, same Airsoft system and even the same controller (with a different label). So I ask if there is a difference between them or are they the same company but different divisions like Buick and Pontiac being the same company (GM). The reason I ask is that my wife has asked me to start my Christmas wish list now (she is a great woman!), and I want another historically accurate tank. I can't convince her to buy my first choice (a Tamiya Sherman kit), but she'd go for a Heng Long priced tank.... I have my big boy- the Pershing, and my PanTiger (which I will scare the he** out of the wife with once I start cutting it apart to make it more accurate), so I'm looking at a Bulldog, Panzer III, Panzer IV, Stug (different but very cool), or (Matorro) King Tiger. Or maybe a Tiger I- the model that seems to be the start for so many enthusiasts (but then, Heng Long or Matorro?).

So, I'd love to hear from you....who likes what? And don't tell me to get a Tamiya unless you have a Sherman for sale for $200! :D I know they are the best, but I'll have to save for one and get it myself one day.... unless anyone wants to trade for a 2.5 T-Maxx with almost all aluminum or RPM aftermarket parts? Ah, well....thought it might be worth a chance. [sm=49_49.gif] It's funny- I have not sparked up either of my T-Maxxes since getting my PanTiger.....

I guess I have a terminal case of armoritis! :D

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

The Heng Long PZ III or IV are really good. You can't go wrong with either. The PZ III has an amazing selection of aftermarket parts, allowing you to upgrade to metal suspension, wheels, idler adjust and return rollers. Nice thing about this is you can handle the upgrades for less the $100 /upgrade. You will end up spending close to $450, but in smaller bites. Best deal is probably the Tiger. You can get an all metal drive Tiger with metal tracks for $140. Tracks are an issue, but hey it's a Tiger. Everyone wants a Tiger. The new Stug is interesting, but very new, with new electronics. None of us have had a chance to open it up and see what makes it tick, so I would hold off on that for a while.

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

The 2 Companies sure seem to use some of the same suppliers but they are probably at least electrically designed by a different team! The frequencies don/t match, you cannot put a Heng Long crystal inot a Matorro board or radio! Matorro has weaker boards, sound is almost at the Heng Long level but seem to be getting better! The Motors in the Matorro are weak and so are there gear boxes! Even if you find the metal upgrade for there gearbox the plastic housing will break next, and the motors are small.

I have done and offer electronics upgrade to Heng Long and or EL MOD!

The Blitz

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Heck no..I PLAN on buying it next month..

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

I already sent them money, but you and I have been around the block with these tanks. I couldn't recommend something I have never seen.

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

No refunds for you YHR, you're supposed to do a review for us! :D

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Yup

THe Mato Tiger should be here this week

The Stug??????. Hopefully the week after.

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Anyone else have a comment that stays with this thread for Dmon1996, I would like to hear some others opinions also???

The Blitz

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Get a Tam....wait, nevermind. :)

I recommend the HL Panzer IV. A lot of people buy the Tiger because it's a well-known tank. But if you don't care either way, I say pick a Panzer IV. HL did a great job on theirs.

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Well, the Matorro Tiger I has the correct length barrel and the mantlet orientated the proper way so that is a major plus in my opinion.

Shame we had all this excitement when we heard about this new manufacturer (Matorro) some time back but the enthusiasm died out quickly.

I was hankerin' for a Matorro King Tiger but when I heard (from maybe one or two sources only) that there were major deficiencies, well, I really lost my appetite. Everyone seems to be a true HL loyalist in the end.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7829629/tm.htm

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Matorro's non-window box has better dimensions (thinner, shorter, longer) suits long-barrel tanks enabling them to fit scale-barrel-tanks like their Tiger and KT, whereas Heng Long's retail box limits the length of the barrel, even though it is a larger box theres a lot more polystyrene around the HL than the Matorro.

End result: Matorro boxes fit scale barrels, but don't have quite as much packaging/protection.

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Well the Mato Tiger arrived today. Different electronics then Heng Long. Still has a receiver board, and there is a spare three wire socket on the board. I am not sure what this is for.

Different sounds, better cannon and machine gun, and there is an idling engine noise and a different in motion noise. Turret turns much slower, and the tank speed is reduced. Very smooth and quiet mechanically. I'll run it in some tall grass and see what happens.

Has the proper bbl length and the mantlet is the right way around. The cupola fell off of mine, so it will be easy to orientate the correct way.

Different gear box, plastic and nylon, and I am not sure how tough it is. Probably the same stuff that is in the King tigers.

More accurate stickers. Individual self adhesive numbers with other prototypical markings.

Over all impression ????

Different , but not better then the Standard Heng Long. My recommendation is to stick with the Heng Long. I don't know if this is DBC compatible, and the whole plastic gear box assembly(Although better then a WSN) is probably not up to the task for the long term. I think if I keep this I will gut it and install the standard Heng long stuff in it.

I am a little disappointed, but this Tank is priced $10 less then a Heng Long so what can you expect.. You get a more accurate superstructure, but I think the running gear is not up to the task, so take this into consideration if you are thinking about purchasing one. Also there is the new electronics, and who knows if they interface with a DBC so this is an issue as well.

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Sounds like it has the exact same boards as their KT.... see pic below to confirm gearbox and electronics

As for "Smooth and quiet" - that's plastic gearboxes for ya :D

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Yup. Exaclty the same boards and gear train.

Matorro = Mato . I expect everything else about this tank to be the same as the King Tiger then.

How tough is this gearbox????

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

You going to do an official review with a dedicated thread with some outside and interior piccies for all of us? :D

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Blitzy has replaced a few, perhaps he has a spare to crack-open for a look.

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

Well image your Heng Long Tiger with the inside of the Matorro King tiger that Wacky included in this thread. That's it, that's all folks.

The included instruction book is actually well written, so that is a vast improvement.

This tank is a none event. There simply isn't enough different about it to make me choose it over a Heng Long. The sound is different, but not really better. I wish I could tell you something different, but the bottom line is, if you want a tiger spend $140 and get the Heng Long special from Mato that has a metal gearbox and tracks.

I am not sure if RC Command has a package deal like this for US buyers, but if they do replace them for Mato in the above statement if you live south of the 49th.

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

I'm with swathdiver. How about a dedicated, long-term review thread with notes made from daily/weekly/monthly usage and how the tank performs based on facts and not just what you think? [:'(]:D

That "plastic" gearbox looks like it is plastic all around with a plastic housing as well. Does it appear that a Heng Long standard type (metal housing) gearbox will retrofit directly into the tank body? If so, and with the other HL shortcomings already addressed (in terms of the tank's exterior) I might be tempted to get one.

It looks like this tank is not a step up from the Heng Long quality-wise, but a lateral side step. Maybe it is just different, not better as you say.

RE: differences between Matorro and Heng Long?
 

That is my biased opinion. I do know that even running the thing on my bench, with the tracks off, the board got uncomfortably hot to touch in a couple of minutes.

My fear is that in no time at all I'll be changing over to Heng long boards out of necessity, and at that point, I will have a Heng Long tank with a plastic gearbox. Of course if I change that over to Heng long then I will have a Heng Long tank!!!!I might as well have bought the Heng Long to start with!!!!!

Maybe this nylon gear box is tougher then I think. I will run it and see what happens. No heats sink in this board, so maybe I'll wire up a fan and see if I can get some use out of it before it smokes.

Don't get me wrong. For the money it is a decent tank. You do get a correct bbl, pistol port, and mantlet right out of the box. I just personally don't think this could be upgraded to metal tracks and have the ESC stand up. So you will most likely fry the board, lose the differnet sounds, and replace everything with Heng Long components, if you try to make it more then it is. Bottom line is, you will be able to keep it running with stock Heng Long parts, so don't worry about it too much.

Hi guys. I am very new and researching a bunch of older forums.

Do you guys still feel the same way about the Heng Long versus the Mato tanks? 5-6 years have passed and I am sure there are bound to have been major upgrades since 2008.

Just wanted to know what your thoughts are on this subject.

Thanks.

AL P.

I am not sure if you are asking about Mattorro or Mato tanks.... Mattorro are no longer manufactured and are very rare now. Mato is the new kid on the block, and are in line with Heng Long tanks as well. Heng Long has come a long way from the scale-ish toys they started with - the Pan-Tiger comes to mind. But the newer the model, the closer to accurate scale they are. Mato being new has some issues, but are pretty good- I have one of their Shermans and it is nice (with the exception of the excessively fat cannon). But I gut everything and put in Heng Long RX-18 boards so my tanks are all compatible. I will leave more details on the inner workings to the more experienced members of this forum. But it might help if you explain what you want to do- build a shelf queen, have something to bomb around in the back yard, or compete with others in staged battles.

Thanks for the response Dmon. I guess this shows how new I am to rc tanks. I just started looking the other day and thought Mato and Mattorro were one in the same. I see that Matomart sells Heng Long and Mato tanks and then I stumbled onto a Matorro website that sells Heng Long tanks too. So a little confusion on my part about the Mato name.

What at I am looking for is a 1/16 tank to get me and my son so we can have wars in the backyard. We love the War Thunder video game and I thought this would be a great way to take it to the next level. Eventually competing in battles, but for now backyard battles.

I don't mind spending the $$$ on an rc tank if it is of good quality and something that can be upgraded or fixed at home. I really like the idea of all metal gears and tracks. But does that mean you usually wind up with a metal body too?

Man I have so many questions!

So is there a reputable dealer you trust in Canada? My preference is to buy one that includes the metal upgrades in the package and is ultimately RTR, even if I have to install the metal components myself or even paint it. That's part of the fun for me. But not for my son yet. He will want to unbox it and play. Can't blame him either.

Or am I better off buying a tank from someone that puts them together all the time. I've read horror stories where the tank comes from a warehouse and the wheels won't even move.

So after that, it sounds like Heng Long is the way to go. Seem to offer a lot of flexibility in upgrades too. So if it is Heng Long, where should I get one?


Thanks.
AL P.

Check out MatoMart Toys in Ontario - I have dealt with them a lot (http://www.matomart.com/homepage.php). There is no warranty on these tanks, but if there is a problem out of the box they will fix or replace. I would recommend you get a pair of Heng Long with the IR system. The Airsoft sounds great but the guns are weak compared to actual Airsoft handguns. You will need to break in the gearsets but there is lots of info on doing so on this site. On the Allied side, I recommend the Heng Long Pershing, and the Heng Long King Tiger. They are both large tanks and there were a handful of Pershing tanks at the tail end of WWII (although I don't think they actually saw battle with the King Tigers). If you want to save a few bucks, get the Tiger I instead of the King Tiger. It was Heng Long's first RC so is not truly accurate but it is very cost effective. Get with metal tracks, all the MatoMart tanks come with metal gearsets so you don't have to worry about metal vs plastic gears. I also highly recommend that you stay far away from Raidentech - I tried to buy my first tanks from them and they charged my credit card and fought when I demanded my money back after waiting over two months. They are constantly out of stock, and have horrible customer service. BTW, the Heng Long tanks are available with smoke - you want one with smoke as they are the ones with better controllers but the smoke units are garbage - usually don't work and if they do they burn out soon after.

Anyway, that's my opinion on the matter. I am sure that you will get more opinions soon enough.

The HL Pershing doesn't come in IR, only airsoft.

Really? I had bought mine back in the RX14 days, and converted it. Ok, then the Russian KV-1 is available in IR, and it is a good model although is ugly to me. My Dad has it - good well detailed model. And it definitely fought the Germans in WWII.

Whatever brand you buy, make sure you get steel geared gearboxes. The "metal" they offer is pot metal and will not usually hold up for very long.

Herman

Hi Al, and welcome. It's really great to see more tankers joining up. My name is Gary. The last thing I want to do is criticize, so I won't but you've given me an opportunity to ask the old guys about something I've wondered about for quite some time. Apologies in advance for going off topic for a second. Can someone explain this "trolling" thing to me? Does it have to do with the age of the thread, or is it like trolling when you're fishing, but here you're trolling for ... what? I just don't get it, and I've only seen it mentioned in threads like this that have some age on them. Again, not trying to rag on you Al, I really am glad you joined, so I apologize if you mind me asking this here. It's just been buggin' me for a while now. Enquiring minds wanna know! :)

As for the Pershing not being available in IR, I've heard that Heng Long has gotten out of IR all together and they're now making nothing but airsoft tanks, so the IR tanks are getting harder to find. That's why I've been thinking about getting a couple of cheap HL IR Shermans or Panzer IIIs, before it's too late. Taigen will still have IR tanks, but they're higher priced than HL so I thought it might be a good idea to grab a couple cheap ones while I can. Anybody think that's not a bad idea?

There are 4 primary Manufacturers of 1/16 Tanks- HENG LONG, TAIGEN, TORRO, TAMIYA, there are others but the ones listed are the most common,
TAIGEN are more usually found in Europe whereas TORRO are more often found in the US,
The accepted view is that HENG LONG is the cheap and perhaps cruder product (I happen to disagree) then TORRO which through a very active and hard working member of this Forum (IMEX ERIC) is rated as exceptional for the price,
The 3 previous makers sell a ready to run (RTR) product whereas TAMIYA which is recognised as the industry standard has to be built by you before you can use it, the price is higher than the others but the quality is reflected in the price,
There is literally thousands of upgrades from a multitude of dealers, please ask us on the Forum or someone you trust before spending money or you could find yourself living under a highway overpass!!!.
The availability of infra red is becoming limited , certainly HENG LONG does not make them now,
BUT if you fit an aftermarket control board from "CLARK" or "IBU2" then they have an infra red option included and these boards can be fitted to any 1/16 radio controlled Tank.
Enjoy this madness but guard your pocket book. shaun

RE Trolling

def. v anytime a post is made with the sole purpose of creating tension and disharmony within the group. The original poster has no real interest in the outcome and finds humor in watching others get passionate and worked up over a topic that in most cases is so subjective that a reasonable outcome will never materialize.

People new to the forum should be given a lot of slack, as they may in fact have no idea how many times a subject has been debated to death, and the question is asked because of a real interest in the outcome. That is what I use to differentiate between a fair question and some one just trying to stir up things

Not quite right. Taigen is distrubuted by IMEX in the US and Erik is an IMEX rep

HL is the cheaper version and is real the base building block that Taigen then upgrades and repaints. Taigen is indicating that they will start going at it on their own, but to my knowledge, when it comes to the basic tank, everything Taigen has released has Heng Long roots.

.

Sorry guys. I meant no discord here. I read the thread from 2008 about the differences and opinions on the Heng Long vs the Mottorro and wanted to know if you guys still had the same feelings about them after 7 years. I'm trying to decide on which brand to sink money into so I thought reading the forum and asking questions would help. I know now that the Mottorro is no longer made and was confusing it with the Moto brand. If there is some sort of unwritten rules regarding forum topics, please let me know.


I do thank you all for your efforts in supplying your knowledge and honest opinions regarding rc tanks. It helps.

Thanks Dan, And sorry ERIC, A TORRO Tank is a rare sight in Europe so I obviously picked on the USA;) as its habitat. shaun

NP, we are expanding rapidly and planning even more :) We are actually starting to carry more Torro tanks and the next Torro to be carried will be the modified from stock version (we will NOT be using the zinc gears EU has atm) with our new ball bearing gearboxes in them. After that, IMEX/Taigen has a NICE surprise for you guys. I actually have 2 of those 4 surprises beside me now :)

Hey Al, you didn't cause any discord and you didn't do anything wrong. There are no hidden rules and yours was a viable question so please don't worry about it. I really am very glad to see you posting and I hope you'll stick around and enjoy this hobby. If there's ever anything I can do to help just sing out. Happy tanking, and I can't wait for you to post photos of your new tank (when you get it).

As for tanks for you and your son (at least one of them) Erik has a nice Panzer III in scratch and dent right now. It's IR so you can battle and that really is a good price. I highly recommend that you call Erik and see what he can do for you. I know shipping is more from the US, but it's still a lot less than from Europe or Asia. You can see the PIII here

http://www.imex-model.com/product/CT...29.html?cid=88

As for an allied tank to battle against, that's a little harder for a lower priced tank. Matomart is out of stock on the IR KV-1, and I'm not sure if HL ever made an IR T-34 or Sherman. You could always get a second German tank to battle with. I don't think the tanks will know the difference. :)

Hope that helps, and again, welcome to our addiction. :)

HL did have some IR Shermans out in the UK atleast, but probably getting hard to find now :(

To answer the original question - You can't get the Matorro tanks that were originally under discussion any more. Things have moved on, and to be honest, got a whole lot better since those days.

@ Shaun - I believe Torro are a German company - www.torro-shop.de I think http://www.rctank.de/ stocks them as well.