crawler_king

Greetings all, I am rediscovering my RC past.. Currently I am into RC rock crawling (4x4's) and run a 2.2 comp rig and 1.9 scale f-150..
However I am seriously wanting to pick up a really nice tank without breaking the bank...
Always wanted a tamiya but could never afford it. Now I see the HL tanks and they seem about the right price range..
Of course I also see all the upgrades and am probably going to order from "creeping Death" once they get some of the others in stock.. and convert them..
Also been looking at the trumpeter russian prototype tanks, and word on these?
Thanks for your patience with a newbie.
Crawler king

Harquebus

The right tank for you might depend on what you want to do with it.

If you like the larger scale tanks but not at such a hit to your wallet, then the Heng Longs are a good bet. Problem is, they do not fit your criterion of "really nice".

1/24 scale tanks are also something to look at whether you like to shoot 6mm BBs or fight in IR battles where mock battles can be fully realized; exchanging shots with other tanks, taking simulated damage and ultimate defeat when one's tank is totally disabled.
The VS Pro tanks are the ones I'm speaking of. The Tokyo-Marui only shoot BBs.

The 1/24 scale tanks are nicer but are not as adept off-road as anything 1/16 scale or larger.

The search function is your best friend so please take a look at older posts regarding all of these tanks and you will find reviews and opinions ad infinitum.

YHR

I think the newest Heng Long PZ IV is going to be received very well by almost everyone. Mine has been flawless in performance. All the components look the same but this one definitely runs extremely well. The Heng long may require some work, but the key thing here that keeps us all coming back for more, is the parts supply for Heng Longs. You can buy replacements and upgrades to keep your tank mobile. That IMO is why the Heng Longs are continuing to forge ahead. People like to call them toys, but I have yet to see a "toy" with so many replacement parts and upgrades available

All the key components are screwed together making them robust and fixable. Yes there have been some components glued on in the past, but the PZ IV is starting to break away from that. I don't think I came across a glued component anywhere!!!!!!! Everything was screwed together , and the balance of the extras fit so tight together it is like a "snap tite" model Kit. You can glue the extras on if you want but this is not required.

THe PZ IV is big thumbs up. At $100 it is a "Best Buy" IF you want to get your feet wet in rc tanking, this is my recommendation

hdbeast

Your 100% right YHR, got mine last week and much better then I expected, HL is reading this and other Forums looking at the way there tanks have improved.

Gary

crawler_king

I have been watching and reading up like a nut..
It seems that as far as the HL tanks go Mato with the metal treads and S&S is the way to go...
But then I found the "Creeping Death" website and was looking at their conversion of the HL tanks..
There seems to be so much info..
The mainstay for simulated battles is the IR setup right?
where as the bb type setup is more for messing around...? Or are guys using the paintball style 6mm airsoft pellets...
Very familiar with the search buttom from over on RCC and Scale 4x4.. thanks guys!
Looking forward to gettting my feet wet!

pattoncommander

second on that....my Pz IV runs really great and with all the variations possible and conversion kits ready for it, the Pz IV is going to be a prime tank, like the Pz III, for making additional models. I have 8 Pz III's, all different models.

Any HL tank you get, make sure it's the S&S or super version. The ones selling really cheap on Ebay are non S&S and have full stop or full speed electronics and not really worth getting and upgrading.

matthewpeter

I think thats a little unfair, my Tiger 1 and Panzer III are both non-S&S and the Tiger has been upgraded. Haven't got the Panzer yet from the post. Eventually I shall buy a S&S sound board for the Tiger.

If you want uber cheapness, the non S&S ebay ones are ok.

Ex_Pat_Tanker

your choice really depends on the price difference between the S&S and non versions - as Patton Commander points out, here in the US we are spoilt for choice and the difference is only $10 between S&S and non S&S.
However I know back home in the UK the cost / difference is maybe much greater. At that point you really need to decide what you want from the tank - if you want a toy to race around the garden without expecting too much in the way of realism and you don't intend on buying more than 1 or 2, then you are probably better off with the non S&S. If you want to run several tanks at the same time, with better / finer speed control, and / or you want to add the infra-red battle systems that various vendors offer then you would be better off with the S&S version.

My Take on the whole debate: - Tanks are like cars: My first Car was an 1981 Austin MiniMetro - it was a pile of junk, but it did what I needed it to do and I loved it - similarly my first tank was a HL Non S&S Panther...

Atleast the Panther is economically viable to upgrade to a better spec in terms of motors, gearboxes and electronics at a later date...

matthewpeter

I think thats a fair analysis.

As I said, a big must is the electronics upgrade. The current RC is ok but I'd sooner have the proper job.

crawler_king

I can completly understand this sentiment...first RC car was a Hornet.. Then a Wild one, Ultima Clodbuster.. on and on..
After a couple year hiatus I picked up an HPI Wheely King.. major departure from building my own, but it has been so modified it is now a capable crawler... I have also added a Tamtech Hornet to my growing RC garage, a Platinum Midnight pumpkin, and a HEAVILY Modified F-350 Hi-lift... (shortened 1 1/2 inches, WK trany acts as a transfer case, and divorced from the motor, and a gd 600 gear reduction & Novak Rooster & 45trn motor)
and as far as cars go, I am also an old car hobbiyist, and have had three over the past couple years, 61 2dr post fairlane, 61 anglia, and a 62 valiant... still have the 61 Fairlane... its my love.. LOL
As far as the tankl goes I am leaning more and more to the S&S edition tanks.. realativly inexspensive, and it looks relativley easy to convert it to the Tamiya IR battle system..
I really appreciate all the input you guys have given me. as well as all the great info on the board.. Thanks!

Ex_Pat_Tanker

The electronics upgrade path is readily available, either buying S&S boards and controllers from tankzone in the UK or Torro in Germany, or buying El-Mod's upgrades (which requires you to buy a new Transmitter/Reciever set at additional cost). I've also sucessfully upgraded my WSN T34/85 with specialist "Robot Wars" type ESC's, but that worked out way more pricy than just buying a replacement HL S&S Rx board and transmitter...

In summary, I think what Patton Commander was getting at was that if you intend to buy the tank and upgrade later, then just bite the bullet and pay for the S&S version because it works out cheaper in the long run.

My personal advice: There are some talented folks on this forum who sell tamiya compatible IR battle circuits for the HL S&S system ( I have 2 of Darkith's units, they work really well for me but other options are available...) and are working on an adaptor board to link the HL S&S motor control board (ESC) to 3rd party transmitters/recievers - if you are interested in RC tank battles you should buy the S&S versions on the basis that they will probably work out cheaper in the long run.

Hope this helps you,
Mart