Mato tanks.....WHAT is going on?

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jackalope
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Mato tanks.....WHAT is going on?

Post by jackalope »

Im sure everyone remembers my M36 that was a train wreck when I got it, now Mr.Steelbird is going through a similar mess with his Panzer being a wreck.
The latest issue it would seem I can't get parts from them!
Does anyone have any clue as to what the hell is going on at Mato?

Or are they wanting to be added to the blacklist cause I gotta say that's where they're headed! 2 craptastic expensive tanks now disappeared parts? I'm getting a little tired of these guys.

A month and the tracking number they gave me still says they've been notified a package is coming but nothing else? The parts said they were in stock to ship in 1 to 2 days not 1 to 2 MONTHS!
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c.rainford73
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Re: Mato tanks.....WHAT is going on?

Post by c.rainford73 »

Jack I am dealing with a similar situation. I ordered some repair parts a month ago and tracking says it's still posting from China... Good times
Tanks alot.... :wave:
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PainlessWolf
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Re: Mato tanks.....WHAT is going on?

Post by PainlessWolf »

Good morning,
Keep the faith, Gentlemen. I got all that stuff I ordered from MATO within two weeks merely by being up Cherry's bum every other day like one of those Japanese toilets. Emails filled with epic tales of seedy romance and bar fights from time spent in Kowloon. ( fictional, I assure you, gentle audience ) They sent me my parts with all alacrity just to get rid of me.
regards,
Painless
...Here for the Dawn...
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jackalope
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Re: Mato tanks.....WHAT is going on?

Post by jackalope »

Well I emailed them and let them know I the U.S. global moderator for this forum and how we're all worried and concerned over Mato's products and customer service as of late. I'm waiting to see what kind of reply I get once they read that. :haha:

I don't get it with they're stuff costing what it does and the limited market they serve you'd think they'd be a little more careful/concerned about their products and how the customer is treated. Polite e mails from them is all well and good but taking a month to get a set of tracks and an airsoft Firefly barrel speaks much louder.
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Tiggr
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Re: Mato tanks.....WHAT is going on?

Post by Tiggr »

I'm trying to think of something positive to say about the tank I received from them and the only thing I can think of is that the wheeled carrying case was impressive.
Tiger 1 Early Taigen,
Tiger 1 Mid Torro,
Tiger 1 Late Taigen,
King Tiger Taigen (P)
Jagdtiger Torro
King Tiger (H)
King Tiger Torro (H)
Tiger 1 late Torro
Panther G Taigen
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jackalope
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Re: Mato tanks.....WHAT is going on?

Post by jackalope »

You guys sound like me! LOL! If I get hold of them I intend to ask them what's going on and if they intend to fix the problem or go out of business. Or does that sound too harsh?
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Tiggr
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Re: Mato tanks.....WHAT is going on?

Post by Tiggr »

Sounds reasonable to me.
I certainly won't be buying another from them and consider myself lucky to get my money back to buy a Torro equivalent with a TK24 fitted - a superior product in every respect with the exception of the fancy carrying case.
Tiger 1 Early Taigen,
Tiger 1 Mid Torro,
Tiger 1 Late Taigen,
King Tiger Taigen (P)
Jagdtiger Torro
King Tiger (H)
King Tiger Torro (H)
Tiger 1 late Torro
Panther G Taigen
MyPanzerIII
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Re: Mato tanks.....WHAT is going on?

Post by MyPanzerIII »

You should ask Mato why they are holding your order. I don't think they would not ship your order for no reason. If they don't want to ship your order. They should refund to you. I just put my order in for a henglong tiger with metal tracks this morning. I received the UPS tracking number this afternoon.....
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jarndice
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Re: Mato tanks.....WHAT is going on?

Post by jarndice »

I would venture to suggest that as with "Nitrotek", :thumbdown:
"Mato" are losing customers solely because of the words of disappointment on this Forum.
Why would any member of this Forum order from "Nitrotek" or "Mato" only to be knowingly let down, that way lies the road to masochism. :crazy:
If the purpose of a company is to make money and they are delivering shoddy goods which must lose customers then sheer common sense says they should get their act together before they go out of business. :lolno:
Shaun.
I think I am about to upset someone :haha:
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SteelBird
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Re: Mato tanks.....WHAT is going on?

Post by SteelBird »

Guys, seem like I'm the latest (last?) victim of a Mato tank as Jackalope has mentioned. As you have known I ordered a All Metal Panzer III from them through a dealer on taobao.com. The dealer has a screen name tank_world and I use taobao's home grown chat app -- Ali Wang Wang, to contact him. I still chat with him once a while. The guy over there is polite and helpful. I got my tank promptly after about 10 days. Out of the box I found a few problems; the barrel is not straight, one suspension arm was twisted that cause the roadwheel to tilt outward, and a few roadwheels don't drop down when you lift the tank up. I compliant to tank_world and also wrote an email to Mato directly. On the chat app, tank_world responded to me immediately and promise to ship me the malfunction parts if I can fix it myself. I only got reply mail from Mato 3 days later saying they're sending technician to taobao to help solving the problem.

I decided to disassemble the tank to fix the whole lower chassis. However, I found it was a nightmare to reassemble the lower chassis as all parts don't fit into their places. I almost gave the chassis! I asked tank_world if I can send the lower chassis back and ask Mato to fix for me. He said he'll check with that. However, before he could give me any answer, I found out the key problem; the brass bushings that hold the suspension arms. First I polish the suspension arms to make it smooth and thinner so that it could move freely in the brass bushing, then I used sand paper to thin brass bushing to 2.5mm (originally 2.8mm). Problems seem to be solved, suspension arms move like a dream! There is also one small place that I need to mention is that at the connection point between suspension arm and torsion bar, there is a small plastic cap to tighten suspension arm and torsion bar. That plastic cap is easily broken, and I replace most of them with electric tape. The left and right tracks are half a link different in length, and can only be solved with track adjuster.

The further flaw of Mato tanks is workmanship. Upon disassembling and reassembling the tank, I had three over tightened screws that need replacement. Last Saturday I tried the tank offroad and when driving on sand, one of the idler suddenly split away. I found that two pieces of idler fixed together without a single screw! I reflected all my complains to tank_world and hope he will reflect my feedback to Mato so that they would improve their products and workmanship. I also mentioned to him that there tons of complains about their products on our forum.

One more thing, so far as I know my PzIII is a J variant and I found videos of PzIII in TankFest on YouTube is almost identical to my tank except two things; 1. the front turret cover of the main gun on Mato's is larger in scaled compared to the TankFest's panzer. 2. Exhaust pipe at the rear is missing on Mato's panzer.

At the bottom line, after all the headache, complains, disappointments and tiring works, my Panzer III transforms to a perfect desk queen and decent runner with all the beauty of metal and the detail of the tank. With the awful workmanship and poor quality control, Mato is not recommended for inexperienced users. To Mr. tiggr, I have a wheeled trolley case too!
Last edited by SteelBird on Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
H/L Pantiger, H/L Leopard 2A6, Mato Panzer III, Hybrid Tiger 1 and some tank wreckage
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