How much?

[JTS]

HI All


        I'm always asking questions and the good folk of this forum are always willing to give answers.

I have been building my HL Tiger for about 2 months now and have replaced all hatches, copula, headlamps, hull machine gun, gears, sprockets, idlers, RX18 board(had to I blew it!), tracks, turret vent, track repair cable hooks, mud flaps and smoke launchers.

I have also extended the barrel and got the s mine launchers.

I initally paid £49 for my Tiger and I estimate I must be close to £200 on "bits" so far and estimate paying about another £200 to get it up to painting stage.

My question is how much on average does your "professional/hobbyist" modeller spend on doing up their Heng Long Tiger?

Some of the Tigers shown in the forum are no longer models and should really be classed as art forms!

May I take this moment to thank all of you who have been so willing to help and free with your advice


                                                                                                                                      Jim

[BeeKay]

Hi Jim, I think it is all down to personal preference as to what you want to get out of your tank. For example if you want to use it to "battle" you will have to spend substantially more to beef your model up and add battle system etc than someone who just wants it to look reasonably authentic. If you go the HL route, at least you can pay as you go and do all of the inexpensive cosmetic things to make it look good for next to nothing. If you then want to grow into the battling side of the hobby and make all the hatches etc open then the list can get endless but you needn't do it all at once. All I have added to my HL Tiger 1 was the barrel extension & rear deck grills (around £14), done most of the corrections (costing £0) and a decent paint and weathering job (paint £5, Oils, chalks etc old stock - always on hand) I think you can do everything with the HL that the Tamiya Tiger does except for the sound. You can get close but you do end up spending almost as much in the end if you add every possible aftermarket item available. I have been asked on many occasions at shows - recently at the Scottish Nationals in Perth where I had my Tiger along with Tony's (Oz) Tiger & Panzer III whether the tanks were Tamiya. There were some possitive reactions and wry smiles when I sai dthey were HL and cost a fraction of the price of a Tamiya kit to look just as good.

Because I don't battle but I do run my models, my first priority is they look good and not what is under the "bonnet" which I think some people can get lost in. Having said that, some people may not be bothered what they look like as long as they run and perforn reliably. That is their perogative and is that very diversity in our brilliant hobby that dictates "nobody does it the correct way - everybody does as long as it is right for them".

Please continue to enjoy this fabulous forum Jim, it is a mine of information and tips and long may iy reign as the best in the hobby in my book.

All the best - Brian 

[oz]

me personally i start with the outside first, correcting parts adding and refining the detail thats missing and then getting a paint job i,m happy with then i start with the insides, just like beekay i don't battle so the cost is a lot cheaper than if i did, i do a few commission's now and then and that basically pays for what i want or need concerning my RC modeling, also the guys at our club are always willing to help out if something gets broke or you need a part that you cant get or afford and this works well for all of us.
my heng long tiger 1 ( S33 ) cost me about £60 and thats for the tank, metal tools, grills, tow cables, headlights, sprockets, idlers, tracks, RX18, suspension arms, track tensioner, and support strip, but like any other hobby you can go as far with it as you like or in my case as far as my wife will allow me.
as beekay said you can get a H/L tank looking just as good as a tamiya tank at quarter the price and still have people asking what make it is and when you tell them its H/L the look on their faces is worth the effort............cheers oz.

[[ICE]monkey]

i spend as much as i can get away with, if you know what i mean,

[axiscommander]

i spend little and often and hope'her indoors' doesn't notice too much

[Mackem]

I think it might depend on the tank. On the Tiger 1 & PzIV you can spend a fortune on aftermarket upgrades to add extra detail. On the PzIII, StugIII, Bulldog & Pershing nearly all of the detailing can be done with stuff most model makers already have in thier 'scrap' box and the money saved invested on the running gear.

My PzIV has metal boxes, suspension, tracks, sprockets & idlers. All the hatches are metal ( 6 of them ), replacement metal headlights, metal tools ( thanks Oz ), metal tow ropes, the fenders are hinged, I even replaced the bolts in the turret roof with countersunk brass ones. Oh, nearly forgot the replacement rommelkist and the higher rated battery!

In contrast my current PzIII project hasn't cost a penny more than the £35.00 purchase price. The schurzen are made from styrene sheet and bits I've had for ages, and the L60 gun was made from some brass tube I found in my ever growing 'scrap' box.

Yet, in my opinion, the PzIII looks every bit as good as the PzIV, and certainly runs just as well.

John

[971wright]

Hi Guys The amount you have to spend depends on wether its going to BB or I.R. or just sit on a shelf as a model .If you intend to battle with your tank wether BB or I.R. You have to spend money on the gearboxes and tracks both need to metal also have to beef up the suspension with metal arms wheels and fit tensioners Battle unit to buy If you intend to do I.R. battle or if your staying with BB you might want to go to creepingdeath upgrade .These battle upgrades cost about the same .Then you have all the details to add these are needed for all the tanks .So for about half the price of a full option tamiya with a battle unit you can have a good tank so its a case of buy one get one free and have twice the fun of building (stripping down and modifing and rebuilding)and painting the tanks .If you just want a shelf model its posible to get 3 or 4 for the same price (if you sell the insides of them ).

regards pete

[tiger205]

hehehe, I got to laugh at some of your comments.


With Tony's 205 we did a round up of all we had spent on it, including initial cost, late last year and the cost came to
£1200 -/+. This year he had also bought the metal hull and a couple of other bits too so you can safely say we have spent about £1300 on her. Tony was a stickler for detail  ::)


Alison

[STEINER]

What I have spent on my late HL Tiger/build is frightening. I could have bought any full option Tamiya Tank.

If I could turn back the clock, thats exactly what I would have done. 

[FireflyKeith]

I know what your saying Alison my Sherman owes me about £1000 since i got it new,especially if i add up all them parts i buy, fit and then take back off for something better ::) ::)

Keith