Picked up a Tamy' KT off ebay.

[Woz]

Won this last night for £262 and picked it up today -

It doesn't have the battle system fitted but does have metal tracks/sprockets.

For as long as I can remember I've always wanted a Tam KT but after playing with this for a while I've got to say I was expecting better.

I have the old Matorro and Heng Long versions but this doesn't seem to be worth the extra expense. Sure the suspension and the way it moves is better then both Matorro and HL, the level of detail is better (it is a model not a toy), the electronics/sound is way better (though HL have made huge improvements recently). The proportional speed I like but I don't like the controls, maybe that's because I'm so used to one stick for the turret and one for movement and buttons for firing.

It's sitting on the desk next to me and I'm thinking of the things that need changing -
The stick on zimmerite is bloody awful.
The hull over the tracks needs extending as there's a gap between the sides.
And the biggest gripe is the turret. The traverse is noisy as hell and elevation is way too flimsy.
The recoil is bad but at least the tanks deosn't jump back.

I'm not saying it's a bad tank and I think I got a bargain, but for a tank that costs over £500 new I was expecting to be blown away.

Maybe it's because I've been in the hobby long enough the remember the HL vs Tam wars that used to break out on the forums and owning a Tam was just a dream.

[tomhugill]

That one had me very tempted! The Tamiya kt is probably the weakest of the Tamiya line up from a detail and engineering point of view, but they do come up cheaply (as seen here!).

[Woz]

That one had me very tempted! The Tamiya kt is probably the weakest of the Tamiya line up from a detail and engineering point of view, but they do come up cheaply (as seen here!).

I just remember when I first started you only had four Tamiya's to choose from Pershing, Tiger 1, King Tiger and the Lepoard 2A6 (which was the holy grail). There was a lot of beef between some HL and Tam users. I didn't have any Tams to compare my HL's to so I couldn't say. But now I have three Tams (two off you), my M4 I took apart so haven't run yet, the IS-2 hasn't run yet so this is the first one I've managed to run properly and I just felt a bit underwhelmed.

And I've just spotted the mud guards are screwed on.

[Spartan tracks]

I saw that to , There,s a few Tammy KT,s on there at the mo, I just like my Torros lol

[971wright]

Hi Woz You can setup a Tamiya so the controls are almost the same as ,heng long, drive and steer on right turret on left ,you can even set the guns to fire at full stick without moving trims .First is set the channels on the radio/receiver so the right stick controls tank left controls turret then when programing the dmd do not move the stick on left full range (move it about 75%) this will make the guns fire at full movment.

regards pete

[Ad Lav]

If you are used to hl driving style it won’t feel right, same as I don’t like HL driving style due to owning only Tamiya.

Tom is right though, the KT is the least detailed and needs some upgrades.

[Woz]

Something's get beefed up,i might have bid if seen.Compare hl to Tamiya,tamiya on top I would have thought.
Looks still a bargain.yes henglong produce tanks at low prices so may contribute in a larger collection.
But to spend around £400 on one kit, would be down to what's my favorite tank.??

£400 on a good tank isn't bad. I'll happily buy a HL then spend a few hundred £ making it better. So for under £300 this is a great tank but if I were to pay £500+ on a tank I wouldn't expect to have to spend any more on it.
The Torro's look great but I'm not a fan of metal turrets / upper hulls.
I think buying a HL upper, torro bottom and one of the aftermarket electronic sets is the way to go.

Hi Woz You can setup a Tamiya so the controls are almost the same as ,heng long, drive and steer on right turret on left ,you can even set the guns to fire at full stick without moving trims .First is set the channels on the radio/receiver so the right stick controls tank left controls turret then when programing the dmd do not move the stick on left full range (move it about 75%) this will make the guns fire at full movment.

regards pete

Thanks.

[tomhugill]

Something's get beefed up,i might have bid if seen.Compare hl to Tamiya,tamiya on top I would have thought.
Looks still a bargain.yes henglong produce tanks at low prices so may contribute in a larger collection.
But to spend around £400 on one kit, would be down to what's my favorite tank.??

£400 on a good tank isn't bad. I'll happily buy a HL then spend a few hundred £ making it better. So for under £300 this is a great tank but if I were to pay £500+ on a tank I wouldn't expect to have to spend any more on it.
The Torro's look great but I'm not a fan of metal turrets / upper hulls.
I think buying a HL upper, torro bottom and one of the aftermarket electronic sets is the way to go.

Hi Woz You can setup a Tamiya so the controls are almost the same as ,heng long, drive and steer on right turret on left ,you can even set the guns to fire at full stick without moving trims .First is set the channels on the radio/receiver so the right stick controls tank left controls turret then when programing the dmd do not move the stick on left full range (move it about 75%) this will make the guns fire at full movment.

regards pete

Thanks.

It's a tricky one, the stock toros £500 odd! However they're very nice, and mechanically superb. I would defiantly recommend the toro metal lower and running gear.

[HERMAN BIX]

I also got me first Tamiya in the shape of a KT.
Its crude but effective, an H/L is crude and adequate, a Torro or Taigen in my opinion are better.
Better detail, but lacking in electronics..................thats it.
So, for me ?

A Taigen (pick one) with minimum Tamiya electronics and its ahead...............hell, Tam dont make a late Tiger 1 after all these years

All said & done, the tank you have/make/produce & end up with is the most important.................what it begins as ?................mere detail.

I am confident that this one will be an award winner in your hands Mr Woz.

(Mudguards held on with dirty great screws & bolts ) is that seriously the best they could come up with, and have not improved on for decades
I tore mine off minute-1

[Raminator]

the electronics/sound is way better

Are they, though? While I'll admit that I've never heard a Tamiya tank in the flesh, they sound overly synthetic in all of the videos I've seen; very short audio loops with aggressive pitch-shifting. Maybe they have some kind of je ne sais quoi in real life but the Benedini, Elmod and newer-generation Clark boards all sound far superior to me. I don't understand how the Tamiya electronics command such exorbitant prices when they don't sound as good, don't control as well and don't offer as many features as aftermarket boards (or even the current crop of H/L and Taigen offerings).