After the initial excitement of buying the Taigen Leopard 2a6 V3, I got a bit frustrated by a few things that were not so good. I do want to upgrade it with several Clark items and that will fix some of the shortcomings. What is unclear yet though, is whether the Clark recoil kit will fit the Taigen IR version gun. Strangely enough, the barrel of this tank does not fully retract as part of the recoil The smoke extractor remains stationary, while the front end of the barrel moves. Not sure if we can fix that with the Clark kit. But I'm in contact with Maxmekker about that.
Anyway, as I said I got a bit frustrated. Up to the point that I thought I would go back to modelling 1:35 tanks (ok, I do have a almost untouched Trumpeter 1:16 King Tiger waiting but that's not RC). But while working on the Taigen it slowly grew on me. I just wanted to understand the thing, see how it works and what could be improved. In fact, I wanted to know what the Taigen offered extra when compared to the Heng Long. And vice versa. Just before the Holidays I had spotted a good as new HL 3889 MS (v6.0S) and it was still for sale. So I convinced the wife I needed it (.....). And today I bought it.
So long story short, here's my initial compare:
They are definitely not the same tanks. Though many parts are presumably from the same molds, overall there are a lot of differences.
Taigen pro's when compared:
- Very good and strong metal lower hull and upper turret
Tracks and wheels full metal and also very strong
360 turret rotation (though to be handled with some care)
Paint work is much better. Less toy like when compared to the HL
Suspension is very sturdy. Much better damping and rebound. Less prone to parts breaking off
Due to the overall weight the tanks moves less like a toy tank. Some may argue that it is too heavy or underpowered (sounds like the real thing...) but it drives more stable
- Outdated electronics (Taigen v3 vs HL v6.0S)
Very noisy turret and gun rotation (mechanical noise from rotation motors)
Gun only goes up or down fully (cyclic)
Smoke machinery is really bad.
Sound is bad, it is overpowered by the noise of the electro motors
- Turret and gun movement is very smooth and less noisy
Gun moves up and down as desired
Sound is much better
Smoke is much better
V6.0S is way more advanced
- Suspension is very soft and flimsy
Road wheels, hull and turret made out of plastic
No 360 turret rotation.
Idler and sprocket wheels are bare metal out of the box (of course, one can fix this)
BB gun (really not for me....)
Paint is not very well done. The green plastic is just the bare green plastic, whereas the Taigen is fully painted
Overall driving, handling and feeling is more toy-like
Oh how I would like the Taigen to be updated with better electronics and sound. Than it would be my preferred one. But there's a big price difference between them. In the end it is all about how much you can/are willing to spend on a RC tank.
Let's see how far the Clark updates will improve either one of them.