Pcomm1 wrote:
Perhaps, I should amend the statement to read: any rc tank, HL RTR and or a Tamiya Kit built tank will require a certain amount of maintenance to be able to fully enjoy the hobby, so it is best to know how to repair it to keep it running.
Ok, now we are getting somewhere
:-* My problem with your original statement is that it suggests than HL's are fragile and require a constant stream of spares, without making any reference to how you have treated them, or what you have had to replace and what you replaced the parts with. If you would make this information available, then the person reading this can decide if they are going to use their tank in the same way, and then make an informed decision as to whether they want or need to buy upgrade parts to overcome those problems.
Similarly the guys who recommend a Tamiya because they spent the equivalent amount of cash on a HL and still ended up with something that they were disappointed with, need explain what they spent all that money on, and what they were hoping to achieve when they set out. Without this information, how can somebody else decide if they need or want to spend that amount of money as well??
For those of us who battle, yes a full option Tamiya tank is nice to have, but you don't have to spend that amount of money to get involved with a club. My favourite battle tank cost me $350, it wouldn't it last 5 mins in the hands of somebody who battles at Danville, BUT at its last outing it battled for 3 hours straight in the hands of a friend without anything falling off. To say that it is "not as good as a Tamiya" is missing the point -
it did not need to be in order for George to enjoy driving it and make the decision to join the club and spend the extra $$ to fit his own tank out as a battler...
And it is
"and other bits. Is there any bits for the Heng Long Tiger which are really worth getting?" those bits are what makes the HL expensive to modify, and gentlemen, that was the point Mat was addressing, as was I.
Well ok, what are these "expensive upgrades" then...
My list of 'really worth getting' upgrades would begin and end with a set of 3:1 steel gearboxes from RCCommand - at $110 delivered to the UK they cost a lot less than a Tamiya tank, and retify the most serious deficiencies of the factory HL - the transmissions >:(
The asiatam hull is nice, but in my opinion not "really worth" getting if you have the newer HL Tiger chassis with the reinforced suspension mounts.
Impact tracks are far superior to both the HL and Tamiya ones, but listing them as really worth it at 150 quid is a bit of a reach if you are on a budget. If you decide that you must have metal tracks then they are only 60 or 70 pounds more than the Heng Long ones and they are worthwhile in that case - I have the set for the Panzer III, and I have not had any problems with lose track pins (a common flaw in HL Tiger tracks, at least in my experience) or broken links (again a common complain with the Plastic sets).
Gun Recoil mechanisms, fancy sound systems, IR battle units, and all those other whistles and bells that we tend to add to our tanks
may not be "really worth it" to people like Sarah, and thats what this tirade is about. I'm not looking to start up the tried old Heng Long vs Tamiya debate, this is about listening to peoples questions and offering impartial advice based on their needs and budget - and not just offering unqualified statements based on how
you would want to spend their money.
