Is Hooben a dirty word?

[TankDriver]

Wondering if anyone out there has tried a Hooben tank & what you thought of them? I found a 1/16 late Tiger on clearance direct from the factory & picked it up brand new for almost nothing, and it's definitely a big step down from the usual Taigen / Heng Long / Tamiya / etc offerings

My first clue was the clearly audible repeating "gap" in the engine sound loop... every other manufacturer managed to avoid that pitfall... next was the fact that when you lower the barrel, you can see the top of the turret actually bulge out from the pressure put on it from underneath!

[Kaczor]

It's not even about the quality of the models, because the mechanics and electronics can be improved or replaced. "Avoiding Hooben like the plague" is more about their customer service. For example, orders aren't fulfilled for months or not at all.

[Rob59]

I did read about their lack of service too.
To bad a company like that, does not change their policy concerning that!
On the other hand, they make models almost nobody else make!
The Tiger-P, or the famous Elefant.
Asiatam once sold an Elefant, but it is no longer listed either. And the quality they sell, is also doubtable….
I think Hooben even sells an Opel Blitz, but I‘m not very sure about that right now.
Rob.

[Kaczor]

Yes, the Opel Blitz is available, but it costs more than the Tamiya tanks.

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning,
I have one of their Elefants in Kit form. Bought almost a decade ago, it is in my closet awaiting a Build. Purchased from RC Tanks of OKC, it has all the metal parts and electronics that came with their 'premier' Kit. I plan on building it stock and only running it lightly once complete. I would like one of their Tiger Ps as well but the issues reported by a Friend with theirs have given me pause.
regards,
Painless

Finally, an Elefant.JPG (120.31 KiB) Viewed 174 times

Just some of what it can do..JPG (118.82 KiB) Viewed 174 times

[STHV]

Yes. I have their Maus and it is one of the worst models I have ever seen, if not the worst. They lie constantly and even tried to blackmail me.

I have written about the whole saga here a few times already, if you search on this forum one of them should pop up.

Don't go anywhere near them.

[Rob59]

I have their Elefant too.
Only things I need to ad, a TK-7.1 mainboard and a speaker. Everything else was included with the kit.
Bought the model already build, just had to ad the paint.
So far I am very pleased with this Beast, looks great and is an enormous TD.
I also would like to own their Tiger-P, but way too expensive around €450 or so.

IMG_8315.jpeg (1.94 MiB) Viewed 143 times

[Timbo68]

I have the Hooben T-55, as have others here. It was a difficult but ultimately rewarding build. I bought the basic model, and used Heng Long 7.1 electrics. I don’t claim any special skills, but it does require a certain amount of experience, and good tools. I had no interaction with Hooben themselves, so can’t comment there.
It’s now a good tanks and runs well, the only iffy bit being the barrel recoil, which works - just. There’s quite a lot of advice/info available on line.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Some years ago (10? 15?) Andrew Haya sold some ready-built Hooben Elefanten. I have one and it works fine. But that was Andrew Haya's doing. I wonder if he had trouble with Hooben.

[dingobattler]

Tanks are good, as far as I can see, they have better detail than your standard brands. However, never buy direct from them, tank will take years to arrive if at all. Only buy from suppliers with stock, and where you can do chargeback. Be very aware that Twin Horse is also Hooben, so if you give them any money, expect it to disappear into a dark pit, never to be seen.

Massive shame, because the range they have is actually fantastic - Maus, MK IV, Tiger P, elefant, T55, etc.

If they were better organised, they'd actually beat out all market competitors.

I want a MK IV, but can't find it anywhere other than Hooben/Twin Horse. Their kit looks very realistic.