Some quick questions

[Jim]

I've recently been getting more into the R/C tank hobby after purchasing some tiny 1/72 R/C battle tanks off of the internet, I've been meaning to get into the bigger stuff but didn't exactly know were to start.
For one, do I purchase an infrared or BB based tank, and what brands are recommended?
I've heard a lot of talk about Tamiya tanks, but since I'm just getting into it I'm not really planning to shell out +/- €500.

The Heng Long 1/16 tiger 1 smoke and sound model seemed like a nice place to start, but there was a lot of talk about it being of low quality on the internet. I've also checked out the ''Forces of Valor 1/24 RC beam tank'' series. Which looked nice and seemed to be of higher quality, while looking at those I also came across the 1/24 VS tank series. which were also IR only. however, their transmitters looked terribly complex though.

So basicly, what kind of starter tank is recommended?

[teddyt]

you pay your money and take your choice!!
in 1/16 Tamiya is king on detail and quality out the box but at a large cost. Heng long tanks cost a fraction of Tamiya's but detail in comparison is poor
though the new Sherman is very sweet. the running gear on Heng Longs is a bit suspect for anything but indoor running, how ever up grade parts are cheap and plenty full. And most of us enjoy the build/rebuild as much as the running.

as for bb or ir most clubs run the Tamiya system so in most cases you will have to allow for that in your budget. As for BB its fun for awhile but ....gets very boring very quick lol

I would opt for a used Heng long have a play then if you want to upgrade you can or if you decided Big tanks are not for you you could sell on at little cost

[hotte8487]

Hi Jim,

your first decision should be the scale for your tanks. If you decide for 1:16 scale and your maximum costs will be only 500 €, is Tamiya not an alternative to Heng Long. If you could get a Tamiya tank for 500 € it's a good deal, but you have no more money for detailing and painting. And although a Tamiya tank is complete with control unit, you need in each case a radio remote control for a Tamiya tank and that will also a bit cost. So you can only choose between the various types of Heng Long tanks.

[Jim]

Thanks for the advice, however. I don't think there are any clubs in my area, so a model that I can easily purchase 2 or more of would be handy.
Any words on the other two brands? I never really seem to see a lot about them online.

[teddyt]

both of the others, i have not heard any bad reports about. however if you wish to join the "hobby" side of RC tanking, 1/16th is the only way to go really. with your budget of 500 you can get a pair of heng longs already to play with.
message dave (forgebear) on here he deals with tanks and is a stand up bloke.

[Jim]

Since I'm practically all by myself in here, I think I'll go with one or two cheaper tanks to try things out. and if I get into it I'll work out something.
Are there any R/C Renault FT-17s?

[MichaelC]

If you are just battling yourself then you should go with the cheaper IR ones like HL. You can always upgrade whenever you want.

[Dietrich]

Hi Jim,
Welcome to the Forum
.
Heng Long are probably the cheapest of the 1/16th scale R/C tanks...but there are the Taigen which feature more metal and better paint...and then the Torro which can come in a very nice wooden ammo box type of crate and has the most metal. The price goes up accordingly.
.
The biggest difference between these and the Tamiya, is that the Tamiya is a "tank-kit" that has to be completely assembled by you from individual parts, either screwed or glued together....
All the brands previously mentioned are 'Ready to Run' right out of the box.
.
If you like building kits then Tamiya is the best....If you don't like building them then I would look at the others or a second hand already assembled Tamiya. If you are not sure if you are going to like the hobby or not then a cheaper model might be the best to start on, rather than commit a lot of money and only then find out, that you do not like it
Alb.

[Jim]

I think I'll be going with the Forces of Valor series. They have nice transmitters (Is transmitters the term?) where each stick controls one track. How does this work with the other tanks? I've seen the VStank series transmitter, which had a ton of buttons instead of sticks.

[MichaelC]

Jim,

The Force of Valor series is quite well made, but they are expensive (but then so is Vs series) as for the same price you can get a HL beginner level tank in 1/16 scale. As to the transmitter control, when you get up to hobby grade electronics and radio (modding your HL/Taigen) you can get into programming the sticks if left right track stick is what you are interested in (i.e. Turnigy 9x with clark board etc).

All of them (Force of Valor, Vs and HL) you can IR battle each other right out of the box. I like the Force of Valor too when they also have stationary base for battle (i.e. US 57mm AT gun and the German 75mm AT Gun) and I think they have stuff blowing up when hit and lights goes on etc.