Cost of tanking

[trackpin]

Hi guys,been browsing eBay lately and noticed the prices of tamiya tanks,I know tamiya is the holy grail of our hobby ,but is the high cost justified. I'm building a heng long king tiger with metal everything and it cost less than half the tamiya.(a tamiya leopard is listed at £875.) Having seen the quality of the projects you guys do ,is it worth the extra,or is it a case of, well mine's a tamiya.Don't get me wrong,if I could afford a tamiya I'd still have to justify the cost,(and the wrath of the missus).I suppose the ultimate goal is to buy the best,whatever the cost. Like to hear any comments or thoughts,regards

[jarndice]

Trust me a lot of us spend pretty much Tamiya money on a build, The difference is that it is piecemeal rather than up front for a Tamiya Kit.
I feel sure that if it were possible to buy a Tamiya Tank in the same way as we upgrade a Heng Long or Taigen Tank the queue would be very long indeed.
Shaun.

[Ecam]

I like to build versions of the Sherman. I can usually get Heng Long's for about $100 usd. I did recently buy a Tamiya Sherman (released in 1974) to get the HVSS suspension for an up coming M4A3E8 build. This kit from Tamiya is not as accurate as some of their other kits and it cost about five times what the HL does.

I am a cheap skate, and would rather start with less expensive kits. I have two other Tamiyas, that were swindled from my brother (Sassgrunt). I will continue to buy and build the cheaper kits, unless I can manage to cheat Mike again.

[Rad_Schuhart]

Lol, you opened the can of worms. Pain will come to this thread.

My opinion as a builder and owner of a pair of Tamiya tanks is they are far to worth the money... But taigen is rising and rising their prices and the price difference is getting smaller.

Just my opinion.

[jackalope]

I won't buy a Tamiya, too expensive and too fragile. I beat on my tanks pretty hard, I've dented the metal lower hull of my King Tiger more times then I can count! My tanks are ALL as much metal as I can get, I favor them being able to run like a tank then be a shelf queen.
That said I do appreciate the level of detail and the work our members put into a Tamiya but they just aren't for me, I'll break them in half!

[PainlessWolf]

Good morning,
your request for information is not unreasonable. It is not the first time this sort of question has come up.

A. Yes, Tamiya kits are worth the price asked. The engineering that goes into them is impeccable and they are fabulous vehicles once completed.
B. No, If you are looking for a tank with a lot of metal options, your money is best spent upgrading a Taigen or Torro as while metal add-ons for the Tamiya can be found, they are generally a bit pricier and add to an already expensive kit.

There is no wrong answer to this question, it all depends on what kind of Tank\AFV you are looking to build and how much you want to spend on it. Entirely left up to the individual Builder. Here are two examples. One is a Tamiya early Tiger 1 static kit converted to RC using a lot of aftermarket metal addons. The second tank is a Taigen\HobbyBoss\Tamiya kit with tons of metal addons. They both run spectacularly well. The costs for both of the builds worked out pretty much evenly.
regards,
Painless

[43rdRecceReg]

You have to build a Tamiya tank, and it can take quite a while to do it, especially when you include painting and weathering. But building one is a major part of the fun in having one. You can build, or rebuild, a Taigen, Mato or HL model too, but overall it's really not the same semi-scratch build process that a Tamiya requires. That said, members here have spent years embellishing and upgrading their non-Tamiya mounts with third party refinements, or morphing them into other models....many here of Museum quality. Tamiya parts generally look well made, and fit together with a precision feel that can often be lacking in rival brands. Generally, Tamiya tanks are well researched for details and dimensions, and though some (Sherman M4) could be more accurate, they set a standard that others often imitate, but fail to equal....
Tamiya tanks certainly hold their value. Only yesterday I saw a used Tamiya Gepard 1/16 full-option (now rare) on Ebay.co.uk. for £650... They have an undeniable 'cachet' of collectability
that other models currently lack. Other brands are catching up slowly though....
Features-wise, the latest offerings from rivals in the hobby boast: smoke effects, 360 deg turret rotation (via slip rings), headlights (plus rear lights too sometimes), airsoft BBs and many more metal parts. Tamiya haven't moved with the times, perhaps..but some appreciate the tradition they've maintained of well made models.
Here's an old digest of features on Tamiya tanks. Newer models (Super Sherman, JagdPanzer V70, JS-2 and Abrams..etc) are not listed, but it gives you an idea of what's on offer by comparison:

Tamiya full-option Tank features

Tamiya tank features.jpg (69.51 KiB) Viewed 2313 times

It should be noted that Tamiya tank Turrets don't have slip rings, and that therefore 360 rotation is not really a claimed feature. In the sound effect department though, bog standard rival models can't compete with them for engine sounds, though a Taigen/ Hl with an Elmod, Asp, or similar bespoke MFU on board can sound more authentic.

[trackpin]

Thanks for all the comments guys,i can understand and appreciate the different views.I must admit I am very fond of tamiya kits,I've been building them for more years than I care to remember,and I agree that tamiya were slow to move on,you've only gotta look at dragon,trumpeter and others to see the quality is there.I for the time being will stick with heng long, not just because of the price but because I like the challenge.Most of us will pull a new tank apart and rebuild it to our own spec,and most I've seen on this forum really do make me strive for a better finish,the ideas some builders have is awesome. Regards

[Raminator]

The biggest problem I have with Tamiya models is that I'd be afraid to modify them, given the price point. It's all well and good if you want to make the particular tank the kit offers, but I wouldn't hack apart a >$1000 tank to build an SU-152 or Nashorn.

[jarndice]

And that is the reason why I buy the cheapest Heng Long Tank available,
I am after the Silhouette not the many failings of Heng Longs design shop.
Its a bit like a tailors dummy I need a skeleton to pin the "Tank" To, and as it takes form so the Tailors dummy is removed. And as you say "Raminator" I couldn't afford to do that with a Tamiya.
Shaun.