RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

The Leopard cropped up earlier this month in a thread. However, I was wondering whether the Heng Long 2A6, but now equipped with the respected V 6.0 electronic heart, might be better value than the Taigen V3 equipped models?
Here's the Taigen: ...and here we have a demo of the HL model (V6) in UN garb:

Since there are several equipment levels, and concomitant prices for Taigen versions, ranging up to £500 for the model that includes the wooden tank sarcophagus, and the HL model should be between £150-£200 ( a Shade over 200 Euros on rctank.de), wouldn't the Hl offering seem like a bargain?
Other questions come to mind here:
1. pros and cons of HL v 6.0 vs. Taigen V3 electronic controllers. Which set will give best results overall, and why?
2. Accessories provided. Who provides the best package, or are they the same?
3. Are the shells produced in identical moulds? If so, it might be more fun, and cheaper, to customise the HL than buy a fully enhanced Taigen? Even though the Taigen is decked out superbly?
4. Does the metal hull for the Tiagen fit the Heng Long upper with the same ease, and without mods?

Somebody is selling the HL Leopard 2A6 on Ebay for only £134, and it's advertised as 'V6.0. But, I wonder if it is, since none of the pics indicate the version, and this bit of text looks a bit suspect:
"...
Heng Long Leopard 2A6 RC Tank LATEST VERSION 6 - infrared - bb firing, dual sounds
Real Smoke


This Leopard 2A6 RC Airsoft Tank was one of the best modern tanks of its kind. Whether you are recreating a WWII scene or simply want to own one of the best airsoft tanks around, the Leopard tank will meet your requirements.

This superb radio controlled model benefits from some fantastic features. Take its firing capacity for example, it can fire plastic bb's at a fast rate and even has its own sound effects. The bb pellets can be fired at a range of up to 80 feet, now that is some serious distance. Everything from the tanks engine to the cannonball sound can be re-created from this Bulldog RC Airsoft Tank.

Prepare to battle with the Leopard RC Airsoft Tank. ...."

Especially the line about the Bulldog tank.
If this were the real deal, I would snap one up in an instant

This poor quality description is typical of many EBay HengLong seller's standards (not all but many) but if you have a query you can always ask. There are many trim levels on both HengLong and Taigen models now, some of the HL latest high spec option models coming direct from China.

In summary l would say the v6 functionality has given HL a slight MFU edge but the actual build quality of the Taigen is better. My last HL, a v6 Tiger, needed a lot of flash trimming off with resulting repainting but all the tools were separate and still on their frames. Try, or at least look at, before you buy!

General Jumbo01 wrote:This poor quality description is typical of many EBay HengLong seller's standards (not all but many) but if you have a query you can always ask. There are many trim levels on both HengLong and Taigen models now, some of the HL latest high spec option models coming direct from China.

In summary l would say the v6 functionality has given HL a slight MFU edge but the actual build quality of the Taigen is better. My last HL, a v6 Tiger, needed a lot of flash trimming off with resulting repainting but all the tools were separate and still on their frames. Try, or at least look at, before you buy!

Like you, I think that the V6.0 package has the edge over Taigen's V3. Using one's own TX with the Taigen system is a key option feature of their upgrade, as well as the optional sound modules. Some will find that these features top those in HL's unit, but I think the future-proofing upgrades to the V6.0 (smoking gun and more) make it slightly more attractive.

Here another HL shock, for me anyway. I have a brace of T-34s, two of them HL, and since one is becoming a SU-100 l decided to get another to battle the new V6 Tiger. Rather than buy direct from China l found one at Andrews (Haya) both cheaper and faster delivery! It has metal track, wheels and steel gearbox but the metal wheels and suspension arms came unpainted so today l stripped it down.

The unexpected surprise is that they are using new hull moulds. The drivers hatch opens so l placed the on/off switch behind it. The front idler now sits on a pair of ball race bearings which sit in a cast concentric hub with multiple positions and its own fixings for track tension. The road wheel suspension has been much tidied up. There are many other nice improvements so HL are not sitting on their behinds!

If weight is a consideration I will add that my Taigen Leopard metal edition is a bit over 17 pounds out of the box. The entire turret roof is metal and heavy. Fortunately the hull plastic seems very thick and I’ve had no worries about flexing issues at all. The lower hull is a very heavy, hefty one piece of metal with top notch suspension. That really conveys feel of a heavy German tank.
I will share this thought; I don’t consider the electronics when choosing my tanks anymore. I always replace factory mfu’s with boards that provide more satisfying performance and sound. I strive for the tank that offers more modifications or correct out of the box details. Of course I realize that we all have different ideas about what is most rewarding.

General Jumbo01 wrote:Here another HL shock, for me anyway. I have a brace of T-34s, two of them HL, and since one is becoming a SU-100 l decided to get another to battle the new V6 Tiger. Rather than buy direct from China l found one at Andrews (Haya) both cheaper and faster delivery! It has metal track, wheels and steel gearbox but the metal wheels and suspension arms came unpainted so today l stripped it down.

The unexpected surprise is that they are using new hull moulds. The drivers hatch opens so l placed the on/off switch behind it. The front idler now sits on a pair of ball race bearings which sit in a cast concentric hub with multiple positions and its own fixings for track tension. The road wheel suspension has been much tidied up. There are many other nice improvements so HL are not sitting on their behinds!

Yes, HL seems to be upping its game across the board. The T-34 improvements discovered in your brace of scrappers (given that one was to be an intended donor, and 'tother as a cage fighter) must have been a pleasant eye-opener.
Looking at Andrew's site, I saw that there's a 360 deg turret wiring kit that only works with V6.0 electronics. Did the donor Tiger 1 you bought have the 360 unit in it? They're not cheap, and so if you add the MFU and other bits to the 360, you must have paid next to nothing for the tank.
I see he's offering a Chieftain with a decent spec; but it won't have a V6.0 controller inside it, I guess. In fact, it seems to have its own custom controller (well, TX/ anyway)

The Tiger was found on eBay for just £88, next day free courier, cheaper than all the v5.3! The T-34 was from Andrew, a 'pro' model but neither had 360. Given the completely different hulls and pre installed battle system components, I'm not convinced that buying a v6 mfu or even a cheap model tank as a donor would be an economic way forward. Simple upgrades like metal this and that isn't a problem but barrel fittings etc may be bespoke. Early days. We need to move to China!

For quick reference, I thought I'd post the advertised features of the two major control systems.
The Taigen V3 setup offers the following (text pasted from the actual webpage):-
"...Ability to use the stock Taigen transmitter or your own transmitter (6ch PWM) right out of the box with no mods! (PWM Wiring not included, please see part TAG120608 if you wish to use your own transmitter for the cable set!)
-New sound system! New modular sounds via sound cards will now be the standard. Swapping sounds will now be super simple and requires no setup or configuration.
-Proportional smoke control! Compatible with all V1 and V2 smokers from Taigen, just plug and play.
-Better motor control! Now proportional turret control and better main motor resolution.
-New ability to turn on or off track recoil via a switch on the motherboard! This feature is available on the V3 only.
-The new system is plug and play with all previous Taigen Tanks and can be installed by just swapping cables with the previous version and rebinding your transmitter..."
Another useful bit of info I've gleaned is that the V2 Transmitter, which comes with the V3 kit has these features:

"...This is the new V2 transmitter from Taigen Tanks. This transmitter is best matched with our new V2 and V3 motherboards but are also fully compatible with the V1 systems.

A new push button has been added to the top left of the transmitter that now is the machine gun. This makes the machine gun much easier to operate and with the higher quality sounds much more enjoyable.
The old machine gun toggle switch is now the smoke unit on/off toggle. The smoke units are now proportional and will have and idle to them and will rev up while you are applying throttle. This will enable or disable the smoke unit feature.
All other functions have stayed the same on the transmitter except for these small quality of life improvements..." There doesn't appear to be a dedicated V3 Transmitter, as such.
The separate sound card module offers the following sounds:
"...There are multiple sound packages available that fit a few of our tanks with more coming, right now you can choose from these options:

12 Cylinder Maybach 120 TRM Gas Engine - Panzer III, Panzer IV, and Sturmgeschutz III
12 Cylinder V-2 Diesel - JS-2, T-34, KV-1, and KV-2
V12 Twin Turbo Diesel - Leopard 2A6..."
The Heng Long V6.0 package offers these starter features (text pasted from Andrew Haya's site):
"...
Heng Long 2019 Latest 2.4G system.

Main features :
"....
1. supporting BB shooting and Infra Battle system same time ( Tamiya compatible ).
2. lights control On/Off.
3. track recoil effects on 3 levels from min to max.
4. more accurate driving control.
5. built-in 4 different sounds to choose ( Tiger One, Leopard2A6, T90 & Abrams )..."
There are options for W-Fi and Cameras as well, of course. Lately, we've also seen a potential smoking barrel upgrade option.
https://www.hayaltd.co.uk/heng_long_24G ... 80723.aspx

!'ll edit this post with extra details, as they emerge. Hope they'll serve as a quick comparison for potential buyers.

The down side to the Taigen V2/3 is it will not work with a TARR Smoker.
While the main gun reload and the turret rotation motor operation as well as engine start up sounds are pretty good the ASP2 and the IBU2 Pro knock the Taigen mfu out of the ring,
Its only saving grace being its price.
The ASP2 is very slightly larger and not presently available (I wish I had bought a box full while they were still in production) but infinitely better,
The IBU2 is not really a practicable board for a Panzer 4 but it is ideal for a Tiger1 and I love how it can be programmed to suit my individual wishes.

jarndice wrote:The down side to the Taigen V2/3 is it will not work with a TARR Smoker.
While the main gun reload and the turret rotation motor operation as well as engine start up sounds are pretty good the ASP2 and the IBU2 Pro knock the Taigen mfu out of the ring,
Its only saving grace being its price.
The ASP2 is very slightly larger and not presently available (I wish I had bought a box full while they were still in production) but infinitely better,
The IBU2 is not really a practicable board for a Panzer 4 but it is ideal for a Tiger1 and I love how it can be programmed to suit my individual wishes.

For those with no particular interest in (or perhaps aptitude) for tweaking 3rd party boards, I think that both the V3 and V6.0 boards offer RTR fans the opportunity to get up and clanking with the minimum fuss.
What's more, they can now switch their tanks on without finding identical sound effects in all of them.
Like you, Shaun, I was interested in the ASP- especially after Gary enthused about them so persuasively. Thing is, though, every time I decided it was time to try one out, I'd find that they were unobtainable. This appears to be their default status.
The Clark TK 60 fits quite well inside the Pz IV, I think. It certainly fits in my Cromwell quite well. It's certainly worth considering .