Mato's metal King Tiger lower hull

[SteelBird]

It has been rumored since years ago that Mato is going making an all metal King Tiger; however, I didn't see anything even on its official website. Until today but I'm no longer in the business, all my tanks sit as shelf queens.

[jarndice]

I realise this thread is about the Mato KING TIGER but Mato Metal Parts all suffer the same downsides whether they be a King Tiger metal hull/body or a rear plate for a Tiger1 and that is that they are almost never compatible with Heng Long or Taigen models of the same marque,
Using Heng Long parts on Taigen Tanks and vice a versa is the norm and rarely gives trouble with the noted exception of sprockets
Mato Armour is ostensibly 1/16 but expecting Mato parts to match up to Heng Long/Taigen parts is going to disappoint you.
They are Short where the Heng Long/Taigen is long and long where the Heng Long/Taigen is short and the mounting points will be different and what do I say about the metal they use,
Perhaps out of kindness I should say nothing AND Yet because I use Taigen metal Hulls under my Heng Long Tiger 1 Plastic bodys and turrets I find myself having to dispense with the Taigen PLASTIC Rear Plate that comes with the metal hull because the tabs that hold the plastic rear panel to the metal hull are far too weak so I now use the MATO Metal Rear Plate in its stead,
(Why do Taigen use a plastic rear panel instead of metal when they advertise Complete Tiger1 metal hulls?)
Be warned as I already mentioned it is too short and the mounting points do not line up but it is sturdy and with not too much work it can be modified to fit,
I have so far altered 3 Tiger 1 Mato metal rear plates after the failure of the Plastic Taigen versions mounting tabs,
Unfortunately the Mato rear plate includes a screwed on metal exhaust system and metal track tool box both of which I replace with something better (Aber Photo Etch)
So you have to spend a lot more for a lot of what you probably will not use but if you prefer your tank to not fall apart at the first bump in the road then thats the way to go.
As an alternative to wasteing stuff you could always buy a plain ready to install Metal Tiger 1 rear plate from Chris at Ludwigs but I have not used their plate and I know nothing about its fit or fittings in relation to a Heng Long/Taigen Tiger1.

[SteelBird]

I complain a lot about Mato's products as well. I bought a Mato's all metal Panzer III and it is a complete disappointment. Later on, I decided to buy another Mato's all metal Tiger I lower hull to fit with Heng Long's plastic upper hull. I matched the two hulls according to dealer's instruction and they matched perfectly (need to do some cutting). However, the mix-blood Tiger I didn't make me happy too long; to make things short, the tracks fall off when running off-road. I observed it I think I found the reasons. It was all about the rear idler wheels. There are two ball bearings on each idler's axis but they place them too close to each others they do not have enough strength to hold the idler wheel in place. Thus, the idler wheels start to wobble after running for some time. When the tank makes a turn, especially in rough terrain, all stresses are on the driving sprockets and idler wheels but the sprockets' axis are very strong that the idler wheels suffer all. When it start to wobble means that it can no longer stay in straight line with other wheels thus the track fall off. On smooth terrain, there's no problem.

[Kaczor]

On my friends KT new lower hull, sprocket wheel was too small! Track didn't fit.

[Estnische]

It was the same with the Sherman. The Mato metal running gear is not compatible with the heng Long chassis. But at the price I could get it, I made it work.

[B_Man]

I used a Mato metal hull for my Jumbo and it matched well with the Nick Aguilar upper I used which is designed for a Tamiya hull. I like their tracks too but some of their models look a bit wrong in places and being metal would be hard to make right.