RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hi, I’m looking at possibly getting the Heng Long M4A3 105 and as it seems to be a very popular tank was hoping I could ask a bunch of questions and get some decent answers, as I’ve been googling and searching but some info is a bit vague.

For background, my own knowledge and experience with Heng Long is hopelessly out of date. My first RC tank was the first Heng Long Tiger 1 available in the UK back around 2007. It was in a lot of ways, terrible. No smoke, no sound, no proportional control, and a lot of glaring inaccuracies on the model. A couple of years later I started replacing it with upgraded parts, a project that was abandoned for a long period of time, picked up again in 2018, then abandoned again until late 2022, where I made up for lost time and completely renovated the tank. You can read the thread here: viewtopic.php?t=34395

I’m interested in the Sherman and while I like the metal construction of Taigen, they are expensive and from what I’ve seen the Heng Long 7.0 electronics blow the Taigens out the water. I’m aware steel gearboxes are a must and would likely be purchasing something like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322792890792 ... media=COPY

I consider myself a decent modeller and painter and would be giving the tank a detailed paintjob along with weathering.

So, apologies for the long list, but heres my barrage of questions.

• I found the metal tracks to be vastly superior on tanks like the Tiger with unsupported tracks with no return rollers, would there be a similar benefit getting the Sherman with metal tracks?
• I see all the tanks available with the full upgrade have metal tracks, idlers and sprockets, but the road wheels and suspension remain plastic. Will this be ok, or will the metal tracks damage the plastic wheels?
• Will the hull be ok with the metal running gear or will it suffer from flexing? If the latter is the case are there easily available solutions to add bracing/hull strengthening?
• I’ve found the adjustable idler wheels to be essential on my Tiger, does the Sherman come with adjustable idlers?
• If not, is it easy to add them?
• Would there actually be any benefit from adding them or is track tension less of an issue when the tracks are supported with rollers?
• I would have preferred to have a Sherman with the 76mm gun, I can see theres plenty of guns about but are there any decent commercially available accurate turrets to go with them that don’t require huge amounts of modification?
• If not, is it a relatively simple operation to replace the 105mm howitzer with the 75mm cannon?
• I know the modern HL tanks have both BB and IR capability, but does the gun have recoil like the Taigens do?
• Those that have the M4A3 – are there any glaring pitfalls that I should watch out for or are they fairly reliable and straightforward? Are you happy with the tank?

Thanks in advance for any information anyone can provide, it will be much appreciated.

1. Yes. Metal tracks improve driving properties.

2. The wheels may wear out, but not excessively. New ones are cheaply available.

3. HL hulls tend to flex, especially when the battery compartment is removed (common mod). After changing the suspension, it is worth strengthening the hull.

4. Yes they are available (from Mato). Installation is not complicated, but requires cutting and sanding.

5. Tracks tend to stretch over time, so tensioner may come in handy.

6. If you have more money you can go for Taigen (AKA Torro) which offers the M4A3(75)W and M4A3(76)W. Unfortunately, they also have no tensioner. There's also Mato, all (pot) metal.

7. Ready-made Taigen turrets are also available, but installation can be difficult (different diameter of the turret ring). Mato also offers 75mm turrets, but servo recoil and elevation may be a problem there.

8. Changing the Mato gun and mantlet itself is quite complicated.

9. No recoil In HL Sherman.

10. They are great runners. You will be happy

https://www.forgebeartanks.com/store/p1 ... inted.html
This tank from Forgebear is £377 + postage
The tank you linked to on Ebay is £260
To get an aftermarket 76mm turret and get it recoiling which isn't a function on the 7.0 will probably cost you more than the £117 difference so its a case of researching what you want and how much it would cost to get there.

The very latest HengLong electronics have some advantages over the Taigen/Torro for modern tanks and some flexibility of speed and converting. But for Sherman sound the Taigen is far better. My suggestion for the M4 would be a top of the line Taigen/Torro with smoking gun, but without the crate. It is more money up front, but many of the upgrades will not be needed.

I have both brands’ Shermans: I like repainting and adding stowage to the HengLong, but for sound and out-of-the-box quality, I take the Taigen/Torro.

If you want to IR battle with other Tamiya or HL tanks, then HL is usually the better choice. That being said, the Taigen system can be made to be compatible with the Tamiya/HL protocol with add on electronics board. I've never used it, but those that have say the range is less than the Tamiya and HL battle ranges.

Thanks everyone for the responses so far, I probably should have said in the original post that IR battling won't be a thing unfortunately. I've not got any clubs near me and literally no one else seems to be interested in RC tanks!

Main priorities are driving feel and realism.

LordLudikrous wrote: ↑Wed Nov 29, 2023 11:23 am IR battling won't be a thing unfortunately. I've not got any clubs near me and literally no one else seems to be interested in RC tanks!

Unfortunately I'm in the same boat. Where I am located the local shops and groups are all about buggies, speed & jumps. There aren't even any crawler guys to convert.

LordLudikrous wrote: ↑Wed Nov 29, 2023 11:23 am Main priorities are driving feel and realism.

Well you've got the right group to help you here. But the Sherman to me at least is even a bigger can of worms to open than the Tiger what with all it's myriad of variants and differences.

LordLudikrous and MrChef: yep, no clubs around here, too. Yesterday one of the Tuesday modelers (Make Modeling Mediocre Again) asked me, "Why are you tearing up a $300 tank and buying metal wheels!? You just run 'em across the basement floor."
I say, "Because it's there."