Are Tamiya or Torro RC tanks better than Heng Long?

[michaelwhittmann]

I realize better is nebulous word.

I'm talking cost to value, quality, electronics, etc

I'm finding that upgrading the fixes on Heng Long costs.

So is someone better off with Torro/ Tamiya?

[jarndice]

There was a time when Heng Long owned Taigen/Torro and they did a Chevrolet to Cadillac job with the brands but Taigen went it's own way leaving Heng Long as the base, Then Taigen/Torro with Tamiya king of the castle,
Times change, Tamiyas old man the originator of the RC Tank Range went and died and Tamiyas lost interest still with aged electronics and dropping some models then Taigen introduced the V2 then the V3 electics and revised the detail on some of the more popular Tanks but in the Background was Heng Long who with one bound was free and made a welcome if overdue change with its electronics making it the one too buy

[STHV]

They have their pros and cons but I would say they are generally higher quality in the detail department.

Tamiya have the most accurate details and metal lower hulls although they do cut corners in some areas, on my Tiger II for example the tensioning system is atrocious and the roadwheels whilst looking good from the outside are quite a bit thinner than they should be.

Taigen/Torro are basically Heng Long with a some corrections (The Panthers suspension arrangement is still quite off but you can't really see it without removing the wheels and they fixed the lower glacis angle) and with metal running gear, lower hulls and turrets which gives them a lot more weight and makes them feel more realistic when driving. They do however have worse stock electronics.

Both are considerably more expensive than Heng Long but you can find them for far less second hand which is how I got most of mine.

Personally I prefer Taigen due to their overall sturdiness and as I don't intend to use stock electronics anyway but I generally just go for what is available/affordable. Cant get a Leopard 1 or an HVSS Sherman from Taigen afterall.

[Jofaur86]

Yes and today, finding Tam electronics is becoming complicated and expensive? a set of MF02 and T05 400 € with the HP and 15 € shipping costs. And as the saying goes, "gardening" has long been outdated. Besides, a question? what is the best price/quality ratio currently at HL?

[Kaczor]

Taigen has more metal elements and for example suspension on torsion bars. But it is also a Chinese product so the quality sometimes leaves much to be desired (brittle pot metal parts). Taigen haven't released anything new for a long time, their last model was I think the IS-2.

The latest Tamiya releases are quite attractively priced, comparable to Taigen. Of course, there is a need to assemble this kit, but this allows you to improve some elements already at the construction stage. And that's part of the fun.

And about electronics. In my opinion, the current advantage here is the Heng Long 7.1 with three-servo support and nicely working barrel smoke. Taigen stopped at V3 for some time, but the latest versions of the models already have servo recoil and barrel smoke.

Tamiya has expensive and hard to find electronics. And there hasn't been much progress in a decade in terms of features.

[MrChef]

There was a time when Heng Long owned Taigen/Torro and they did a Chevrolet to Cadillac job with the brands but Taigen went it's own way leaving Heng Long as the base, Then Taigen/Torro with Tamiya king of the castle,
Times change, Tamiyas old man the originator of the RC Tank Range went and died and Tamiyas lost interest still with aged electronics and dropping some models then Taigen introduced the V2 then the V3 electics and revised the detail on some of the more popular Tanks but in the Background was Heng Long who with one bound was free and made a welcome if overdue change with its electronics making it the one too buy

My new favorite bedtime story

annnnd, Torro Tanks are just Taigen Tanks that are rebranded and come in a good smelling wooden box. Torro may have some different paint and camo schemes but all the parts are Taigen, all the internals are even cast and labeled Taigen.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Among Ready-to-Run AFVs, I would choose Taigen/Torro for sound especially and more generally for the amount of metal parts and the quality of upper hulls (although in some cases relief-cast tools are a pain to underscore and paint). But I would choose HengLong or even TongDe for control of speed and turning. The exception would be HengLong's few sounds offered, as I understand the Tiger sound is quite good.

[tankme]

I find Tamiya tanks too simplistic for what you pay for them. The underlying engineering is fine, but I'm not a fan of the electronics.

The Abrams for instance has a bunch of the same issues the HL Abrams does as far as incorrect details. Both tanks are a mis-mash of A1, A2, and SEP features that don't match up to a specific model. The Sheridan uses those plastic insert panels instead of real shocks on the suspension. If the details are so good then why does Aber and Schumo have so many detail parts to improve the detail? I think they build up nice out of the box, but I would not call them highly detailed. Even a simplistic tank like the KV-1 is missing lifting hooks on the rear deck, is missing weld lines, has soft details on the tool boxes, and suffers from hull bending in the front if run to hard. Built as the instructions say, my KV-2 elevation doesn't work on my Tamiya. I had to remove the spring that is clearly shown installed other wise the barrel will all of a sudden jerk into a different position. The Sherman and Pershing are missing something a simple as periscope guards. Tamiya's smaller scale model kits typically have more detail than their 1/16th counterparts. Tamiya uses actual rope for the tow ropes instead of metal in most cases. Then there is the whole brass bushings over bearings. How much extra would it cost to add bearings over bushings? I know if I buy the bearings in bulk they can be very cheap because I added them on my KV-2 cheap. Even Heng Long and Torro are using bearings now in their metal upgrade wheels.

Tamiya has also discontinued most of their tanks. All of their current tanks are available from multiple other brands. If I'm going to super detail a tank, I might as well start with $300 tank over an $900+ tank. Releasing a 50th anniversary Sherman with zero changes (except higher price) from the previous model just doesn't excite me.

[jarndice]

There was a time when Heng Long owned Taigen/Torro and they did a Chevrolet to Cadillac job with the brands but Taigen went it's own way leaving Heng Long as the base, Then Taigen/Torro with Tamiya king of the castle,
Times change, Tamiyas old man the originator of the RC Tank Range went and died and Tamiyas lost interest still with aged electronics and dropping some models then Taigen introduced the V2 then the V3 electics and revised the detail on some of the more popular Tanks but in the Background was Heng Long who with one bound was free and made a welcome if overdue change with its electronics making it the one too buy

My new favorite bedtime story

annnnd, Torro Tanks are just Taigen Tanks that are rebranded and come in a good smelling wooden box. Torro may have some different paint and camo schemes but all the parts are Taigen, all the internals are even cast and labeled Taigen.

My comment separates the 2 because of the marketing of the 2 companies which sells the same product under different names depending on the country.

[Kaczor]

Tamiya has also discontinued most of their tanks. All of their current tanks are available from multiple other brands. If I'm going to super detail a tank, I might as well start with $300 tank over an $900+ tank.

This is my biggest problem with Tamiya - the lack of spare parts. Sometimes they are available on Axels at absurd prices. Especially since it's about RC models. If a mechanical part breaks, it's a big problem. And in the case of Taigen and HL you can buy every part of every model. Yes, the Chinese parts made of pot metal but you can buy them off the shelf in bulk.