Tamiya King Tiger in the UK - where to get it from?

[mangaroca]

Hi,

I live in UK and would like to get myself a Tamiya 1/16 King Tiger R/C model. As far as the forums say, it's cheapest to buy from Hong Kong but one needs to pay Customs Charge. You could get it from the USA as well but it's even more expensive. The most expesive but also the least troublesome is buying the model from the UK dealer. I have seen tankzone.co.uk are selling their King Tigers with some metal substitutes, radios and paintjob (the tank is assembeld) but I was curious if there were any othe retailers here in the UK. I wouldn't want the model to be assembled - I'd very much rather assemble it myself, substituting chosen parts with upgraded ones to my likening.

Could anyone please point me to the right direction? I need an unassembled (still in the box) Tamiya 1/16 King Tiger R/C (with no radio, baterries etc.). Reliable and cheap...

T(h)anks!

[sparks]

Hi,
Tamiya and cheap don't really go together ,but you get a quality kit, I have several.
Tank zone do do the kit (click on model kits as opposed to RC Tanks and follow the links to Tamiya) there price is £490 which for the UK is pretty good and you get a free CD and free delivery in mainland UK
There have been mixed reviews about the service at Tank Zone on this forum, but I've found them OK, although I havn't used them much.
I think if you find a better price in Hong Kong or US, by the time you pay shipping and duty, it doesn't make it such a good deal.
Hope that helps
sparks

[mangaroca]

£490?? That's really good! The thing is I've only found them selling an assembled and paited version with the radio. It costs £899.99. Now, I know where to look for it!

Perhaps I'd order a few upgrades with it like gearboxes, etc. (and a radio would be nice ). It's just I want to assemble and paint it myself...

[mangaroca]

OK, I seem to know where and how I'm going to get my kit from. I will get the model firts and (after I saved a bit more money) I will get myself a nice radio set with batteries and chargers. That'll give me some time to assemble the parts and think of the paintjob.

Looking at the tankzone site I couldn't oversee all the upgrades for the King Tiger. Some of them are add-ons but most are substitutes for the parts present in the basic kit. Since I'd like to have a few of them in my model I start to worry that replacing the old ones from an assembled model may be tricky... How is it with upgrading this tank? Is it a rather complex job to change e.g. the barrel or the hatches or could such work be done nice and easy at any point?

Thanks!

[brizo58]

Hi There
Have you got a Modelzone shop nere you? they have them for £499.oo at the mo my local m.z has one! thats in romford if thats any help??...Brian...

[Dietrich]

Hi mangaroca , :~
DO NOT buy the tank from outside the European Union countries !! .......If you do you will get HAMMERED by Customs for their charges AND ALSO for the VAT....so by the time you add all that up including the Postage a cheap model is suddenly a VERY VERY EXPENSIVE one. I made a mistake like that in France and it cost me 153 Euros in Customs charges VAT PLUS 50 Euros for an agent to battle through the red tape
Buy it in England if you can as postage will be cheapest but otherwise from a Reputable dealer like Asiatam-de :~
Alb.

[mangaroca]

Thank you guys! I have just checked ModelZone website and found this:

http://www.modelzone.co.uk/tamiya-rc-ge ... tiger.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Out of stock? - OK but why DISCONTINUED??? And its's the newest version 56018.......

[Nic.H]

Model zone are doing deals at the mo...tiger full option £499 king tiger£599(did not see if this was full option)

This was in the swansea branch....if you have one near you call in...they might not have them in, but they will send them up from another store

Nic

[Steve_The_Tank]

i can confirm Model Zone in stores in Bluewater Kent and Lakeside Essex

you can order them for £499.00 or if they have 1 in stock you just buy and walk away with 1
they seem to have taken the deal off line for some reason i was at Lakeside a week back 1 was in stock there it was the full option version


all the best

[Wolftone]

The reason they have taken this deal off the site is that when you go to the shops & ask it will be at the tamiya price. If its on the website they have to honour that price by law.