Too Good To Be True?

[The soldier bug 1]

I am kind of going through a tank phase right now and I want to know, are the 1/16 panther tanks on EBAY for real? I mean priced under $100 is kind of wierd for a tank that shoots BBs and is as big as it is there must be a catch. Is this a rip off or just a good deal? Thanks, The soldier bug

[TA-Mark 195]

I bought one ages ago when i was watching the $0.99 auctions finish and no one had bid, $36 postage though.

Mine is the 1:24 panther. It's not a hobby class r/c, more of a kiddy toy, although it is quite capable and alot of fun to play with. Usually I setup aluminium coke cans around the room at different heights and drive around trying to hit them with the BBs (you get a definite 'ping' when you hit the can).

2 speed forward (turbo button) normal speed is 1/2 power to the drive motor.

Spinning on the spot can derail a rubber track (better to tap the steering as it's moving forward or reverse).

The spring in the gun has little tension (stretch this spring and the firing mechanism has way more punch).

The demo button will drive you crazy, once it goes into 'demo mode' it has to run it's course to get control back or switch the unit off then on again (I ended up superglueing the button on the controller so I couldn't bump the button accidently going for other controls).

It's geared low enough to have plenty of torque to climb over most things. Radio range is about 100 feet.

If you want to have some fun it's worth it at $36.99 ($0.99 + postage). Don't expect it to run like a Tamiya one as it's only a kiddy toy, and have heaps of fun trying to find all the BBs you shot.

Cheers, Mark

[The soldier bug 1]

Thanks "TA-Mark", I think I'll go for the Panzer III it looks pretty neat.

[Shodog 1835]

If you are refering the the Hen-long tanks, they are no comparison to the real tamiya tanks. There is a reason they are 1/10 the price. The general consensus if that they are pretty fun but the electronics and gear boxes are junk which fail with regularity.

[theshopkeeper 39]

Put it this way, we have a supplier for these Heng Long tanks just up the road.

He offers a 14 day guarantee

And he'll only cover it in that time if it hasn't been "abused".

So only get it if you get it cheap!

[The soldier bug 1]

Thanks guys, the only reason I am not getting a Tamiya is because they are out-of-this-world expensive and I am not too good a camoflauge painting. I probably won't be doing any really hard core running, just going around shooting trashcans and various stray cats LOL (not really) so I think it will perform okay.