Sherman M4A3 Taigen vs Heng Long

[Warren D]

I read the great review here of the Heng Long M4A3 and was wondering how it compares with the Taigen. The HL by the review seems to have a few shortcomings (even the pro version) namely the bogies. It looks to me like the Taigen has metal bogies but then does seem to cost more. First venture into this arena, I've built models my entire life; mostly 1/25 scale trucks of late. I need larger scales as I get older.....looked back at some 1/72 scale WW1 biplanes I did 35 years ago with full rigging and can't do that anymore....

[Rubicon99]

I read the great review here of the Heng Long M4A3 and was wondering how it compares with the Taigen. The HL by the review seems to have a few shortcomings (even the pro version) namely the bogies. It looks to me like the Taigen has metal bogies but then does seem to cost more. First venture into this arena, I've built models my entire life; mostly 1/25 scale trucks of late. I need larger scales as I get older.....looked back at some 1/72 scale WW1 biplanes I did 35 years ago with full rigging and can't do that anymore....

Both are hands down outshined and outperformed by the Tamiya M4 or M51.

[Beeg]

There are aftermarket all metal bogies for the HL Sherman if that's the only thing you think are a negative. I have them on mine. I don't have any other Sherman to compare it to but so far it's a great little tank. I would like to have a Sherman with HVSS suspension and wider tracks like on the Tamiya though.

[Warren D]

Thanks for the replies. I looked at the Tamiya but it's not exactly what I'm looking for. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to drive a real Sherman, M4A3 w/75mm. I would like to stick close to that and the Tamiya, while no doubt the best quality, is a later version with upgraded suspension and 105mm barrel, along with a radial engine (tomorrows ride has is Ford powered). It also appears that the Tamiya is OOP and what I'm seeing at $600-$900 still needs radio gear and maybe some bearing improvement parts. Back in the late 1970's I had a Tamiya RC car and remember it needing the bearing upgrade kit at a minimum.
My concern with the HL is that for the most part, this will be run on low pile carpet or on a lawn and Alpha's review highlighted those as weak points. Could be that the Taigen has the same potential problems as would the rest of the M4A3's with the narrower tracks.
All that said, I'd really like a large scale RC M29 Weasel......if I could find one of those I think the Sherman idea would pass. Oh, I've looked. There may be a scratch built one out there somewhere but no one I've seen has produced one. Typical for me, I like odd ball stuff that few are interested in.

[fuchstraumer]

The key problem with Taigen tanks is the electronics, imo. The gearboxes and hulls are fantastic and there are lots of touches in how those are all engineered that make them worth the price, including bearings in most of the running gear - but the electronics and how they make the tanks drive just isn't a match for Heng Long's 6.0 electronics at all. The firing action is also fairly out of sync, like the flash fires late and the recoil is fairly primitive (but functional). I also don't think Taigen IR is compatible with anyone else's IR stock, if that matters to you - I couldn't get it to register hits between my HL IR tanks at all.

You can get an M4 kit from Taigen though, in which case it comes unpainted and without electronics but with their gearbox (which is still fairly nice, is fully steel, and uses torquey 390 motors). This leaves electronics open to you, and there are lots of aftermarket boards to try. I'm personally going to put an elmod in my Taigen Leo, once it arrives (note - shipping an Elmod board from Germany has actually taken longer than almost any of my shipments from China, somehow). Regardless, I think these kit prices are fairly competitive for the quality of hull you get. The Taigen gearboxes seem loud, but still well constructed enough to be usable for a while and especially solid enough for a heavy metal hull running through rougher terrain.

[Alpha]

Warren D I call shotgun! Where are you driving a real Sherman tomorrow?!?

Narrow 1/16 scale tracks (Sherman) from any manufacturer will always perform differently compared to wider 1/16 scale tracks (Tiger II). So I cannot say that, in the context of grass operation and rolling resistance that there is anything superior between three different brands of 1/16 Sherman tracks, ceteris paribus. They'll always be narrow, and in the case of certain tank types, will also have limited suspension such as VVSS compared to other arm types.

To squeeze out more reliability while running in grass with a Sherman, I would look instead to optimizing the drivetrain components. Wheels on bearings versus plastic-to-plastic, for example. Proper track tension. A bearing-supported main drive-shaft. Those sorts of areas will ward off track shedding and help you make the most of narrow tracks. The other alternative of course is to avoid taller grass and high-pile carpets, and avoiding the "super spin" (where the user spins the tank in place, which is not just unrealistic but also invites track shedding in sub-optimal conditions).

If you're just going to run a tank indoors on "standard" modern household carpet, a case could even be made to stay with a lighter all-plastic track/wheel setup such as Heng Long's standard tank (with steel gears in its gearbox), since that would reduce the ground pressure and in turn reduce the likelihood of the tank bogging down. In my review, I ran indoors and outside in the grass as seen on our videos, and the stock tank ran fine. Only for users planning on frequent or aggressive use, such as daily drivers and IR Combatants, would I say considering the additional cost of upgrading to metal/bearing-everything becomes worth the exercise.

[Warren D]

Warren D I call shotgun! Where are you driving a real Sherman tomorrow?!?

Narrow 1/16 scale tracks (Sherman) from any manufacturer will always perform differently compared to wider 1/16 scale tracks (Tiger II). So I cannot say that, in the context of grass operation and rolling resistance that there is anything superior between three different brands of 1/16 Sherman tracks, ceteris paribus. They'll always be narrow, and in the case of certain tank types, will also have limited suspension such as VVSS compared to other arm types.

To squeeze out more reliability while running in grass with a Sherman, I would look instead to optimizing the drivetrain components. Wheels on bearings versus plastic-to-plastic, for example. Proper track tension. A bearing-supported main drive-shaft. Those sorts of areas will ward off track shedding and help you make the most of narrow tracks. The other alternative of course is to avoid taller grass and high-pile carpets, and avoiding the "super spin" (where the user spins the tank in place, which is not just unrealistic but also invites track shedding in sub-optimal conditions).

If you're just going to run a tank indoors on "standard" modern household carpet, a case could even be made to stay with a lighter all-plastic track/wheel setup such as Heng Long's standard tank (with steel gears in its gearbox), since that would reduce the ground pressure and in turn reduce the likelihood of the tank bogging down. In my review, I ran indoors and outside in the grass as seen on our videos, and the stock tank ran fine. Only for users planning on frequent or aggressive use, such as daily drivers and IR Combatants, would I say considering the additional cost of upgrading to metal/bearing-everything becomes worth the exercise.

Thank you very much for the clarification. My drive will be at Collings Foundation HQ (and home of the American Heritage Museum which houses a good portion of the Jacque Littlefield collection!) in Hudson, MA in one of their Shermans (last count there were about 6 of them). The one I'll be driving is from the movie "Tank" and also appeared in the Blues Bros movie, an M4A3 with a Ford engine. For my limited use, it's looking like the Heng Long will be the best option for starter.