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  • Heng Long Business Model

    Saw this, thought I'd share...

    HENG LONG IS CHANGING THEIR BUSINESS MODEL



    Posted by Motion RC on April 05, 2021 |


    Heng Long has recently announced that they will be changing their business model to support the growing global demand for their products. In the past, Heng Long would produce 20+ different tank models in small batches during each production run. While this allowed them to offer a wide variety of models in a short period of time, this did not allow them to achieve certain economies of scale related to mass production. In their new business model, Heng Long will be producing large batches of only four tank models during each production run, and they plan to have approximately four production runs each year. With this type of large batch production there will be periods of time throughout the year when certain tank models will be out of stock for several months at a time.

    Motion RC is working closely with Heng Long to improve their production processes and help develop methods to produce more tank models simultaneously. In the meantime, we encourage you to consider models which are in stock and we appreciate your patience if your desired tank model is out of stock.
    Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

  • #2
    Any bets on the first four? I'm going with Tiger 1, Sherman, Abrams and T-90. 🤪
    Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

    Comment


    • #3
      Well I guess it makes sense to produce a few models at a time and restock everyone over making every model at once and never restocking anyone. But, like they said could take 7 months or more to restock models which is kinda a bummer.

      Comment


      • #4
        What I am wondering is if they will be cutting back their line to 16 models from the 20ish that have had? Four models per run times four runs per year, or if they will keep all their models but run a cycle of five or six runs spread out over fifteen or eighteen months? Five runs in fifteen months letting them produce twenty different models or six runs in eighteen for twenty four models.

        The long down time between runs for any specific tank means each set of molds has a long down time. That could let them tinker with minor changes, such as early or late models of a specific tank. It will be very interesting to see what these changes lead to.

        Comment


        • #5
          Well increasing production is better news then decreasing. I wouldn't bet they will be tinkering much. At least in the short term, which sounds like a two or three year stint.
          Don't just fly--WREAK HAVOC!!!

          Comment


          • #6
            One hopes, Alot of the new models have seperate tools/ hull details that the older models have moldedinto the hull, that will make it so much to paint as well as better looking in general.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by oldwolf View Post
              What I am wondering is if they will be cutting back their line to 16 models from the 20ish that have had? Four models per run times four runs per year, or if they will keep all their models but run a cycle of five or six runs spread out over fifteen or eighteen months? Five runs in fifteen months letting them produce twenty different models or six runs in eighteen for twenty four models.

              The long down time between runs for any specific tank means each set of molds has a long down time. That could let them tinker with minor changes, such as early or late models of a specific tank. It will be very interesting to see what these changes lead to.
              Hopefully they don't cut too many models but let's be real there are a few that could be cut. Look at the panthers as an example you have one that uses a tiger 1 lower and one that uses the correct lower. In that case one can be cut.

              Comment


              • #8
                Looks like they will be cutting 4 tanks from the line up seeing how the production numbers indicate 16 tanks not the current 20. I would suspect one of the two King Tiger variants, one of the four Panzer variants, the “PanTiger” and Pershing.

                Personally I hope some of the other older tank models that have been around for more than a decade and relatively unchanged are also cut so that new fresh tank models can be added. 🤞🤞

                Comment


                • #9
                  I would like to see them dump the pan tiger and change their Sherman.
                  interesting that they at least for the first year, will not get all their tanks back out but understandable considering the set backs.
                  likely nothing new for at least a year I bet.
                  on the other side, Tamiya is permanently killing off its successful tanks and even the new ones are very hard to get. Cornerstone tanks of the hobby have just flat disappeared from the market because of them. No one knows if their models will ever return.
                  RC tank parts and accessories I make
                  www.RichardSJohnson.net/id28.html

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I’d be curious to know how they’ll be handling “versions”. I wouldn’t want either all plastic or all metal versions exclusively..
                    Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by RichJohnson View Post
                      I would like to see them dump the pan tiger and change their Sherman.
                      interesting that they at least for the first year, will not get all their tanks back out but understandable considering the set backs.
                      likely nothing new for at least a year I bet.
                      on the other side, Tamiya is permanently killing off its successful tanks and even the new ones are very hard to get. Cornerstone tanks of the hobby have just flat disappeared from the market because of them. No one knows if their models will ever return.
                      And on the other side, we've got Hooben spinning up 3-4 new models and Haya bringing a Centurion to market soon (pandemic delays depending, and I do at least trust them given their track record and honesty). Things are shifting a lot. I'm hoping we end up in a better place for it, but this HL news has me a bit wary.

                      edit: that being said if HL is scaling up to mass production that bodes well for their ability to bring more money in, and probably to eventually improve their production lines and processes alongside the large improvements to quality we've seen in recent years. those of y'all who have been around since the early days of HL breaking in to the market are undoubtedly just as aware as I am of the LEAPS in quality we've seen. I'm interested to see how this works out!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Looks like HL is transitioning into this "new" schedule. I have a complete Taigen Leo 2 lower and was trying to order a HL upper, along with the HL electronics. I reached out to Toucan few days ago, after finalizing on the options for the upper, Toucan went to HL to get a quote. I was just informed that HL is not building the Leo at the moment, hence no chance for me to obtain the upper. Guess I will move onto a complete Challenger or T90 for now.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by sclui56 View Post
                          Looks like HL is transitioning into this "new" schedule. I have a complete Taigen Leo 2 lower and was trying to order a HL upper, along with the HL electronics. I reached out to Toucan few days ago, after finalizing on the options for the upper, Toucan went to HL to get a quote. I was just informed that HL is not building the Leo at the moment, hence no chance for me to obtain the upper. Guess I will move onto a complete Challenger or T90 for now.
                          Go look on alliexpress or bang good. They sell them there in parts and pieces and you may find a seller with them in stock.
                          RC tank parts and accessories I make
                          www.RichardSJohnson.net/id28.html

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            The schedule they are using is producing 4 tanks every 2 month period. They will make all variants of the 4 tanks. That said, they will not necessarily pick 4 completely different tanks to make every 2 month period. There will be some repeats based on demand. Every 2 months, they will tell me which 4 tanks the production department has decided to manufacturer during the coming 2 month period so we can place an order.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Tom View Post
                              The schedule they are using is producing 4 tanks every 2 month period. They will make all variants of the 4 tanks. That said, they will not necessarily pick 4 completely different tanks to make every 2 month period. There will be some repeats based on demand. Every 2 months, they will tell me which 4 tanks the production department has decided to manufacturer during the coming 2 month period so we can place an order.
                              Good news on the variants. One question we are all pondering that maybe you can address. Do you see them producing any NEW models, or will they be continuing to update their existing models?
                              Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                I don't know about new models. I've not heard anything about a new model. I do know they are upgrading the current models from TK6 to TK7 which I believe is public info at this point. I'm guessing the next question is which models are coming next. I wish I knew for sure. The production plan just changed today so it seems the models in demand rotate a bit. Our first shipment from this new production method will ship in about a month and I'll let everyone know what is included when it ships.

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  Originally posted by RichJohnson View Post

                                  Go look on alliexpress or bang good. They sell them there in parts and pieces and you may find a seller with them in stock.
                                  Thanks but I am not known for patience in waiting for slow boat(s) from China. I sidelined the HL/Taigen marriage of the Leo and ordered a complete Abrams for now...

                                  Comment


                                  • #18
                                    Well, I don't see much sense in creating several models, one piece each, and then never recreating them again. Sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it?

                                    Comment


                                    • #19
                                      Originally posted by Eliadoming View Post
                                      Well, I don't see much sense in creating several models, one piece each, and then never recreating them again. Sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it?
                                      Honestly, this fact influenced me to open my own business. At least to please me that I have what it takes. However, this industry has several branches, and I was unsure if I wanted to deal with it. I got a little confused about business ideas. For a while, I didn't know what to do to understand what I needed. Once I accessed for fun https://afreeadvice.com/how-to-start-a-blog/, where 10 easy steps are presented. It sounds a little childish, but that's how I understood what I needed, and now I'm satisfied.

                                      Comment


                                      • #20
                                        Heng Long could also consider offering a kit version so some of us experienced modelers can do the final assembly or mods as we see fit. They could also offer just the rolling chassis and let end users decide what electronics/mechanicals go into the tank. This will drastically simplify the factory assembly chain.

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