TONGDE TANKS

[dai phan]

Hi all,

I am back after a hiatus and I see a new comer. I read that T is a HL low quality knockoff. I see some cool offerings so is T worth buying? Dai

[keilau]

Hi all,
I am back after a hiatus and I see a new comer. I read that T is a HL low quality knockoff. I see some cool offerings so is T worth buying? Dai

The answer is a YES.

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc-cars-tanks-trucks-and-more/rc-tanks/375114-td-m60-a3-review

With some qualifications.

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc-cars-tanks-trucks-and-more/rc-tanks/387060-metal-upgrade-for-a-tongde-m60a1-to-improve-reliability

[Rubicon99]

Hi all,

I am back after a hiatus and I see a new comer. I read that T is a HL low quality knockoff. I see some cool offerings so is T worth buying? Dai

Well you heard wrong. TD is in many ways superior mechanically to HL tanks. Especially in the suspension systems which are torsion bar, metal gear boxes with bearings, track durability (plastic & metal) and upgradability with added bearing to their cheaper offerings which are designed for drop in of the bearings. Metal TD tanks version come standard with bearings. The metal edition M60 for example comes with 52 bearings = 28 in the road wheels: 2 per wheel, and 24 on the suspension arms:2 per arm. Oh and the M60s even the all plastic versions have rubber tires. Those are Tamiya levels of upgrades.


That is not to say TD is without a bit of room for improvement or equal in other aspect, but they offer tanks that are actually quite good to use as a starting point for "build up" projects. This is especially true of their M60 line of tanks.

[keilau]

Well you heard wrong. TD is in many ways superior mechanically to HL tanks. Especially in the suspension systems which are torsion bar, metal gear boxes with bearings, track durability (plastic & metal) and upgradability with added bearing to their cheaper offerings which are designed for drop in of the bearings. Metal TD tanks version come standard with bearings. The metal edition M60 for example comes with 52 bearings = 28 in the road wheels: 2 per wheel, and 24 on the suspension arms:2 per arm. Oh and the M60s even the all plastic versions have rubber tires. Those are Tamiya levels of upgrades.

That is not to say TD is without a bit of room for improvement or equal in other aspect, but they offer tanks that are actually quite good to use as a starting point for "build up" projects. This is especially true of their M60 line of tanks.

I detailed the improvements needed for upgrade in my earlier link. The weakest link in a TD tank is the use of soft metal and screw hardware. I heard that their later production run was much improved.

[Tang - RC.Senshado]

Very happy with my two TD's so far mechanically. I've swapped out the boards for something better but if they start selling 3.0 boards separately I might retrofit them to that. I currently have their metal upgraded Centurion and Churchill. I don't know about bearings or metallurgy but I'll just say I drive mine at battles a lot and they hold up. The Churchill de-tracked on me when I let a huge build up of sticks and rocks build up in the track. You would get the same problem with a Tiger but I think this is an IRL problem that is scaled into our tanks rather than a design problem. I am eyeballing their Bradley and future releases as well. I didn't buy first of any model so I didn't get the first production hiccups that others might have seen. They seem to be knocking it out of the park especially as a new brand. Part support needs to catch up for me to sleep better at night.

[dai phan]

Hi all,

So as first time TD buyer what would you suggest? Dai

[Rubicon99]

Hi all,

So as first time TD buyer what would you suggest? Dai

Metal version NOT the plastic version of the M60A3 or Churchill. Both are good running tanks and with some new paint, a few aftermarket detailing parts and some weathering they look great.

I would add if you get the M60 swap out the metal tracks for the plastic ones. Nothing wrong with the metal track except they are really heavy (not hollow pads like HL) and drain batteries fast.

[SoCalBobS]

I own the M-60A3, the Churchill and the M2 Bradley. The M60 is a great outdoor battler, as is the ChurchillI, but all are good. f you fight in club battles you may have to change the MFU to a Heng Long for IR compatibility. If not, you're good with stock. Neither the Churchill or Bradley have airsoft function. TD has better sound than HL at this point. As others noted, be sure to get a version with metal gearboxes, which also will include metal wheels and tracks.

[dai phan]

Hi all,

I would like to buy a TD tank to add to my collection. Is the Professional Plus of the M60A3 worth 120 dollars extra? I think you pay for painted wheels and electroplated tracks only? Dai

Tongde US M60A3 Professional Plus Edition 1/16 Scale Battle Tank - RTR [TDE1001-003] Motion RC

[dai phan]

How about the Israel version? Such a cool tank but boring scheme. Dai

Tongde IDF M60 ERA Professional Edition 1/16 Scale Battle Tank - RTR [TDE1002-002] Motion RC

[RichJohnson]

The pro plus is just paint., if your going to work on it I would not pay the extra for the paint.
most people purchase the upgrades I make for the m60 like the scale gun barrel with recoil, spot light, scale radio antenna etc.
and I have restocked the TD factory track again. Since motion was not stocking it I make another order from TD so we don’t have to run the Metal tracks.

The IDF tank is quite cool. It’s in the grey Lebanon era scheme though there are not as many photos of the round turret m60s like that as the A/A3 like Rubicon custom built in that same grey Lebanon era paint.

i have been pushing one of our favorites kit makers to produce a madatch 6B Gal Batash upgrade kit for the TD m60. I’m hoping he pulls through and does it.

[dai phan]

The pro plus is just paint., if your going to work on it I would not pay the extra for the paint.
most people purchase the upgrades I make for the m60 like the scale gun barrel with recoil, spot light, scale radio antenna etc.
and I have restocked the TD factory track again. Since motion was not stocking it I make another order from TD so we don’t have to run the Metal tracks.

The IDF tank is quite cool. It’s in the grey Lebanon era scheme though there are not as many photos of the round turret m60s like that as the A/A3 like Rubicon custom built in that same grey Lebanon era paint.

i have been pushing one of our favorites kit makers to produce a madatch 6B Gal Batash upgrade kit for the TD m60. I’m hoping he pulls through and does it.

So it is a good choice to go for the pro version without the plus as all you pay is for the paint. Not worth 120 extra. Dai

[Rubicon99]

Hi all,

I would like to buy a TD tank to add to my collection. Is the Professional Plus of the M60A3 worth 120 dollars extra? I think you pay for painted wheels and electroplated tracks only? Dai

Tongde US M60A3 Professional Plus Edition 1/16 Scale Battle Tank - RTR [TDE1001-003] Motion RC

Simple it's NOT worth the extra money unless you don't want to paint the raw silver metal wheels and tracks. Based on your other posts showing your tanks it does not seem you paint the metal wheels. If this is the case then don't buy the pro plus version.

The IDF M60 is actually a rather nice looking tank. It hands down has the best detail parts of any of the TD M60 line up, with lots of add on armor, machine guns and other accessories that makes it interesting to look at. Boring is not a word I would use to describe it. Boring IMO is more like a King Tiger, Panther, T34, ZTZ99 and Leopard 2.

[dai phan]

Simple it's NOT worth the extra money unless you don't want to paint the raw silver metal wheels and tracks. Based on your other posts showing your tanks it does not seem you paint the metal wheels. If this is the case then don't buy the pro plus version.

The IDF M60 is actually a rather nice looking tank. It hands down has the best detail parts of any of the TD M60 line up, with lots of add on armor, machine guns and other accessories that makes it interesting to look at. Boring is not a word I would use to describe it. Boring IMO is more like a King Tiger, Panther, T34, ZTZ99 and Leopard 2.

I have 47 year experience as plastic modeler and has placed at IPMS events so painting is child play. I think these tanks are toy grade accuracy (unlike Tamiya) so there is no need for such commitment. Mainly I care for quality for what I pay for. Dai

[Rubicon99]

I have 47 year experience as plastic modeler and has placed at IPMS events so painting is child play. I think these tanks are toy grade accuracy (unlike Tamiya) so there is no need for such commitment. Mainly I care for quality for what I pay for. Dai

Clearly you are a Tamiya fanboy and that's ok I was too. The fact is you proudly post your collection of HL tanks on display (your photo show below) in another thread in their "out of the box" basics paint schemes with raw metal unpainted wheels. It can be drawn from your prior thread that you don't have the skill or desire to paint the wheels to match. Or maybe you like the look of the unpainted wheels and tracks. That's ok too it a personal choice.

Clearly we all would love to have HL and TD be Tamiya quality RC tanks. That would mean paying upwards of $1000 for each tank and we would not have the selection currently available. But what HL and TD offer is excellent base tank to build into high quality models that can easily rival and often surpass a Tamiya RC tank in looks and performance.

So before you start bragging about your modeling experience please let us see your RC tank work and how you made a toy grade into something that rivals the best available 1/16 Tamiya RC tank.

Screen shot of your proudly displayed out of the box basic factory paint scheme HL tanks. Clearly not showing your 47 years of model painting experience. But maybe you just like the unpainted raw metal look and paint scheme is worthy of your years of modeling experience.

[keilau]

Painting bare metal wheels and track with model paint will get disastrous result. The paints will peel off on those moving parts on a RC tank the moment we run it. For both my plastic models and RC tanks, I used chemical darkening agent on metal parts. I do the same for non-RC, static tank models too because the color is more realistic. On RC tanks, the darkened metal tracks have better traction than the plastic tracks.

For both the Tongde and Heng Long RC tanks, they need a lot of upgrade to perform well even if you get the factory metal version. @Robicon99 is right on that. dai phan is right that the RC tanks left a lot to be desired in accuracy. But it should not prevent him from darkening the metal parts. @Robicon99 has a very good write-up on how to do the darkening.

https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-tanks-369/11677219-track-darkening.html

[Rubicon99]

Painting bare metal wheels and track with model paint will get disastrous result. The paints will peel off on those moving parts on a RC tank the moment we run it. For both my plastic models and RC tanks, I used chemical darkening agent on metal parts. I do the same for non-RC, static tank models too because the color is more realistic. On RC tanks, the darkened metal tracks have better traction than the plastic tracks.

For both the Tongde and Heng Long RC tanks, they need a lot of upgrade to perform well even if you get the factory metal version. @Robicon99 is right on that. dai phan is right that the RC tanks left a lot to be desired in accuracy. But it should not prevent him from darkening the metal parts. @Robicon99 has a very good write-up on how to do the darkening.
https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-...darkening.html

I wrote most of that darkening post on that thread under my RCU screen name: Fsttanks

Same screen name I use for my Instagram: Fsttanks

[keilau]

I wrote most of that darkening post on that thread under my RCU screen name: Fsttanks

Same screen name I use for my Instagram: Fsttanks

I should mention that the "gun blue" chemical is toxic and corrosive. It is effective and can darken the metal track easily. If you are a first timer, do your homework thoroughly before starting.

I was told that there is commercial electroplating solution for Neckel alloy that is less toxic. Have not try it myself.

https://www.amazon.com/JAX-Aluminum-Blackener-Finishing-Electricity/dp/B0BYJTJPSM/ref=sims_dp_d_dex_popular_subs_t3_v5_d_sccl_3_2/131-8742844-1444447?pd_rd_w=T7y9k&content-id=amzn1.sym.b46dbd4a-7901-4e61-86dc-9876286ea9f3&pf_rd_p=b46dbd4a-7901-4e61-86dc-9876286ea9f3&pf_rd_r=P773MQQYPZH9A6FXZ6NQ&pd_rd_wg=tS482&pd_rd_r=d1e87d3b-dc18-479b-9c74-48565603d3e4&pd_rd_i=B0BYJTJPSM&th=1

[dai phan]

Clearly you are a Tamiya fanboy and that's ok I was too. The fact is you proudly post your collection of HL tanks on display (your photo show below) in another thread in their "out of the box" basics paint schemes with raw metal unpainted wheels. It can be drawn from your prior thread that you don't have the skill or desire to paint the wheels to match. Or maybe you like the look of the unpainted wheels and tracks. That's ok too it a personal choice.

Clearly we all would love to have HL and TD be Tamiya quality RC tanks. That would mean paying upwards of $1000 for each tank and we would not have the selection currently available. But what HL and TD offer is excellent base tank to build into high quality models that can easily rival and often surpass a Tamiya RC tank in looks and performance.

So before you start bragging about your modeling experience please let us see your RC tank work and how you made a toy grade into something that rivals the best available 1/16 Tamiya RC tank.

Screen shot of your proudly displayed out of the box basic factory paint scheme HL tanks. Clearly not showing your 47 years of model painting experience. But maybe you just like the unpainted raw metal look and paint scheme is worthy of your years of modeling experience.

Howdy,

47 years of modelling experience is a fact and there is NOTHING to brag about. My point is that I can easily paint the wheels and darken tne tracks so there is no need to pay extra 120 that I could easily do. I am NOT a Tamiya fanboy as I never owned nor built one. I think they are way over priced. Yes they are absolute king when comes to accuracy worthy of museum display but still over priced in my opinion. We all know HL tanks are great for the bucks but they are toy grade in accuracy. That is why I never bother to paint them. Yes they have the ability to make accurate toolings and when they do, Tamiya will take notice and may drop their prices. At this time no companies can touch their accuracy and that is why the price is so high. I believe HL/TD CAN make their tooling way more accurate than they are now. Dai

[dai phan]

Hi all

Just ordered the TD M60A3 Professional version. Dai