Small Scale Military Headquarters

Found some nice pics of The recently released (fall 09') Heng Long 1:16 RC Panther G that a guy over at RCU re-painted. The guy did a nice job painting and weathering it, although I think it would have looked nicer with some kind of camo scheme, but that's no knock on his skills or choice of scheme, it's just my personal preference. I've had my eye on one of these for a while, but I was waiting for the price to come down some, and I picked up a NIB one today from an ebay seller for just over $100 delivered, which I think is a pretty good deal with Mato selling the same tank for $120 plus about $30 for shipping. Considering that a Tamiya kit would cost about 6 times as much, I think I'll be pretty happy with it, and one day I may even get around to painting it....

Pretty sure I know the seller you are talking about. His auctions usually say $120 or make offer. If you offer $105 he will usually accept and the shipping is free. Its like you say, most sellers want $120 and then $30 to $40 shipping. I paid $105 for my HL jagdpanther. His prices are hard to beat.

Wow, amazing piece of ground armor. Looks real good!

hotrodrock wrote:Pretty sure I know the seller you are talking about. His auctions usually say $120 or make offer. If you offer $105 he will usually accept and the shipping is free. Its like you say, most sellers want $120 and then $30 to $40 shipping. I paid $105 for my HL jagdpanther. His prices are hard to beat.

Yep, that's the guy alright... My original offer was for $99 on a BIN of $116, which he turned down. OK, so I emailed him and asked what his rock bottom "make offer" amount was, so I got it for $105 plus free shipping, and like you said, that price is hard to beat. BTW, you got a great deal on your Jagdpanther, I know I paid about $150 total for mine thru Mato.

It was nice to see the figure in there too. It looks so close to the 1:18 that I wasn't able to see the difference.

So these are RC tanks? For $100 they are competitive with the JSI Panther.

I absolutely love my Panther G! I put the Asiatam 3:1 gearboxes, stiff springs and metal swingarms on it so far and have the metal Sprocket/idler set and tension adjuster to install sometime this week. I'm not sure I will upgrade any further because it runs so well. I would say only the 3:1 gears and Metal swingarms are mandatory, the rest is just fluff. This is the first tank I've owned with plastic tracks and after a solid month of running in snow & road sand, plus some WD-40, they have loosened up and run well. I do miss the sag of the metal.

Oztruck's tanks always turn out amazing and even though a DAK Panther is not real, it looks great. Don't we all wish we had a village to invade in our backyards?


His Hobby Engine M1A1 with HL electronics makes me want to attempt the conversion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbeVVhCM_qs

MCalamari wrote:It was nice to see the figure in there too. It looks so close to the 1:18 that I wasn't able to see the difference.

So these are RC tanks? For $100 they are competitive with the JSI Panther.

Yes, they are RC and they are a great replacement for 1:18 tanks if you don't mind getting your hands dirty on occasion.

They come out of the box with 1:18 detail and they even play lasertag with each other if you get the IR versions.

http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e275/ ... TestIR.flv

OK, your video link SOLD me. Thanks!

What is a good starter (read cheap and durable) 1/16 tank brand?

I looked on ebay and there are a number of Panzer IIIs, Tigers, and Panthers all for under $100 including shipping. I'm leaning towards the Panzer III to add variety to my 1:18 armor. Also, I'm assuming decals are easy enough to find ... it looks like the tanks come "clean".

The primary use would be for just rolling around a backyard, and will need to tolerate younger operators (my nephews ... though it should be noted that they are pretty good with O-scale trains).

Heng Long is the only brand that you want in the $100 range. Make sure you get the IR version to insure you get the RX-18 board internally. Models I recommend for first timers are:

Panther G (has to be the "G", HL released a panther on a tiger base years ago and they are still floating around)

Jagdpanther

Stug III

Also, they do come with dry-transfer decals of good quality.

Here is my completed Panzer III and KV-1:

Been after the Panther at the right price & picked one up today for £75.00 + £8.00 postage
It the triple camo one as well

Yes, they are RC and they are a great replacement for 1:18 tanks if you don't mind getting your hands dirty on occasion.
They come out of the box with 1:18 detail and they even play lasertag with each other if you get the IR versions.

The 1:16 RC tanks can be just about anything you want them to be... static model, diorama centerpiece, or a down and dirty tank that actually climbs over stuff with real metal tracks, firing guns, authentic sounds, and much more. As you noted, the detail is as good or better than 1:18 right out of the box, and the possibilities for improvements and upgrades are limited only by your imagination, modelling skills, and wallet. One guy over at RCU has developed a functional tank commander figure that sits in the turret hatch, and whose body parts move on command using tiny servos and gears, and it's just one example of the resourcefulness and creativity of the 1:16 guys, there's almost nothing they can't do, or won't at least attempt. I found a couple more pics of the new HL Panther G that a guy in Germany did, and while Oz's tank looks great, this is more like what I had in mind for mine when I get around to painting it....

Very nice. Once I have all my external parts installed, I'll be going with a fictional night scheme of dark greens and adding the night vision scope on the copula. Anyone want to build me an Uhu filled with Vampyr equipped troops?

also posted on RCU, this one is nuts. the guy even made the correct 2 steel wheels for the back. I don't know if you could find a better looking panther in 1:16!

Banana, is that a Henglong or a Tamiya?

Tamiya, but a HL would look identical with the same paint job

Very true sir. His weathering is breathtaking.

If you don't mind 1:16, its hard to bypass the HL tanks, they make all kind of accessories for them and when you get done customizing, nothing beats your project running across the floor on its own

I have a early HL Panther and it is used all the time outside, its hard to find Allied forces to fire on, but there seems to be a abundance of cats

pcsguy, how difficult is it to paint the Panzer III? Your HL Panzer III looks great ... and I'm now seriously considering getting one. I just haven't tried painting anything, but the out of the box tank looks too clean.

MCalamari wrote:pcsguy, how difficult is it to paint the Panzer III? Your HL Panzer III looks great ... and I'm now seriously considering getting one. I just haven't tried painting anything, but the out of the box tank looks too clean.

they come in dark yellow and grey, but if you do paint it though these things are not hard to take apart

Hell, I paint mine assembled. The Panzer III can be done with 2 cans of Tamiya German Gray without primer or anything. Problem is that the tools are molded on the PIII since it's an older mold, so you will need to paint them on the tank afterwards. The Tamiya Spray laquer is tuff as nails and goes on light and smooth. Just mist it with 4 or 5 layers for great results. Do not just spray until you see color.

Honestly, if you just perform a black wash on the factory color, then drybrush and add some dirt, you will save yourself time and money. Spraying it another solid color will leave it looking just as clean as the factory.

anyone wanna PM me the ebay seller's name in case i decide to pick one of these up someday?
Thx

Cabe wrote:anyone wanna PM me the ebay seller's name in case i decide to pick one of these up someday?
Thx

Here's a link to the seller and the tank. He will usually let these go for around $108 on a "make offer" deal.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-16-Radio-Control- ... 3a5945b53a

cool. i need to start collecting these and painting them up

how is that guy's prices here in Dallas? The RC Command guy?