Heng Long German Tiger 1 Radio Control Tank with BB, Smoke and Sound

The NEW Tiger1 Tank is awesome. The engine start up sound and running sound are really impressive.
The detailing on the body is superb. The recoil action is A1. The track suspension looks and works good.
The pellet firing is powerful but needs to carry a health warning. If a pellet hits your skin close up it will sting for a while. It shoots out at speed for a fair distance.

Almost all the Tiger 1's for sale on the web do NOT have sound or smoke - only the very latest, which look the same but will cost more - so check before buying. I bought it for LESS than many are selling the old model for. You need to search the web carefully.

The BUT in the title refers to the instruction manual - These are the essential changes needed:

1. A BIG warning about the pellets - NOT safe to be left with children unattended, unless all pellets are hidden away.(they will scare the s**t out of your cat/dog and damage your eyeball. These fire much faster than kids toy guns - you have been warned!)

2. There is NO battery charging information whatsoever (That's criminal with high current batteries)- just look at the number of requests on the web asking for this information.
The charging time is, in fact, 4hours 15 minutes using the supplied battery and charger, and the battery should be fully discharged (run down) before each charge.

3. An explanation of how the **** you are supposed to fill the smoke system with the oil.In manufacture, they have cut the two filling tubes too short and kinked them. Users on the web suggest trying a syringe etc etc. - Best of luck.

4. Big warning - If oil runs out the smoke unit will fail. PS.There is no way of seeing when the oil has run out!- Best of luck.

5. The manual is comprehensive (except for 1-4 above) BUT is printed in both English and Chinese on all pages - it looks a mess and is uncomfortable to read. They should print an English only version since the UK and USA are it's biggest markets.

6. The English grammar in the manual is very bad. Why do some companies still persist in this?
All they have to do is send the proof to their UK/USA importer and ask them to correct the grammar and spelling. What they probably do is give it to an English speaking Chinese person instead of an English speaking English person.

So definitely buy this beast, but take account of all the above when it arrives.

Having read other reviews of this product, I have to say that there seems to be an element of chance if you get a good one or not.
The tank feels quite robust and has taken a few knocks in its stride, the 'engine' noise can be a bit loud but there is a volume control to turn it down. The smoke generator is rather noisy, drowning the engine sounds unless you turn up the volume.
The speed is controlable from an absolute crawl to quite fast and the gun is commendably powerful.
On the down side, not long after I received the tank it developed a fault, one of the circuit boards inside failed but Howes were superb in sending a replacement and so far it's been fine.
Taking the tank apart was easy but you do then get to see the real chinese build quality. Least said about that the better!
Other reviewers mention the difficulty of filling the smoke generator, this is an issue as the pipes are hidden down the side of the models exhaust stacks and are clear plastic. I took the opportunity while it was apart to cut some of this pipe away and put a small bit of metal car brake pipe in its place. This now gives a nice 'spurt' of smoke as well as making it much easier to fill. The gearbox has nylon cogs and definitely benefitted from a liberal dose of silicone grease.
Can't say much more really, to be fair, even if you do get a duff one, if my experience is anything to go by, Howes will sort it out for you.

I dont actually own this tank but have had a go of it as friends have it so worth a review, Heng Long tank says it all, If your looking to buy a model tank like this then make doubly sure it does what the advertisment says it does, there are older models of this tank that are being sold advertised that they have smoke and sound effects! The early models dont.So double check with supplier, also check the suppliers website as for some reason thier products are cheaper then they are on here!
~Overall these tanks are great fun! they shoot bb balls aswell and are very well detailed and also can be upgrqaded with spare parts, metal tracks etc... you cant go wrong with a Heng Long. Just keep your eye out for suppliers selling older tanks for the same cost of the newer ones! Suppliers beware us Reviewers are watching, for the pen is mightier then the sword.