Small Scale Military Headquarters

Just up at Mato Toys.... the much anticipated 1/16 RC Stug III, looks sweet and comes with metal drive gears and an Infrared battle system. Also just listed is a long barreled Panzer IV. According to some sources at RCU the Mato Stug is incorrectly identified as an Ausf. F when in reality it's an Ausf. G... I'm no expert on the Stug III, but either way it's a great looking model and I have one on order....I'll post some pics and my impressions when it arrives. For those of you who live in Canada I think this is a great deal because the shipping will be about half what it is to the USA.

Mato Stug III here... http://www.matotoys.com/canada/product_ ... cts_id=256

Long Barreled Panzer IV here... http://www.matotoys.com/canada/product_ ... cts_id=255

Retail version looks pretty good, just needs a paint job to cover up the....blue color .
So this one's the smoke and sound as opposed to the IR. I'd rather have this version, the S&S anyway.

So this one's the smoke and sound as opposed to the IR

It's both... at least that the way I understand it. It says "infrared battle function (optional)" which I take to mean that you need two tanks to carry on an IR battle. Based on all the discussions I've seen on the Stug III at RCU, Heng Long has decided to make the Stug III in "IR battle" version only and is not offering an airsoft version of this model, at least for the time being, and since this does not come with an airsoft gun I think it must be IR.

definitely needs a paint job but looks pretty good. Boy, i've got some thinkin' to do now. I just don't know if i'll be happy with a stug that's bigger than my panzer iv and shermans. So tempting though....i've been waiting nearly 8 years for a stug. I bet it would look sweet with a good paint job and a bunch of Otto's riding it..

Heng Long has decided to make the Stug III in "IR battle" version only and is not offering an airsoft version of this model,

Oh yeah, you're right, well I don't really care about either, IR or airsoft, but I'd rather have the flashing gun and recoil found on the IR version to the typically oversized airsoft barrel.

I just don't know if i'll be happy with a stug that's bigger than my panzer iv and shermans

I've switched to 1/16 scale, except for the halftracks so I'll be getting one of these.

i suspect i will get one as well. I'm getting increasinlgly more fleixble on scale as time goes by. I'm also seriously considering getting one of those 1/16 Junker 88's i mentioned a while ago. I'm finding these machines are just too historically important (and VERY desirable) to worry about scale exactness.

I bet it would look sweet with a good paint job and a bunch of Otto's riding it..

I bet you are right... For me this was really a no brainer... I knew I would get one the moment it was announced at RCU about a month ago, and I'll be getting a second (and considerably cheaper) one pretty soon from a domestic distributor that has one reserved for me, he's just waiting for the boat from China to come in...literally.. I'm thinking of converting one of these to a Sturmhaubitze 42 (StuH 42), and this should be fairly easy to accomplish, basically just the barrel needs to be changed, and I think somebody already makes an aftermarket aluminum StuH 42 barrel in this scale, but if not, then a shortened HL Tiger I barrel (or parts from one) would probably make a reasonably good substitute.

Very tempting!

ordered mine yesterday.

DH

I knew I would get one the moment it was announced at RCU about a month ago, and I'll be getting a second (and considerably cheaper) one pretty soon from a domestic distributor that has one reserved for me, he's just waiting for the boat from China to come in

So you have bought 2?
What 2 places did you purchase them from?
Is the domestic distributer you refer to RCScalemodel (now RCCommand)?
I just ordered one from Mato, hopefully I'll have it in a few days or so.

So you have bought 2?

Yes... the first came from Mato, the second will come from RCSM as you noted, that will be a while though because his first batch came by Air Express and will end up costing nearly as much as the Mato version, I'm just gonna wait for his "boatload" to come in... probably sometime in September, and these will go for $90 plus shipping, which is quite reasonable I think.

Yes... the first came from Mato, the second will come from RCSM as you noted, that will be a while though because his first batch came by Air Express and will end up costing nearly as much as the Mato version, I'm just gonna wait for his "boatload" to come in... probably sometime in September, and these will go for $90 plus shipping, which is quite reasonable I think.

Me too! I have the Tamiya TI electronics set aside especially for this one.

90$ heh? that's 16$ cheaper than Mato. I wonder what shipping is within US. I have a US mailbox and live 10mins from the border, so that may work out better.

I live in Indiana and he's shipping from Texas and it's $15.00.

Some new pics of the Stug III are up at RCU, courtesy of Bill at RCCOMMAND, includes some nice detail shots of the "Tamiya style" IR receiver module in the commanders hatch, tracks, suspension, and internals. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.....

Stug III Pics here... http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_76453 ... e_8/tm.htm

I got mine today. No parts missing and everything works fine.
The detail and quality seems better which shows Heng Long is improving.
I didn't realize it doesn't come with the sensor tower, though I don't really care too much.
I'll probably open it up tonight and have a look inside, but I'm most likely going to leave it alone for awhile. I still have a Tam and HL tiger, a PzIII and a custom Sdkz251/9 to finish.

ordered mine today, will make 7 now of MATO tanks. Hope forum will get on board, which will help encourage more new releases.

I agree.

I was told by Bill from RCCommand that Mato does not include their sensors with a single tank but I guess sell them seperately. RCCommand does include them however in case anyone wants to know.

smittyrob64 wrote:I agree.

I was told by Bill from RCCommand that Mato does not include their sensors with a single tank but I guess sell them seperately. RCCommand does include them however in case anyone wants to know.

So wait, does that mean Mato is pocketing those IR sensors, when they should be included with every Stug purchase?

And yes, come on guys. Hop into the 1/16th armor bandwagon. Why not? Isn't it better to actually get the armor you want, instead for simply wishing someone would make it in 1/18th scale?

Armored vehicles that are available in 1/16th now:

M4 105mm Sherman
King Tiger (Porsche or Henschel)
Panther
Tiger 1 (early, late, mid production models available)
Pershing
Panzer III (various models available)
Panzer IV (Various models available)
T-34 (various models available)
Sturm Tiger
Stug III
Jagdpanther
Kubelwagen
Sd.Kfz. 222
Sd.Kfz. 223
Puma
Leopard 2A6
Leopard 2A5
Abrams

That's all I could think of at the moment. I know I missed a few...and I haven't even counted the tanks the will be released in a few months!

And a lot of those tanks I've listed are comparable to the price of 1/18th armor now.

So wait, does that mean Mato is pocketing those IR sensors, when they should be included with every Stug purchase?

and so if you bought 2 and wanted to battle them you're SOL?
They don't mention anything about them or have them for sale on their website.

smittyrob64 wrote:

So wait, does that mean Mato is pocketing those IR sensors, when they should be included with every Stug purchase?

and so if you bought 2 and wanted to battle them you're SOL?
They don't mention anything about them or have them for sale on their website.

I guess Mato's initial Stug batch just didn't came with the IR sensor.

I finally ordered a Stug from RCCommand. Ordered it last night, shipped out this morning. I will repaint mine though. My early Tiger I needs a companion for my Kursk diorama.

So wait, does that mean Mato is pocketing those IR sensors, when they should be included with every Stug purchase?

The Stug I ordered from Mato arrived with the IR sensor... there has a been a lot of discussion about this at RCU, and I suppose it's possible a few didn't ship out, but I don't think there is any question that it's included and not an "option", I think some of the guys are simply misinterpreting the poorly worded ad which says "Infrared battle function(optional): The purchase of two or more infrared battle tanks, will be able to match...blah blah" Basically, what this is saying is the function is optional, not the sensor, and you need two tanks to carry on an IR battle. Also, as some have pointed out, they don't sell sensors at the site, so it's pretty clear to me that they don't need to be purchased seperately.

Good to know, I'll have to get on them about my missing one.

Did you get your situation sorted out?

Did you get your situation sorted out?

Unfortunately no, but thanks for asking. The thing simply wouldn't work, when the tank was turned on the headlights didn't flash like all HL tanks normally do, not a good sign. So I sent it back to Mato yesterday, but needless to say this is a major pain in the a$$. I would definitely contact Mato about your missing sensor smitty, chances are they will send you one free of charge, I would hope so anyway. The wording on the item description for the Stug leaves a lot to be desired and I can easily see how people could interpret it as being an "option" that is not included, honestly... they need a better translator. Hope it works out for you, and do let us know how it goes.

ostketten wrote:
Unfortunately no, but thanks for asking. The thing simply wouldn't work, when the tank was turned on the headlights didn't flash like all HL tanks normally do, not a good sign. So I sent it back to Mato yesterday, but needless to say this is a major pain in the a$$.

I'm sorry, but it kinda made me giggle when Mato asked you if you want to replace and fix the board yourself.

I was like, "WTF?"

Granted, I think the reason why the asked that was because 90% of the people in the 1/16th hobby are proficient with a soldering iron.