jarndice

When I first started in this hobby it was with a Heng Long Tiger 1 early,
It shared the same outline as a Tamiya Tiger 1 but that was where any similarity ended,
But what I did have for very little money was a template upon which I could build as accurate a Tiger 1 early as I my research and my pocketbook wanted,
I confess the last thing I want to buy is a Tank that is perfect,
Where is the fun or the challenge in that.
That is the world of the glass case shelf queen and it holds no interest for me,
Am I wrong if I assume most of us here build, tweak and engineer our Tanks and Trucks or are most of us opening RTR boxes and settling back satisfied at a job well done?
Bring on the Centurion as it is and leave any modifications to me please..

tankman

Nicely put Jarndice, however even the best made production models can benefit from a few tweaks by an experienced modeller who knows there subject. I’ve no doubt that the Centurion will be the same, needing those small but essential tweaks on missing or overscale parts or even building one of the many different MK’s of Centurion that Haya ltd has not covered. But I suspect there are just as many who unlike you will be happy with there “shelf queen”as is out of the box. Each to there own I say, after all if we were all the same it would be a boring world to say the least.

afv aficionado

Guess that makes you both 'journeymen' - the journey being more important than the destination - like me?

The only problem being the destination doesn't seem to get any closer, as one finds more stuff to tweak/rebuild - I'm on my 5th iteration of the shutter arm on my Chieftain's gunner sight, and sorta bogged down on the cupola with the angled periscopes....
And realised that to have the MRS on the barrel of my Chieftain means that it's an L11A5, with the slim bore evacuator, not the L11A3 with the thicker BE that is standard on the HAYA model. Going to let that one lie, should have tackled it prior to adding the barrel straps etc.
I'm assuming similar will happen with Centurion, the footman loops are already on the list....

Mal

tankman

You have hit the nail on the head Mal. Those who want a “standard model” to run or just display are catered for, and those who go down the dark path of “tweaking” or indeed the even darker art of “modifying” there tanks will I think be well catered for with the Centurion. At the end of the day as long as your happy with your model that’s all that matters in this, or any other hobby as far as I’m concerned.

MAUS45

Yes, Celong, its the scratch building that gets me busy. Just not able to leave it alone. This may end up as a 1973 Shot Kal when I get ahold of one!!!

afv aficionado

Haya posted a couple of pics on their FB site, along with this text
1. Haya 1/16 Centurion Chassis and Metal Road Wheels ( 2 versions for road wheels : Plastic , or the Metal road wheels for upgrade ). Road wheels and return roller wheels all with RUBBER TYRES ! and Road wheels with Bearings !
2. Metal Tracks in black colour
3. Metal drive wheels & Metal Idler wheels


Mal

borealis

Wow, now THAT's a professional running gear...

afv aficionado

A few more Haya posts on FB, and short vids of features - https://www.facebook.com/rchaya11/ -

Mal

Mk 5 & Mk III turret tops - swap-able

Mk III & Mk 5 turret tops

Operating gun travel clamp

afv aficionado

A couple more posts/pic's

Mal

cleong

Its nice that Haya's offering is made modular to represent different versions. That will be its main selling point.

Unfortunately, aside from that, it looks rather toy-like in its details. Maybe I am distracted by the rather 80s painting style of the tank crew.

fuchstraumer

wow, thanks for posting these updates! that looks incredible! I don't have a facebook account anymore, so I don't have any way to really view updates otherwise.

I see some people upset about some of the details, but honestly, I was thinking about my Haya Chieftain earlier and it's just absolutely one of the best RTR options I've seen - even with it's flaws! There's lot of little subtle touches that make it an incredibly easy tank to own, and after I added a light wash and some light weathering it really visually brought it all together (and this is NOT the kind of thing I'd expect from the factory - I actually really appreciate that it ships unweathered in a brighter paint scheme, it pleases those that like that and gives us weathering nerds a clean slate!)

This though, wow. I am so excited! That running gear looks incredible, truly redeeming my main issue with the Chieftian. I'm not a huge fan of the Centurion as a vehicle, personally, but as someone who has too many project tanks I've had to do extensive internal work to (like Heng Long tanks that I have to extensively modify and reinforce to make nearly as easy to service as my Haya Chieftain), getting another truly RTR tank with sturdy running gear and thoughtful access hatches/accomodation sounds great. I'm waiting with bated breath for this to hit the storefront, and know I'll be ordering one as soon as I can. Now I just gotta try to stay patient for what's next!

afv aficionado

Hi fuchstraumer
Me neither, but depending on the type of account, you can often look without an account.
There are supposed to be pre-orders available on the Haya UK site, though I haven't seen those yet - may require sign up?

I like the Chieftain too & have done a fair bit of work on mine, but not much of late. Still a way to go before painting.

There are some aspects of the Cent I don't love - looks like the glacis mounted spare tracks are moulded on, but replacing some detail is par for the course.
I think the Haya Cent tow ropes are miles better than the Tamiya string ones, likewise roadwheels.
It will be interesting to see if the Haya tracks are compatible with the Tamiya suspension, reports say that area is below par on the Tamiya.

Mal

afv aficionado

Anoher Haya post re the RC system -
we use hobby level Fly Sky (FS) 10 ch. transmitter and receiver for Haya 1/16 Centurion . systems has been customized by FS company by our requires, Ch3 and Ch 1 controls forward/backward, Ch 2 and Ch 4 controls turret and barrel. Or hobbyists can use their own system ( 8 ch. or plus ) . The main board is Clark TK5.0 with proper engine sounds ( Rolls Royce meteor ) and 2 machine gun sounds. - https://www.facebook.com/rchaya11/ -

Mal

RichJohnson

Great Clark….. I’ve seen so many Clark’s fail in the last two years it’s hurting my club because people can’t come out and tank because they are all broke and waiting for their boards to be repaired by Clark.

I’m sorry guys, I know there is a big Clark fan base, but I just can’t ignore what I have seen and I recommend people not use them.

Fsttanks

It looks to be coming along nicely with some great features. But that all comes with a higher price tag. As it is now the Haya Centurion will most likely start pushing prices close to the Tamiya Centurion for the top optioned version not to mention it will be much higher priced then the TD (rebranded HL) Centurion. I was hoping it wouldn’t because I want another decent Centurion. If it comes within a few hundred dollars as I suspect it will after needing to dump the Clark board and replace it with something more reliable, I think I would just buy another Tamiya which have come down in price substantially and are a proven commodity.

Lets hope for people like myself that want a reasonably nice Centurion that Haya offers an option for just the tank without the Clark at a reduced price. Kinda of like what they did with their Chieftain. If so I think they will have a winner both in tank options and market place price point.

Crius

TD? I've seen the one from Tank Household, but I'm not familiar with TD. Could you please expand on that a bit? Maybe a link to their website, if they have one?

afv aficionado

Hi Crius
I think TD means Tongde - a new outfit - to me, anyway. They also have a Cent. A couple of shots of it posted by Xiaoshan Sailo - AKA Hermill over on RC tank warfare - https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/foru...ic.php?t=33781 - & this site - Another Centurion. -

Mal

Fsttanks

cleong

Haya was the first to announce they were making a Centurion, yet Tamiya then TD Model beat them to the punch......it will be challenging for Haya to pitch their tank against them in terms of price, detail, features, etc., hopefully there is still a niche for them.

afv aficionado

An official video of the Haya posted - - along with an earlier one - -
Looks like they've dropped the opening stowage boxes to keep costs down.

Mal

jarndice

Indeed but the faux spare tracks are in fact the real thing, I do like that metal Tracks are a standard fit and why oh why have not any of the Chinese and Japanese makers not thought of a screw on/off main gun barrel,
Genius, well done Haya,
The readily available upgrades for the turret and gun barrels is most welcome but I would be less than happy with a Clark board being the standard control board.
I know the extra cost of removable side skirts means they are moulded onto the body But considering the sales of the Centurion outside of the UK will be to markets where the skirts were not a standard fit on the original Tank it may well affect sales in those markets.

cleong

Personally - I have one tank out of my ten or so that has a screw-off barrel (Hooben T-55) but I have never actually taken it off to transport it for an outing as I would have to thread the barrel flash emitter back in. In any case, my carry cases are generally large enough that rotating the turret back onto the hull makes it only an inch or two longer and fits in comfortably.

RichJohnson

I would think that the screw off barrel is just so a hobbyist doesnt have to tear the tank apart to upgrade the barrel. Like upgrading a tamiya Centurion with my drop in 105mm L7 gun barrel Im making. You have to take the top off and unscrew it from the recoil mechanism. And Tamiya made it easy on that tank model.
Taking it on and off all the time to transport is a bad idea.

borealis

I like the Haya one.
What's wrong with the TD one? The front view shows that the tracks are oblique.

Fsttanks

I got to say based on the information provided about the Haya Centurion I am impressed. It checks the right boxes for suspension, road wheels and tracks in my book. Although I can’t but wonder if the tracks are the same ones DKLM is/was selling for the Tamiya Centurion. If so they are good quality but have issues running on the Tamiya. Hope they run smoother on the Haya.

My only pause is what the price point including delivery to my door will be. Given all that is being offered I can’t imagine that price being under $800. If so that is pretty close to what a Tamiya Centurion is going for these days. But given that the Haya also looks to be using more widely available off the shelf parts it makes for a huge plus and overall cheap to maintain tank in the long run. It’s going to be a tough pick for a second Centurion between the Haya and Tamiya for me given how well the Tamiya Centurion has performed.