Torro Tiger 131 Remote Control Tank with BB Shooting Function

Very pleased with my purchase of this RC model recreation of the famous Tiger 131. Detail and paintwork is excellent and it’s great fun to drive with the firing gun and authentic sound effects. Impressed by the metal gearbox and lower metal hull which contains the little smoke machine. I think you can also retrofit the infrared battle system to Torro tanks so that will be my first upgrade task.

To start this review, I must say that I bought this model as principally a model for display, and only secondarily to actually run and 'play' with. On this basis, it rates five stars. The model - at 1:16 scale - looks really impressive and is incredibly well-detailed.

But as to the radio-controlled running and management system of this side, it has its limitations if not indeed problems, as detailed in the other two reviews. Principally poor instructions: to fit or access the battery for charging, the top of the tank has to be released by a lever located just above the rear of the left-hand track. What we are not told in the nicely otherwise-printed instruction booklet is that the four 'engine air filter' pipes have to be disconnected first in order to lift the rear part of the top deck from the body, at which stage the top can be lifted and the front of the deck disengaged from the base by pulling it back. BUT CARE as there are a number of cables that connect from the lower part of the body to the top deck, and these are not long enough to comfortably be able to put the top assembly down unsupported. (I am leaving the four air filter pipes disconnected as otherwise I can see them coming apart in due course). So care is needed; as the top has to be removed every time you need to charge the battery this operation is fiddly and may lead to connecting leads damage in time. When refitting the top casing, the front engages easily enough, but the rear vertical panel of the tank top fits INSIDE the vertical sides of the base; if this is not carefully done then the two catches for the back/top will not catch. I would suggest that a new owner CAREFULLY looks at (and photographs) how this section fits BEFORE releasing the top's catch and taking the top off. Perhaps a connecting socket for the battery charger should have been permanently fitted in the body somewhere - perhaps accessed through the driver or co-driver's hatches (one has the main power switch but the other has a volume knob for the sound volume); this would have negated the need to keep removing the top every time a recharge was needed.

I have not filled the smoke system yet, so cannot comment on this element although some small wisps were evident when I briefly ran the smoke system early on.

The other problem with the radio control running system is that - with both the turret rotation speed and tracks movement - unless extreme care is taken with the remote control, these will run at quite a 'rate of knots'. Ideally the electronics needs to be able to power the turret rotation - and each track - at a MUCH slower starting speed, which would also be more realistic for the real tank. Indeed, the tank can be made to spin very fast in circles very easily with little power applied to the left/right control, and in straight ahead/reverse (or with some degree of turn applied) it will race away at speed. I have not even attempted to use much more than a low level of 'throttle' on the radio control.

Finally, the tank gun elevation will only cycle through in one direction - if you want it to go down but have 'passed' the 'down' part of the cycle you have to just wait for it to go to maximum elevation then start on its downward movement. And on the subject of gun elevation, it is really very limited in its movement. There is (from memory) a small depression (from the horizontal) at lowest, but at maximum elevation it is little higher than level.

The manual also lacks instructions as to where/how to fit (a) the pair of rear mudguards, (b) the two included three-barrel smoke dischargers (have managed to sort out both of these) and (c) the four single-barrel smoke dischargers, so the latter are still languishing in the box.

Taking into account the limited instructions and less-than-ideal use (i.e. charging) and R/C operational features, these facilities only warrant three stars, so hence I have awarded 4 stars overall.

All in al a lovely MODEL, but if you want to play 'tanks' with it then you may prefer to look elsewhere.

Initially I was pleased with my purchase, however, there were a few issues that were frustrating. The instructions were a bit misleading when it come to the smoke generator and there was no mention of having to install some of the parts that came with the tank. I still have a few bits left over and no idea where they go. Access to install the battery is little awkward and involves removing the air-filter intake pipes, again, not in the instructions, and after a couple of pipe removals, the paint started coming off and the ends frayed. All the functions worked 'out of the box' except for the smoke generator, which would not work. Investigations revealed that the cotton wool in the smoke generator was soaking wet with oil. When this cotton wool was replaced, the smoke generator worked as advertised. I liked some of the detail with this model of 131 i.e. the bucket, but I was a little disappointed it has no IR receiver for battles with other tanks. Overall I was pleased with the purchase after the bugs were ironed out, however, there should have been no issues with the the tank as it was brand new. In addition to this, the directions of the instructions were misleading and incomplete. I will give it 3 stars, now its working properly.

This is an excellent reproduction of the Tiger 131 (I have compared the exterior with the Tiger Tank "Haynes Manual" also from the museum). The reason I did not award five stars is the quality of the instructions: for example, installing the battery (p. 7) does not state that the air filter pipes should be disconnected or that care should be taken when removing the upper hull so as not to stress the wiring. Another example would be p. 9 bottom left image stating the smoke switch is on the tank itself, but in reality it is on the remote. It was also not stated how the rear mud guards should be attached (from the accessories box) etc. (this is not an exhaustive list). Having said all that I am very pleased with my purchase - will the museum be offering a Panther next - and perhaps trying out the instructions themselves to make sure they are fit for purpose!?