How do 450 clones differ from real thing?

[jackpe]

I'm sure some are made using crap components and materials but what about one like this, is there really much difference with an original Align?

HK450 Pro - NO RESERVE (Auction ID: 100134, End Time : 18 Dec. 2011 16:37:33) - RCHA Auctions

[Ubi22]

Cant comment on that 1 in your link ! But i have had 5 clones and they are defiantly very much below Align , the real trick is knowing what to change to align and is it worth it once you have spent out for the changes ! For instants i have not had 1 descent swash plate on any of my clones, my 600's only last 3 flight, they start good but soon turn to crap ! I would say if you know what your doing mechanically but are still learning to fly they make good value, but once your kicking the sh*t out off a model you need the quality imho

[cjcj1949]

There isn't such a thing as a 450 clone. There are just lots of clones of varying quality. To complicate matters the quality is improving all the time and some are better than others. I can recomend the Flasher 450 from Wings Wheels and Motors.

You can pay £20 for a head from GiantCod, or £60 from WW&M or £110 from Align. I've heard good reports about Helis from Devon, but I haven't used them. Quality can be very high from Giant Cod but very variable. You can always send the faulty stuff back to GC or just buy a replacement for the faulty part. My HK450MT lasted about 12 months before it started going wrong, but it took me a long time to find the right washers for the head. The metal holding the tail rotor shaft bearing is about as good as plastic and needs to be checked before the bearing works loose.

Perhaps we should measure the strength of the metal using a simple test, like the depth of indentation from an automatic punch. Then at least we would know how long it would last.

[sacko]

Personally, I would keep an eye out for a good secondhand 450 on here/BMFA classifieds.

Clones just seem like a minefield.

[paulsouthport]

AS said above, they vary greatly.
The one in your post, the electronics and batteries supplied with it probably account for the majority of the asking price.
If you're going to be crashing regularly whilst learning then a clone can make a lot of sense. The problem is though, some of the difficultly in flying may actually be down to the lower overall quality.
HK 450 is at the lower end of the clone pecking order, but the quality is far better now than even 12 months ago. Even so, some things like shafts, bearings, gears, skids and canopies can be junk.

[waveydavey]

I bought a 450 clone from Hong Kong and it cost £34 landed without canopy. It was completely in bits so full assembly was required. The quality was good, the only bit that needed replacing was indeed the swash. It was a copy of the 450 pro, the model is fine. I found it's down to the electrics, I tried as an experiment to see how little I could spend to get it in the air. With that in mind I bought a copy 9256 (pile of sh##) and some Tower Pro MG9S I think. The tower pros aren't bad apart from the centering but the tail servo lasted 3 flights or so before it started letting go. I put an Align 450Mx motor in and a Fusion hawk ESC that i had lying about. It flys and it was cheap. Quite impressed overall although it was a Pro/Sport with bits in the kit that belonged to both versions

[lankey]

Had a dabble with a clone in my earlier days (CopterX). Fit and finish was OK but the bearings were simply awful compared to Aligns (and Align can be crud!).

Trouble with clones is the initial cost of the kit can be good, but outlay over time can be high when you start replacing stuff.

Heard Tarot pretty good. Use their motor mount on my Align 450 Pro V1 and it's superior than the original regarding flex.

[BenjaminKenobi]

Hey. I had a Copterx and a Tarot. The Copterx came with the screws glued in and took some time to rebuild. The Tarot was indistinguishable from Align and came with no threadlock at all (awesome!).

I loved the Tarot 450 pro which I got from Miracle Mart.

If you can stretch to Align then do it. I've not had any problems with Align components so highly recommend.

Cool?


Cheers!

[Stuart]

The one your referring too is mine. I bought it as I waited and waited for a used 450Pro to arrive on the market and none did so I took the view that if my son was going to get back into it then he could use it more than me. I upshot being he's more into his music and ironically education at the moment with exams arround the corner in Jan too.

So I flew it on and off it flys as smooth and out of the 450's I've had before it is without a doubt the best one but it just doesn't suit me. It sorta re-confirmed to me I prefer bigger heli's and if going into electric again I want a 6S sized heli. 10S's to me are just too much to change for me from nitro.

So if your learning the net result will be that atleast with this cloned kit will end up being I suspect a full align version once you bumped enough times and replaced it all.

Each to there own but the majority of heli's out there have a cloned or copied element even Align started out with a bits copied off other manufacturers.....

[swale]

I have a copter x and beside the align there is no difference in build quality flying or anything else

[scuba steve]

i can completely recommend a tarot 450 pro kit and you will not need to replace a thing. however, i strongly advice that you install some decent electronics and as with all RC heli.....a good set up = a good flyer.

[shaun169]

I must say some clone parts are even better than Align parts. I quite like Tarot tail block and tail unit. They are metal one piece design and very solid. I would say I 'upgraded' my Align sport model using Tarot parts. and RJX flybarless head for example.
I can see it by looking at the onboard video cam. When I upgraded the Align parts with clone parts, I could see the difference by crystal clear HD video quality with no vibration or jello (which mean it's a very smooth and the parts causing no vibe - not even detectable with full HD video from onboard cam)


With Align parts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5BUyseivvg


With Tarot & RJX parts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz8xGm9vDXA
(please ignore the crash at the end but focus on the vibe-free feature compared to the first clip)

[noddyflyer]

just trashed my cx 250se which was my fave heli flew realy well .more than happy with it .so i ordered another kit ,the head had more slop than a school canteen .so i built a trex 250se out of align spares i had ,i cant get it to fly as good as the original cx250 though .clones are good for learning if you get a good one (cheeper to fix after a crash) my cx 450 pro has loads of tarot parts in it due to lousy cx parts (should have got a tarot to begin with).....mick

[jackpe]

Ok...so the feedbak would say Tarots seem pretty good but most of you would go for the originals.... how about Gaui's ? not saying they are clones but do they compare well?

[waveydavey]

Gaui's aren't clones but can be expensive. Good though, Russ Deakin flys the X5 and it's a nice bit of kit