Like I said, motomanpat, the only issues I have had with mine, was getting the push out of it, and the center diff retaining ring breaking and letting the spur gear come loose. I fixed that problem by ordering a steel one from the hyper7. Haven't had any problems with the tanks (I use shock o-rings on the top and bottom of it just for added safety), or any of the other horror stories that you hear.
I guess to sum it up....if I was to buy all over again, and I had plenty of money to buy any buggy I wanted, I would STILL by the Hyper8! What better testimony can you hear than that???
I too use the OFNA lightweight/compact starter box with 2 1500mah battery packs. It works great!! I was actually quite surprised at how well it worked, to be honest!...lol. It spins my RB over like a top, and it still sticks at TDC.
Congrats on your decision, I truly believe you will be very happy with the H8! Besides, like you said, it's nice to have something different than everyone else: makes it more fun that way...