panzerrob Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 If you are not interested in the RC stuff, you can sell those parts at a dedicated RC tank site! My guess is it will return about 40% of your purchase cost! But to be sure it's better to ask before buying. With regards, Rob P.S. Here is a link to a great site, with a Buy/Sell option and a thread with RC tank clubs world wide: https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums/index.php LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 Status update. Running gear completed. New engine deck looks okay. Fenders have been added. Front glacis being worked on to remove fittings for the front gun travel lock. Some bow machine gun parts installed. Electric motors and electronics tested. Tracks added. Still lots to do. So far so good. There's been a lot of sanding and grinding of the resin hull but thankfully, the quality is pretty good for such a large casting. And of course, working with Tamiya base parts is a joy. Cheers and more to follow. Dave/Ironman1945 BiggTim, Cheetah11, Scotsman and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 That beast must have some weight! Well done. Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick HMD Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Easy eight bogies (HVSS) under a cast hull? Really? Never seen that before. Is that for real? I'm no expert on armored vehicles, so excuse my ignorance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Nice work, Dave. I'll look forward to seeing more. I'm currently having lots of fun working on my 1:16 Takom Panzer I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 Hi all. A few things. 13 hours ago, Uncarina said: That beast must have some weight! Well done. Cheers, Tom Tom, yes indeed it has a lot of heft which is nice. I think it gives it a "scale" weight affect. Suspension looks great when its in action. 8 hours ago, Patrick HMD said: Easy eight bogies (HVSS) under a cast hull? Really? Never seen that before. Is that for real? I'm no expert on armored vehicles, so excuse my ignorance. Hey Patrick. Yes, designated as M4A1E8 76mm. From what I've seen online ( Sherman production table (free.fr)) , approx 1255 were made. In comparison, approx 2617 M4A3E8 76mm were manufactured. Here are some WWII pics as well as the conversion to the Israeli M51 version. Approx 180 Shermans were converted to M51 standards... but I believe that includes both M4A1 and M4A3 hulls. Have to say this conversion is a lot of fun. Nice change from LSPs. Dave/Ironman1945 BiggTim, Out2gtcha, LSP_K2 and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick HMD Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Wow! Awesome pics. Thanks. That was all news to me. I was under the impression that cast hulls were limited to early production. That HVSS suspention gives the Sherman a pure balls, heavy duty appearance. Thanks for the enlightment. I'm less ignorant on Shermans now. So many variations. Again, beautiful pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Good show, Dave. The M51 is a fave. Sincerely, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 22 hours ago, Patrick HMD said: Wow! Awesome pics. Thanks. That was all news to me. I was under the impression that cast hulls were limited to early production. That HVSS suspention gives the Sherman a pure balls, heavy duty appearance. Thanks for the enlightment. I'm less ignorant on Shermans now. So many variations. Again, beautiful pictures. Hey Patrick. Yes I agree, HVSS does seem to make it more menacing. Cast hull has always been my favorite Sherman variant. Cheers! Dave/Ironman1945 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 On 12/28/2021 at 9:31 AM, BiggTim said: You lucky stiff! I want one of these in a major way, but it's just to dang expensive. I will live vicariously through your build. Hey Tim! They are expensive, but I think worth the value. I financed a large percentage of these Tamiya 1/16 tanks by selling off kits I decided I would never build. Mainly LSPs and 1/35 armor. Like a lot of older model builders I've got a large collection, and odds are I wont get to all of them. So a great way to down size. Thought I may regret the decision, but nope so far its been well worth it. Really enjoying working on this beast. Cheers! Dave/Ironman1945 LSP_K2, GMK and BiggTim 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerhard Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMK Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Dave, loving this! Your methodology for picking subjects seems aligned with mine: pick a subject, then nominate features that make it unique within the genre. Very cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 Hi all. On 1/14/2022 at 11:54 AM, GMK said: Dave, loving this! Your methodology for picking subjects seems aligned with mine: pick a subject, then nominate features that make it unique within the genre. Very cool! For GMK. Never really thought about it but your pretty much spot on. More often than not, I do want to add something unique. Good point! Really do have to do more out-of-the box to up my production rate! HA! On 1/14/2022 at 8:39 AM, Jennings Heilig said: Looking great! Super Shermans always make me think of my friend Meir Schneller from the glider club in Virginia. Meir was the nicest, gentlest, kindest man (a professor at Virginia Tech). It was only after his tragic death in a glider accident that I found out he'd received Israel's version of the Medal of Honor for leading his Super Sherman tank platoon to safety after being surrounded by Egyptian troops during the 1973 war. Can't wait to see her finished! J Jennings, that's a great story, and it's reminded me of something from in the 1990s, back when I was still an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy. There used to be a monk who I would, from time to time, see walking down one certain street here in Victoria. I was always curious about him. I finally had a chance to speak with him one day when I was coming home from the Naval dockyard. I was in uniform, and he had a lot of questions about my role in the Navy. He seemed very knowledgeable about the military, more than I would have expected from a monk. I asked him about his past, and was blown away when he told me that he served with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, assigned to the British 6th Airborne Division in WWII, and took part in both the D Day landing and Operation Varsity. He told me that after the war he was always looking for some sort of inner peace, which he only found when he joined the monastery. Kagemusha, Uncarina, GMK and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 The hardest part of this was always going to be fitting the Tamiya turret rotation gear into the resin hull. The Tamiya gear consists of 3 rollers under the hull and the turret rotation/motor unit. The 3 rollers keep the turret centralized on the hull and interlock with the rotation/motor unit to ensure smoot turret movement. Here is what you get with the Tamiya M4A3 hull. Its basically a modification of their older 1/16 M4A3 105 Howitzer. They have added extra mounting points, indicated in black, for the new hardware in the M51. And here is the resin hull in the middle of modification. The resin hull was based on the old Tamiya M4A3 105 kit I mentioned earlier, and was designed for that old kits turret rotation hardware. I had to cut out all the old mounting pegs and modify/add to it to resemble the ones in black above. I've also added the LED for the bow machine gun. I added the mounting points by using plastic tubing super glued together, and inserted the rods right through the resin hull to get a good fit. And after many days of fitting, refitting, and filling/re-drilling the tubes, this is the final result. Took a lot of work but its all aligned now. Broke off both front fenders with all the rough handling, but never mind, I'll re-attach soon enough. The main thing is everything is lined up, and the gear teeth mesh perfectly. More as progress continues. With the Saints out of the playoffs, I am now cheering for both the Bengals and the Bills! Cheers and stay safe! Dave/Ironman1945 Greg W, Rockie Yarwood, Out2gtcha and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Nice problem-solving. Sincerely, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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