Cadillac Gage V-100 Commando Armored Car - Vietnam - Build

[HERMAN BIX]

No stone unturned for details mate, those headlights really do add to it.

[AlwynTurner]

Louis the only word that comes to mind on this build is AWESOME!

Brilliant micro engineering and absolutely way beyond my skills, fumble fingers and eyesight.

Very well done

Alwyn

[lmcq11]

Hi,
Thank you for your encouragements. It's been a pleasure to build this vehicle, it is getting close to the end of the building phase.

Here is some more info on the electronics and gears i am using. I am no expert on electronics but many builders are likely facing the same situation, first time with wheeled vehicle... Can't put a Heng Long or Clark control board on these.

Requirements:
- Replace the basic WPL remote, electronics and the directional gizmo by something better
- I do not like car remote controls with the wheel and pistol grip, i prefer the 2 sticks
- Need to rotate the turret and gun elevation
- Head and tail lights
- Engine sound
- Machine gun sound and flash (dropped)

An extra flysky receiver for my RC unit can be purchased for $20. It is cheap enough to be purchased and left permanently in the vehicle, well until that time when you need one asap...

Flysky IA10B receiver

Individual WPL servo of the right size can be purchased for less than $10, mostly to cover shipping... It provide a very smooth and precise control of the vehicle compared to the gizmo the M35 came with.

WPL servo

A 10A Bustophedon ESC Brushed Speed Controller can be purchased for $4 including shipping. There are 20A and 30A versions available of this model and I will later experiment with these. Can be hooked to the 6V battery and motor of the WPL M35 by connecting directly or changing the connectors. Another one will also be used to control the Heng Long turret rotation unit, with variable speed and reverse, it seems to work fine in tests.

10A Bustophedon ESC Brushed Speed Controller

Sold on eBay for $24, this RC car truck sound unit provide 2 speakers and selection for 10 different sounds. Although most of them seemed to be airplanes (??) and racing cars engines, one of them is obviously a large truck engine and is close enough. It has engine start, idle and acceleration. It connect to the same RC channel as the speed control through a Y splitter. I will only install one speaker so I have an extra one for another project.

RC Car Truck Engine Loud Sound Module

LED unit, can be purchased for $1, shipping included. Connects directly to the receiver.

Car 5mm 4 LED

On a tip from Carl on his M3 build, I purchased a Vex Gear Kit, mine at Robotshop.com for less than $20 including shipping. A medium size wheel will simply be put under the turret and it fits the gear of the Heng Long rotation unit. Enough for many vehicles. A small servo will sit on the wheel for gun elevation.

Vex Gear Kit

I dropped the requirement for gun flash because the Aber barrels do not have a bore. As I needed to make a choice, I preferred accuracy than sound. There are some RC airplane machine gun sound units available on specialized websites but I did not think it was worth the cost.

Regards, Louis

[c.rainford73]

Louis glad I was of some help continuing to follow this great build

[HERMAN BIX]

Those knick-knacks sure do seem custom made for these small builds.
Great info

[lmcq11]

Hi,

Here are the tail lights.

The idea was to do my best to get something close to this, and functional. The challenge is obvious with basic tools and the few hours I am willing to put on these. Also need to make 2 identical ones, not easy and not the most enjoyable components of the vehicle to build.

Ludwigs V-100 Commando tail lights

The raw material chosen consisted of 2 layers of thick plasticard glued together to create the core body, a 3mm LED and a Lego red transparent single pin to trim for the cover, everything hand carved with a blade and drill bits. And it's tiny... and dusty.

Ludwigs V-100 Commando tail lights

Basic construction is done. Not totally accurate due to technical challenges, it is a fair interpretation of it.

Ludwigs V-100 Commando tail lights

Ludwigs V-100 Commando tail lights

The design and installations was complicated by the fact that the rear door is positioned a bit too much to the right, not leaving much room to install the tail lights. I needed to do some adaptation.

Ludwigs V-100 Commando tail lights

Wiring is re-tested, works well.

Ludwigs V-100 Commando tail lights

Close-ups pictures, yes they need a good wash, some more filler here and there, and polishing.

Ludwigs V-100 Commando tail lights

Ludwigs V-100 Commando tail lights

Ludwigs V-100 Commando tail lights

Next step is the turret installation.

Regards, Louis

[lmcq11]

Hi,

Below is a video of the electronic and engine tests

https://youtu.be/VjG1EIfLpRg

Below is a video of the test drive. It runs well. Considering the low cost of the Ludwigs kit and the electronics I put on it, i am satisfied with the overall integration. It is only missing a machine gun sound unit.

https://youtu.be/JaIDBJktOag

The turret is installed with rotation and gun elevation. It is sitting on a Vex gear linked to a Heng Long rotation unit driven by a dedicated 10A ESC speed control on channel 1. A micro servo is providing basic gun elevation. Cannot get simpler than that.

V-100 turret rotation

There is a lot of wiring for such a small vehicle compared to the donor M-35. I will need to find a way to organize it a bit better...

Ludwigs V-100 Commando

Next step is to go around the vehicle and add all the missing details.

Regards, Louis

[HERMAN BIX]

Hell of a lot of precise detail for whats essentially an armoured car............and you have go it all so right.

[lmcq11]

Hi,

Going around the vehicle, adding some items.

The spring leaf suspension is highly visible from the front and back on the real vehicle so I decided to mimic the suspension for visual purposes in a way that will not interface with the model working suspension. I created half sections that are installed on the vehicle's front and rear and are extending up to the axel.

Ludwigs V-100 Commando armored car

Front suspension. The shackles are the one Shapeways advertises for the Sherman.

Ludwigs V-100 Commando armored car

Ludwigs V-100 Commando armored car

rear suspension

Ludwigs V-100 Commando armored car

At the rear, the shackles are directly in front of the suspension. There is the tool rack and the Jerrycan left to install here but this will be done only after painting is completed. Besides, the Shapeways tool rack I ordered is still in the mail and I won't wait for it.

Ludwigs V-100 Commando armored car

Weld lines were added as per references

Ludwigs V-100 Commando armored car

I think it is pretty much it, the vehicle is almost ready for painting. These are the last pictures before painting. Ah, just noticing two more brackets I forgot to put on above the side doors... The M-60 machine gun mount will be installed at the rear once I have built the figure that will man it.

Ludwigs V-100 Commando armored car

Ludwigs V-100 Commando armored car

Ludwigs V-100 Commando armored car

Ludwigs V-100 Commando armored car

The V-100 is a very good looking vehicle. Can't wait to see it in Olive Drab. But there will surely be a couple of primer coat, putty and polishing phases before that. Those joints and the visors are tricky and will need lots of fine tuning I am sure.

Regards, Louis

[Ad Lav]

Looking very smart!!

Turret looks great.