RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Indeed, there is a definite advantage to smaller tubes of cyanoacrylate, for just the reason you give. I am hoping your track guides hold up. If not, I agree with your "Plan B", the one you understandably want to avoid. Oof! I have used various kinds of cyanoacrylates for modeling (and whatnnot else) for years. Lately, I have turned more and more to E6000. E6000 takes longer to set, and a chemist friend told me that one result of the slower setting is a stronger bond. For me, at least, E6000 can hold a bit of a part while wet, dries clear, seems to hold well against shear forces, can be sanded, and takes enamel or acrylic paint well. As the US Dept. of Transportation likes to say "Your mileage may vary."

[B_Man]

A great build thread Louis. I've just read through from the start and your attention to detail and solutions to recreating it are incredible. You should consider starting a YouTube channel.
I've just spent an enjoyable couple of days wrestling with an aber photo etch kit which was difficult enough for me, your scratch building skills are something to behold.

[lmcq11]

A great build thread Louis. I've just read through from the start and your attention to detail and solutions to recreating it are incredible. You should consider starting a YouTube channel.
I've just spent an enjoyable couple of days wrestling with an aber photo etch kit which was difficult enough for me, your scratch building skills are something to behold.

Thank you B Man, I do have a Youtube channel, its Nautilus1947. Not sure where i got the 1947, its not my birth year. I have about 1180 subscribers. This is where i post the videos for my builds. Looks like a bunch of people around the world are checking them out without going through RCTW. I can see that the German stuff, tracked vehicles and the RC conversion of static kits are always more popular. One of the video featuring the breech recoil on the Hummel howitzer has 360k viewers... There must have been some Youtube algorithm that put that one on some publicized list for some time.

Continuing with the build.

The following posts are for the fenders.

After studying all the pictures of the Conti tank at Dien Bien Phu, i selected the fender configuration without the extensions on the sides, front and back, and without side skirts. On the left side, we can notice spare tracks at the back and a tow cable alongside the fender that i will have to put on at the right time.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

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On the right fender are extra ammo rounds stored at the back, followed probably by a Jerrycan, then tools in the middle stored on the side armor, and the opened hatch at the front giving that dark item.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

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In this picture of Conti in operation, we can see a large tarp on the rear left fender. However, i have a feeling that this might be a body bag because the French loaded the dead on the back of the tanks going back to base.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

View of Conti around the Dien Bien Phu main airstrip, with a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar burning in the background. This plane, part of the American CAT (Civil Ait Transport) under CIA management in « Operation Squaw II » created to support the French, forced landed at Dien Bien Phu after being hit by AA artillery during a drop mission. American advisors burned the aircraft the next day to prevent its technology from ever getting into Communist hands. Then the plane was further destroyed right away by Vietminh artillery who used the smoke from the fire to preset the artillery coordinates of the airfield for the main engagement planned the following day… This picture might be related to the second picture as it shows the same items on the tank fender.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

The fenders are made in thinner 0.75mm plasticard, in 4 sections for more realism.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

The Chaffee front fenders have a reinforced bracket that is also useful for the RC vehicle. A bit of a struggle here to get all the angles right, but no issue. The bracket was given a solid base underneath and glued to the chassis for solidity, that section was taken from the removable sliding glacis.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

The front sides of the removable top were adapted, and is now going around the bracket at the front.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

The body of the fenders are installed on the chassis, with the brackets and bolts. It's looking good.

The height of the suspension, the space between the roadwheels and return rollers, the space between the top of the tracks and the fenders, and between the fenders and the top of the hull are calculations that gave me worries throughout the build. Some compromises were required. Chaffee experts will surely notice a few things that are off by a couple of mm, but its very close, as close as i could get them.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

The model as it stands today with the turret put on the chassis. It is really starting to look like an M24 Chaffee on the final assembly line, a rare sight in 1/16 scale, and a unique model itself by the selection of components used.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

Some close up pictures on the fenders.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

Continuing on following post

[lmcq11]

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

[lmcq11]

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

Next step, installing turret rotation and the M2 Browning and stand on the turret.

Regards, Louis

[lmcq11]

Hi,

Here are a couple of videos of the model being tested. Sorry for the quality, its not easy to operate the remote on one hand while filming at the same time with the other hand. There are a few issues to resolve but overall, the tank is running surprisingly well for the first tests of a scratch built model. Gearbox, tracks and sprockets are still a bit stiff and are not yet lubricated at all. Turret rotation and recoil are good.

phpBB [video]

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Regards, Louis

[Herr Dr. Professor]

What a triumph, Louis! And I had a real hoot watching the videos. My computer was attached to the Bluetooth Amplifier, so I got the sound of your Chaffee laid over "Smoke on the Water." YES!

[lmcq11]

Well, thank you very much Her Dr Professor

It’s a very good feeling and quite a relief when I watch a scratch built chassis like this, with a made up running train and tracks, run relatively well on first trial. Ouf, yes, success. Now the remaining of the build is just cosmetics.

Thanks for your encouragements

[HERMAN BIX]

What a fantastic little tank it is...............it sure does look wide & low, almost like the turret is too small for the hull !
of equal intrigue for me is the vista out the windows of your studio Sir..............my Girls would love to experience that , especially this time of year.

[lmcq11]

What a fantastic little tank it is...............it sure does look wide & low, almost like the turret is too small for the hull !
of equal intrigue for me is the vista out the windows of your studio Sir..............my Girls would love to experience that , especially this time of year.

Thanks Herman,
The Chaffee is a light tank, not a medium one. In term of size, its right between a Sherman and a Stuart. It was a perfect vehicle for Vietnam, with low ground pressure. Yeah, we're in the middle of Canadian winter. Weather has been nice so far in Quebec province. Not too much snow.

Comparing the Chaffee to a Sherman Firefly.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

Comparing the Chaffee to an M5A1 Stuart.

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

Next step, the turret machine gun, and going around the vehicle to put on secondary details. I still have an M-46 sprue that has been stuck in Frankfurt for a month. I kind of need it for the head lights and some other details. I also plan to provide a commander figure, with a couple of French Foreign Legion infantry to go on the tank.

Regards, Louis