M16 Half Track "Meat Chopper" Korea 1950 - Build

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lmcq11
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M16 Half Track "Meat Chopper" Korea 1950 - Build

Post by lmcq11 »

Hi,

This is my new build. I know, I've been busy lately. I should be on a 3 week roadtrip in Portugal but I am now enjoying my summer vacation at home with not much to do.

The subject: The M16 half track equipped with the M45 AA quadmount with M2 .50 cal machine guns. It was also popular against enemy infantry. This is how it got the nickname Meat Chopper. These .50 rounds can cut a man in half and were especially effective in massacring communist infantry wave attacks in Korea. It is surprising the Chinese would create a model of such a terrible former foe.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
At one point in Korea, the M16 and newly build M16A1 were equipped with "Bat Wings" to protect the loaders against enemy snipers. It is undetermined if I will reproduce them for this build. It does not make the M16 very good looking.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Capture.JPG (32.36 KiB) Viewed 3346 times
Reference for this build is essential because the web only has a few fussy pictures, and I found that some restored vehicles are not necessarily authentic and could create mistakes during the build. In addition to the Squadron Signal Walk around that has a section on the M16, I am lucky to own the fantastic Gun Power books of the half track from AJ Press. Both volumes add up to more than 460 pages of pictures and drawings, its a modeller's dream. Volume 2 in particular has 36 pages of 3D detailed color drawings of all areas of the M16. They also have a 1/16 scale M16 unfolding poster with 1/16 blueprints in the back.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Samples of the 3D drawings. Purchase of these 2 books is highly recommended for US half track modellers.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The model is based on the WSN M16, purchased 2 years ago on a web sale. It looks like a good deal from far away.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Closer inspection reveals poor craftmanship, low level of details and many issues. My M16 has a 3mm gap between the cabin and rear section. The builder did not try to correct and did not even bother putting in the screws for the cabin because they did not align. So the rear of the cabin is actually loose...
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The M45 quad mount is interesting at first. But then, I became disappointed. The detail on the M2 machine guns is really basic. The builder did not align the machine guns when gluing them on the mount, so they look bad shooting in all directions. It is critical for the look that a squad weapon mount has its guns shoot in the same direction. This could be fixed though.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The mount is provided with rotation and elevation, this is great. However, it is designed in such a way that makes maintenance nearly impossible without breaking something else. When there is a failure on this thing, its probably the end of it. I guess this is why so many owners convert their M16 into an M3. I nearly have.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
A small LED is installed in each barrel. There is a trench like cavity on each barrel that certainly show then the guns are raised.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Continuing on following post
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PainlessWolf
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Re: M16 Half Track "Meat Chopper" Korea 1950 - Build

Post by PainlessWolf »

Good afternoon sir,
You must have received a Friday ( or Monday ) build of this vehicle. I have one that I purchased from 'The Commander' ( Bob up in New Jersey ) some time back ( Torro listed as the manufacturer ) and it exhibits none of the flaws show here. I have it on my build list slated for detailing and upgraded electronics. I will be following your Build with great interest! ( as usual ;o)
regards,
Painless
...Here for the Dawn...
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lmcq11
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Re: M16 Half Track "Meat Chopper" Korea 1950 - Build

Post by lmcq11 »

Despite all my attempts at trying to make it work, its doesn't. The emitter and binding process is good, but that board is dead. No big deal, after seeing it in action on YouTube, I made my mind to replace it anyway. I have decided to replace it with my 35RCTANK MTC-2 control board and ACU unit. As it is, I did not think this model is worth buying an expensive Elmod control board, well maybe later. For now, the task is to adapt the rest of the electronic to make it work with the new MTC-2 control board.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
View of the front and cabin interior. I am a big fan of AFV with open fighting compartment. Although the side doors are not detailed, they can be made detailed. I was happily surprised that a full interior is possible without something major or unrealistic in the way. So, there is potential for a very good model here, with figures and equipment.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
That battery box for the 8 AA batteries in the back is huge and will be dramatically reduced with the planned battery.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The chassis is excellent. It has a metal frame, rubber tire, servo direction, good transmission, rubber tracks and flexible rear suspension. Lots of good stuff here.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The model is being disassembled.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
2 figures are provided. They are caricatural in nature, not 1/16, and looking more like monkeys that anything else. Definitely not the look I want on my model, but some body parts could be reusable.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
I am pleased with the chassis.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The gun mount is too complicated and fragile in my views. It is designed for continuous 360 degrees rotation, when it works...
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Gun elevation is provided by a motor unit exactly the size of a micro servo. I decided to replace it with a 2-way 360 continuous rotation servo that will be connected directly to the Flysky receiver on a available channel with the VRA knob.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The motor unit gear connecting to the mount elevation gear is not the same as the servo. But they looked exchangeable. So, I switched the WSN elevation gears to the servo, a perfect fit.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Capture14.JPG (98.65 KiB) Viewed 3342 times
Last edited by lmcq11 on Fri Jun 26, 2020 3:49 am, edited 2 times in total.
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lmcq11
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Re: M16 Half Track "Meat Chopper" Korea 1950 - Build

Post by lmcq11 »

The gun mount now has servo elevation, and tested. Working well.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The servo fits perfectly where the old motor unit was, even the screw is reusable.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Gun mount rotation connects directly to the MTC-2 board with a new connector, and tested. Working well.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The main motor is connected to one of the engine port on the board, and tested. After changing its connector, the steering servo is connected directly to the Flysky receiver on a available channel, and assigned the VRB knob for driving the vehicle. All good. I prefer driving with one of the two knob on the emitter than a stick. Its like a driving wheel.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The new battery size and the needed room for the receiver will allow me to cut the former battery box in half, so it won't show from the back and side. Great !
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
I could not wait to remove that battery box.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The machine guns and their LEDs will be discarded.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
These will be replaced by Tamiya M2s. The Tamiya guns are a bit smaller than the WSN ones.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
I have experimented with Tamiya M2s in the past, with the M551 and M48 build in order to give them gun flash using fibre optics connected to a good LED. I will not use ABER detail kits because it would mostly be waisted on naked guns. The plan is to simply embed a 3mm LED fully inside the body of the M2, and use a 2mm brass tube as a barrel with a 1mm fibre optic running through it, as seen below for the M551 build. It worked well. The connections and wiring though the gun mount will be the bigger challenge as I have decided to discard the 360 wheel for the connector and go with direct wiring to the control board.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Capture23.JPG (93.21 KiB) Viewed 3338 times
Each brass tube will be reworked with a barrel appearance, and I can tell you that all guns will be aligned and shoot strait.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Capture24.JPG (39.53 KiB) Viewed 3338 times
Well, that's the plan, and I also did most of the Proof of concept, so it seems this can be a good build.

Next step, start of construction.

Louis
Last edited by lmcq11 on Fri Jun 26, 2020 4:18 am, edited 3 times in total.
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lmcq11
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Re: M16 Half Track "Meat Chopper" Korea 1950 - Build

Post by lmcq11 »

PainlessWolf wrote:Good afternoon sir,
You must have received a Friday ( or Monday ) build of this vehicle. I have one that I purchased from 'The Commander' ( Bob up in New Jersey ) some time back ( Torro listed as the manufacturer ) and it exhibits none of the flaws show here. I have it on my build list slated for detailing and upgraded electronics. I will be following your Build with great interest! ( as usual ;o)
regards,
Painless
Hi Painless,
Yeah, I got it from Toucanhobby for about $100, I never had a problem before with his items. I have a feeling he got a batch of rejects and decided to liquidate them at half price.
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Kaczor
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Re: M16 Half Track "Meat Chopper" Korea 1950 - Build

Post by Kaczor »

Great build. It will be very helpful with my M16.
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jarndice
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Re: M16 Half Track "Meat Chopper" Korea 1950 - Build

Post by jarndice »

In my case I found the WSN/Torro M16 a delight to rebuild,
The plastic body is made of tough stuff and the metal chassis provides stiffness that is sadly lacking in many models,
Everything came apart very easily,
The glue holding the spare ammo cans the cab radio and other ancillaries in place was easy to remove and the only challenge was separating the Armoured windshield from its frame but the doors of the cab were simple to cut out and hinges fitted,
The two side storage bins make a natural location for a couple of Mato speakers only the receiver needing a little thought about where it is best fitted.
I think that the Elmod M16 board is very good value,
It is one of those rare models that positively welcomes modifying and when it is finished it really looks the part.
Peddinghaus make a number of different decal sets for both American and British M16s including Korea.
I think I am about to upset someone :haha:
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c.rainford73
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Re: M16 Half Track "Meat Chopper" Korea 1950 - Build

Post by c.rainford73 »

Louis this is yet another amazing build. I really enjoy your engineering skills!

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
Tanks alot.... :wave:
Tiger6
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Re: M16 Half Track "Meat Chopper" Korea 1950 - Build

Post by Tiger6 »

Yikes! My original pair of 'rejects' were much better built, with only a couple of broken gun barrels each (hence why I bought 2 of them ;) ) to complain about. Also, my (old WSN branded ones) had the guns screwed into place, so misalignment wasn't such a issue to fix (but still a pig to get apart...)

Just out of curiosity, what is so special about the new 'digital' version? I'm not really seeing why El-Mod needed to make a new board that is incompatible with the older version of the model, every connection and motor looks identical?
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lmcq11
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Re: M16 Half Track "Meat Chopper" Korea 1950 - Build

Post by lmcq11 »

Hi,
jarndice wrote:In my case I found the WSN/Torro M16 a delight to rebuild,
The plastic body is made of tough stuff and the metal chassis provides stiffness that is sadly lacking in many models,
Everything came apart very easily,
The glue holding the spare ammo cans the cab radio and other ancillaries in place was easy to remove and the only challenge was separating the Armoured windshield from its frame but the doors of the cab were simple to cut out and hinges fitted,
The two side storage bins make a natural location for a couple of Mato speakers only the receiver needing a little thought about where it is best fitted.
I think that the Elmod M16 board is very good value,
It is one of those rare models that positively welcomes modifying and when it is finished it really looks the part.
Peddinghaus make a number of different decal sets for both American and British M16s including Korea.
Thank you for your feedback. I definitely got a lemon. The model had heavy gluing and was difficult to disassemble. Half the screw heads were also stripped in trying to unscrew them. There have a weakness it seems. Some i had to pull with plyers. I am planning to do a bit of cutting myself as well. The Peddinghaus decals are in the mail. I agree, it will look great.
Kaczor wrote:Great build. It will be very helpful with my M16.
Thank you ! Hope it will go well.
c.rainford73 wrote:Louis this is yet another amazing build. I really enjoy your engineering skills!
Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
Thanks Carl
Tiger6 wrote:Yikes! My original pair of 'rejects' were much better built, with only a couple of broken gun barrels each (hence why I bought 2 of them ;) ) to complain about. Also, my (old WSN branded ones) had the guns screwed into place, so misalignment wasn't such a issue to fix (but still a pig to get apart...)
Just out of curiosity, what is so special about the new 'digital' version? I'm not really seeing why El-Mod needed to make a new board that is incompatible with the older version of the model, every connection and motor looks identical?
The machine guns were screwed and glued...

Continuing with the build.

The 35RCTANK MTC-2 and ACU units have been installed and the running gear has been tested and working well.

Here is a short YouTube video of the model running with the MTC-2, minus the gun mount.

https://youtu.be/BzA9-wIm39g
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
One centimeter in depth has been removed from the top of the battery box, and then glued back in place. Two compartments at the bottom of the former battery box have been created and separated with plasticard, one for the Zippy Compact 850 two cell 7.4V battery, and one for the MTC-2 unit.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The battery section is enclosed so that the receiver can be placed on top of it.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
View from the top. The ability to lift the lid and do easy maintenance on the electronic was important to me. When I tried that the first time to disassemble the model with the WSN electronics, I ripped two cables at the same time, the wires were so thin, short and had no slack.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Flysky 10 channel receiver is on top of the battery section on the left, MTC-2 unit at the bottom of the battery right section, ACU unit attached to the top. The WSN speaker was connected to the ACU for engine and gun sounds. Its quite powerful for its size. My wife had to tell me to reduce the volume during testing because she saw it was annoying the neighbours and their dog.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The MTC-2 unit is resting on the door of the battery pack and can be serviced from both sides to disconnect batteries and check things out.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Overview of the model.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
A rear view showing the reduced depth of the battery box. It is a bit less obvious now. I wanted to remove more but decided to keep a few extra mm so that there is extra room above for all the wiring inside, a wise decision.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
The rotation motor unit has been connected and can be seen in the video above. It is quite slow... Not sure if it is the MTC-2 doing that or if the speed is the same with the WSN electronic or the Elmod. It would be hard to shoot at planes at that rotation speed. In this picture. I removed all the WSN 360 connectors that seemed problematic in my case. I made about 6mm of room between the walls of the rotation gear and the bottom of the quad mount above so that a good length of cable can be let loose in there, allowing for easy rotation of 180 degrees (more actually) on both side, similar to a HL tank turret. At the speed that this thing is turning, there is limited interest to make it rotate with continuous 360s. As this vehicle is a Meat Chopper, slow turning is ok.
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
1/16 RC M16 Half Track MGMC Meat Chopper Korea build
Capture5.JPG (99.02 KiB) Viewed 3203 times
Next step, the gun mount and its M2s.

Regards, Louis
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