model stash 1970 NIB 1/35 Tamiya motorized Sherman

Post all your Smaller Scale RC Tanks, Half Tracks and Vehicles, including build threads here. From below 1/18 to way down as far as you can go, H.O. 1/87th scale or less. Even your Smaller Scale figures are welcome here.
Post Reply
User avatar
modler
Corporal
Posts: 497
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:33 pm
Location: North Ridgeville Ohio USA

model stash 1970 NIB 1/35 Tamiya motorized Sherman

Post by modler »

Sherman #1
I have 2 of these models. The first one I have owned since 1978 and is the SUPER RARE DUAL MOTOR REMOTE CONTROL VERSION with a special narrow gearbox with 130 motors as opposed to 140 motors in most other Tamiya kits. I believe this is the smallest footprint metal gearbox Tamiya had available. I removed this gearbox from the Sherman #1 almost 20 years ago and used it in a 1/25 Tiger. Recently, I decided I wanted the Sherman #1 to run again and used a gearbox from a 1/48 scale Tiger radio shack model and that worked OK but the front hull cover would not fit back on correctly and finally I could not stand to look at that anymore as it spoiled the beauty of the Sherman Hull so found a 1969 Tamiya dual motor Donor Tank on ebay and bought it to use its gearbox. That is when I realised that the Sherman has a special narrow gearbox with 130 motors. I made the ebay gearbox work with a little grinding and modification to the inner hull of the Sherman so it can be done but of course it is not stock and from the underside you can see some modifications. One of the original drive sprockets got damaged and was unusable so I had to use the donor Tank sprockets and tracks to get the Sherman going again with its new 1969 gearbox (which was never used) so the sprockets,tracks are not correct for this model (at this point) but work very well with the ebay donar model parts. UPDATE I have repaired the broken sprocket and hope to replace it soon. My goal is to restore Sherman #1 back to scale condition. As outfitted now It does run and climb obstacles very well and has the best mobility of any Tank in my collection but the non scale sprockets spoil the Tank. I plan on rebuilding the broken drive sprocket and reinstalling it and the correct tracks back on Sherman #1 which will complete the restoration.

Sherman #2
With all that in mind, I decided to remove the special Sherman gearbox from the 1/25 Tiger (I will replace it with a less rare Tamiya plastic gearbox that is available on ebay)) and decided to build up a "motorized single motor "Sherman into "motorized dual motor". So I pulled a NIB sealed motorized Sherman from my stash and now am building it up into a RRC Tank. This one will be stock Hull all the way. No cuts,grinding etc. I will feature Sherman #2 in the next installment to this thread.
Attachments
~33° is no problem for this Tank.
~33° is no problem for this Tank.
Sherman #1 works very good but has incorrect drive sprockets. The sprockets and tracks are only on this model for a short while.
Sherman #1 works very good but has incorrect drive sprockets. The sprockets and tracks are only on this model for a short while.
IMG_4948.JPG (99.07 KiB) Viewed 905 times
here you can see the difference in width of the gearboxes. The Sherman uses a narrow gearbox. I made the regular width work in Sherman #1 but it was way too much work! You can also see the different motors. Then narrow Sherman dual motor gearbox uses the smaller 130 motors.
here you can see the difference in width of the gearboxes. The Sherman uses a narrow gearbox. I made the regular width work in Sherman #1 but it was way too much work! You can also see the different motors. Then narrow Sherman dual motor gearbox uses the smaller 130 motors.
Sherman motorized single motor setup is also very narrow and I believe is the same SM gearbox used in the motorized M113 APC. This is the rarest of the Tamiya SM gearbox.
Sherman motorized single motor setup is also very narrow and I believe is the same SM gearbox used in the motorized M113 APC. This is the rarest of the Tamiya SM gearbox.
Here is the single motor gearbox from the Sherman which is pretty rare itself but I do not do single motor motorized.
Here is the single motor gearbox from the Sherman which is pretty rare itself but I do not do single motor motorized.
IMG_4929.JPG (84.3 KiB) Viewed 905 times
Beauty!
Beauty!
NIB motorized single motor 1/35 M4-E8 (late) Sherman. I have been saving this for when I could install the super rare "special Sherman" dual motor gearbox in this model which I had but was in a 1\25 Tiger. It was in the Tiger for about 20 years. I am in the process of removing it now.
NIB motorized single motor 1/35 M4-E8 (late) Sherman. I have been saving this for when I could install the super rare "special Sherman" dual motor gearbox in this model which I had but was in a 1\25 Tiger. It was in the Tiger for about 20 years. I am in the process of removing it now.
Here is part of the elusive "motorized single motor" kit package. This is what separates static from motorized models. Not shown is the single 140 motor, special drive sprockets.
Here is part of the elusive "motorized single motor" kit package. This is what separates static from motorized models. Not shown is the single 140 motor, special drive sprockets.
Last edited by modler on Sat Mar 28, 2020 4:11 pm, edited 4 times in total.
User avatar
modler
Corporal
Posts: 497
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:33 pm
Location: North Ridgeville Ohio USA

Re: model stash NIB 1/35 Tamiya motorized Sherman to RRC

Post by modler »

Decided to try one more time to repair the broken sprocket on Sherman #1 and this time success! I used a M3 sprocket (see avatar) and cut the sprocket front\rear teeth from from the narrow M3 sprocket spool and grafted them on the wider M4 spool (right side). Some how it works and looks much better than the non stock sprocket. An expert on Sherman tanks would notice the M3 sprocket teeth on the right side if they were looking for that. Looks pretty good to me and as far as I am concerned, Sherman #1 is restored.
Attachments
This M103 Tank is now running and is part of my fleet of RRC Tanks. The previous owner of this model says it was built in 1973, 47 years ago. It is a Tamiya Mokei 1969 vintage model so it was made in Japan 51 years ago. After I realised this, I decided it needed to be part of my Fleet of model Tanks.
This M103 Tank is now running and is part of my fleet of RRC Tanks. The previous owner of this model says it was built in 1973, 47 years ago. It is a Tamiya Mokei 1969 vintage model so it was made in Japan 51 years ago. After I realised this, I decided it needed to be part of my Fleet of model Tanks.
IMG_4991.JPG (54.65 KiB) Viewed 731 times
Academy gearbox fitted and tuned to this chassis is now ready for radio gear .
Academy gearbox fitted and tuned to this chassis is now ready for radio gear .
Not a full metal Tamiya gearbox but works very well.
Not a full metal Tamiya gearbox but works very well.
Off topic but worth discussion is this 1/35 Academy gearbox. I used the Tamiya gearbox from this Tank in the Sherman #1 and that left this Tank without a gearbox so decided to try this one and it works very well.
Off topic but worth discussion is this 1/35 Academy gearbox. I used the Tamiya gearbox from this Tank in the Sherman #1 and that left this Tank without a gearbox so decided to try this one and it works very well.
I decided to get this thing running. I bought this from ebay for parts and used the like new metal gearbox in Sherman #1. Today I fitted a Academy M60 gearbox in this Tank as I have two of the Academy M60 Tanks. I bought a spare just to see if the gearbox would work in a Tamiya Tank and it does with a little modification.
I decided to get this thing running. I bought this from ebay for parts and used the like new metal gearbox in Sherman #1. Today I fitted a Academy M60 gearbox in this Tank as I have two of the Academy M60 Tanks. I bought a spare just to see if the gearbox would work in a Tamiya Tank and it does with a little modification.
This is a parts Tank that I borrowed those sprockets from.
This is a parts Tank that I borrowed those sprockets from.
IMG_4984.JPG (98.51 KiB) Viewed 785 times
Non stock sprocket from a Leopard tank. Now that the stock Sherman #1 sprocket has been repaired, I can put these sprockets back on the Leopard and reassemble it.
Non stock sprocket from a Leopard tank. Now that the stock Sherman #1 sprocket has been repaired, I can put these sprockets back on the Leopard and reassemble it.
stock right M4 sprocket on Sherman #2
stock right M4 sprocket on Sherman #2
IMG_4965.JPG (75.13 KiB) Viewed 785 times
inner and outer M3 sprocket teeth used to replace broken M4 sprocket teeth. Works as good as the stock M4 sprocket on the left side of this tank.
inner and outer M3 sprocket teeth used to replace broken M4 sprocket teeth. Works as good as the stock M4 sprocket on the left side of this tank.
IMG_4964.JPG (86.08 KiB) Viewed 785 times
Last edited by modler on Sat Mar 28, 2020 3:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
modler
Corporal
Posts: 497
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:33 pm
Location: North Ridgeville Ohio USA

Re: model stash NIB 1/35 Tamiya motorized Sherman to RRC

Post by modler »

Sherman #2 is a NOS Vintage 1970 Tamiya model and has a date on the bottom of the Hull (1970)

This is a NOS model that I brought out of my stash to build into a dual motorised radio remote control Tank. Along the way, I rebuilt Sherman #! and brought a parts Tank back to full RRC. I am not sure what Tank it actually is. It looks a lot like a German Leopard and has the same exact chassis as a Leopard but has a different upper Hull. I bought it used on ebay and the ad said it is a US M103. Any way back to Sherman #2.

This NOS Sherman came as a "motorized kit" which means single motor. Well, these can easily be upgraded to dual motor gearbox as the kit includes the special sprockets that are used for both models. Sometimes Static Tamiya kits include the the special sprockets especially if the model has a motorized version available otherwise those sprockets are not included. I can modify most sprockets for motorized use but it is time consuming and difficult.

Sherman #2 is going to get the ultra rare "narrow" gearbox which by the way will work in the M113 APC. I wish there was somewhere to get these narrow gearboxes but the are near impossible to find. I will be using an original narrow Sherman gearbox (42 years old) in this NOS Sherman. It still works very well after 4 decades. Of course the motors have been replaced and I am using a set of rare 7.5 ohm 130 motors in the GB so that I will have a wide range of options as far as speed and batteries used as even a 2 cell lipo pack could be used. As shown in the video below, it is powered by a 1 cell 250mah lipo.

https://youtu.be/NGaQMT2NvIo


Sherman #2 continued here
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=29449
Attachments
NOS Tamiya made in Japan 50 years ago!
NOS Tamiya made in Japan 50 years ago!
Sherman #2 on the right. Still needs Hull final assembly. Sherman #1 on the left is now restored with correct drive sprockets. This Sherman was built by me 42 years ago and is one of my favorites models. It was made in Japan in 1970 so it was manufactured in Japan 50 years ago.
Sherman #2 on the right. Still needs Hull final assembly. Sherman #1 on the left is now restored with correct drive sprockets. This Sherman was built by me 42 years ago and is one of my favorites models. It was made in Japan in 1970 so it was manufactured in Japan 50 years ago.
Post Reply

Return to “Smaller Scale Military.”