[NATO/Cold War] Portugal M5A1 "Gina"

[Stormbringer]

certainly looks to be sitting more like real thing

[Estnische]

Nice work and photos. Looking forward to seeing more of this build.

[MonsieurTox]

Very cool and unique camo!
Good job on the suspension, it really makes a huge difference with the stock Coolbank Stuart.

[Panzermechaniker]

Really like those detail mods on the suspension arms. With them being so exposed it makes a big difference. Did you get the little hex bolts from Canada? I've never been able to find these little details everybody else seems to have no problem sourcing except on German sites and I always forget when I'm ordering other stuff and the postage is if ordered seperately

[ColemanCollector]

Really like those detail mods on the suspension arms. With them being so exposed it makes a big difference. Did you get the little hex bolts from Canada? I've never been able to find these little details everybody else seems to have no problem sourcing except on German sites and I always forget when I'm ordering other stuff and the postage is if ordered seperately

Thanks everyone for the interest in Gina the elefante dundum.
PM--I'm sourcing the M3x30mm bolts from Aliexpress for the idler axle. You can get M3x10mm to do the pivot of the suspension arms but if you don't mind cutting the 30mm down shorter they'll work there too. They screw into a shaft that goes into the hull so length isn't crucial.

Mike.

[ColemanCollector]

A great photo of some of Canada's postwar brand-new-used Stuart's beating rush-hour traffic home to the suburbs in 1951 Calgary, Alberta!

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The 3 Stuart's sent to Angola were given serials
ME-07-70 Licas
ME-08-98 Milocas
ME-08-77 Gina

Sifting through the modest number of photos on the internet and super-8 film footage shot by the Portugese military, was an interesting process and it shows the day-to-day life of these tanks. All are shown in plain olive drab (exact shade unknown) at some point, and then various mottled patterns, and of course the crazy leopard skin pillbox hat look as HDP called it. They also appear with--and without--their nicknames painted in different locations and different lettering.
Here's Licas in plain drab:

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And Licas again, with Gina in a mottled pattern:

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Licas (back) and Milocas in leopard look:

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And Gina in her best looking outfit!

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ME-08-77 had "Gina" painted on the turret machine gun shield, and on the hull front at some point. She also has crossed sabres in white on the left hull sponson, and a stylized 1927th Cavalry Battalion coat of arms on the upper glacis. I like the splash of blue on the camouflage.

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I steered away from Licas and Milocas as they had what looked like a cartoon figure beside their names on the turret shield. Unfortunately, no clear, detailed photos of the figure so Gina was an easy choice!

Next up, just what makes an M5A1 an Elefante Dundum?

Mike.

[ColemanCollector]

The Portugese M5A1s shipped to Angola had several uniform features:
-no hull machine gun
-solid rear cargo bustle (rats, I really like the look of the mesh version)
-turret spotlight
-no sand skirts
-steel track
-solid bogies
-solid rear idler

Based on photos of Gina, the tank seems to have had the shovel mounted on the right front fender (but not always), the mounting bracket for something on the left front fender (missing in later photos), and a tow cable. Unlike Milocas, Gina does not have the big exhaust deflector beneath the cargo bin.

So there will be chopping and sanding to remove the sideskirts. And then I see these cryptic photos on the DVD.

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But other than those two images and a third one capturing a tiny bit of sideskirt, none of the film or stills of the tanks being unloaded from the freighter or in action in Angola show sideskirts. So where was this mystery tank?

Mike.

[ColemanCollector]

Off come the skirts! Preliminary sawing gets the bulk off and then final trimming.

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The front and rear fenders are pretty small on a Stuart, and that just emphasizes the overly thick Coolbank versions. With no skirts to hide the edges, and some weird stepping on the fronts, I decided off they come to be eventually replaced with thinner versions.

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And the back end needs all of Coolbank's little bumps and warts removed that are supposed to be tie downs for gear and tools. Wire will replace them. Some small brass hinges are in the mail to replace the ginormous hinges on the engine cover. Drat Ecam for pointing out how comically large they are. Now I can't stop staring at them!

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Coolbank has really simplified and toyified this tank, but nothing that can't be cured at least part-way.

Mike.

[tankme]

I'll be watching this one as I have an M5 and M8 GMC in the stash to be built.

[Ecam]

Drat Ecam for pointing out how comically large they are. Now I can't stop staring at them!

Mike.

Someone pointed them out to me! Edit (12/11 10:29ish), found it! From his own M5 thread:
Post by Kaczor » Sat Aug 03, 2024 2:22 pm

Initially I wanted to remove the huge, oversized hinges for the battery hatch, but unfortunately removing them would require reworking the inside of the upper hull.

Great build, am enjoying your spin.

My lead sled may break on the first test drive...