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Re: M4A1 76mm (design stage)

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 7:27 pm
by RiskyR
Rob1970 wrote:Awesome work, but this is the point where I tell you to get a steel-geared gearbox for a Heng Long Sherman from AliExpress (for about €25 if you shop around a little...) and save yourself the agony of stripping those 3D-printed gears the first run you take on long grass... ;D
Well that is something that has been in the back of my mind to be honest! :haha:
This is just something I wanted to try, if it doesn't work, I'll order them straight away! Or maybe I'll already order them now :shh:

Re: M4A1 76mm (design stage)

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:02 pm
by Rob1970
RiskyR wrote:This is just something I wanted to try, if it doesn't work, I'll order them straight away! Or maybe I'll already order them now :shh:
Image

Re: M4A1 76mm (design stage)

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 9:07 pm
by RiskyR
Allright, allright.... HL boxes fit too ;D
M4A1-31.jpg
M4A1-32.jpg

Re: M4A1 76mm (design stage)

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 9:40 pm
by Rob1970
RiskyR wrote:Allright, allright.... HL boxes fit too ;D
When in doubt you can always grab a Stug III or Panzer III gearbox. Those are pretty low-profile.

Re: M4A1 76mm (design stage)

Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2021 9:15 pm
by RiskyR
So the bottom hull is now finished (I think) for the first prototype.
M4A1-33.jpg
M4A1-34.jpg
The first half (front) has been printed yesterday but I haven't picked it up yet! Apparently it feels nice and sturdy, so we'll see..
If the front half really is decent enough, I'll let him print the rear half as well so I can finally start building the chassis of the tank.

Also spent quite some time on cleaning up and smoothing out the top hull to make it look like real one. At first it had to little vertices, which resulted in too many lines, which you can see after printing. This will need too much sanding and cleaning up in my opinion, so now it looks as I want it to. Also spent some time on the detailing. The model you can see here is without any smoothing modifiers so it should come out well once printed.
M4A1-35.jpg
M4A1-36.jpg
I'm still enjoying this project very much, even though I can't even guess how much hours I've spent so far. But it's a hobby, so why not :crazy: :D

Also wondering why there are so few postings in my topic. Are people following this? Just wondering :thumbup:

Re: M4A1 76mm (design stage)

Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2021 9:43 pm
by Tiger6
I'm still watching :thumbup:
I've noticed that if somebody isn't selling the CAD or physical model they are working on, they don't tend to get a lot of comments on their posts - people seem more interested in the end result, rather than the journey to it.

Re: M4A1 76mm (design stage)

Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 3:55 am
by Herr Dr. Professor
I have been watching all along. But in this case, I have avoided making dumb but supportive comments. :{ Nonetheless, I am here, dumb and supportive. :haha: Keep going!

Re: M4A1 76mm (design stage)

Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 5:37 am
by jee
Don't worry, a lot of people will be watching.

I have one comment, why you design all the tools like the shovel already on the hull?
Make them seperate, it will give a more realistic endresult (I think)

Re: M4A1 76mm (design stage)

Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 10:52 am
by HERMAN BIX
This 3D printing stuff might as well be a circle of Druids for me !!
I always follow these techno-wizard threads, but I just dont know enough to constructively comment.............hence the Druid angle :/

Re: M4A1 76mm (design stage)

Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 1:12 pm
by RiskyR
Tiger6 wrote:I'm still watching :thumbup:
I've noticed that if somebody isn't selling the CAD or physical model they are working on, they don't tend to get a lot of comments on their posts - people seem more interested in the end result, rather than the journey to it.
Good point! But I'm glad people like yourself are still watching :)
Herr Dr. Professor wrote:I have been watching all along. But in this case, I have avoided making dumb but supportive comments. :{ Nonetheless, I am here, dumb and supportive. :haha: Keep going!
Any comment is appreciated! Thanks for checking in :thumbup:
jee wrote:Don't worry, a lot of people will be watching.

I have one comment, why you design all the tools like the shovel already on the hull?
Make them seperate, it will give a more realistic endresult (I think)
All the loose parts are not connected to the hull, the hull itself is just the basic shape ;)
M4A1-40.jpg
HERMAN BIX wrote:This 3D printing stuff might as well be a circle of Druids for me !!
I always follow these techno-wizard threads, but I just dont know enough to constructively comment.............hence the Druid angle :/
Well I'm glad there's still interest in my topic, thanks for taking the time to write a message :thumbup: