M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

[BarryC]

I really like the Live Resin linked belt.



Barry

[lmcq11]

I really like the Live Resin linked belt.

Barry

Me too Barry, I think Live Resin is superior but now very difficult to find.

Have you tried these Aber linked belts ? Looking for a challenge ?

Aber linked belts

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I ordered these SOLMODEL linked belts 1 month ago, did not get them yet. If they are superior to the Special Ops, I will replace them. The molding seems good.

Solmodel linked belts

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[BarryC]

Hi Louis,

I have several sets of the Aber 50 Cal. sets. I am not sure I will use them for the links the will be in the box feeding the M2 mainly because they will be largely unseen because the box lids are on.
I got them mainly for the links because of the large quantity of discarded links that collect on the turret and forward hull. I also have the Master spent 50 Cal shells for the same reason.

Cheers,
Barry

[Son of a gun-ner]

Hmmm, these seem a tad expensive.

Live-Resin 1/16 Accessories
https://www.modeldisplayproducts.co.uk/ ... ccessories

Live resin are still showing them on their website.
I'm not sure if they'd sell them direct, or they'd want to only sell in bulk. If the latter is the case, a group of us could collaborate for an order.

Weapons and accessories 1/16
https://www.live-resin.com/w-a-s/menu-3.html

[BarryC]

I think the "out of stock" across many items beyond Live Resin is a result of the current world issues.

I sent Live Resins a email a week or so ago requesting that they consider doing a 1/16 Modern US Tank Crew, no response yet. Just about all other modern armies are done to include a US Female Crew but no male crew?

We surely need one!

Barry

[Son of a gun-ner]

Yeah, isn't it getting the same with IDF and modern Russian now?

[BarryC]

Yeah, isn't it getting the same with IDF and modern Russian now?

I believe SOL makes a male Russian crew but no IDF male crew. I need a Commander, Loader and Driver for my Abrams. Now that Tamiya has done a Vietnam era Commander it would be nice to have a Loader and Driver from the same era.

As always Louis has done an outstanding job creating crew members of his Sheridan!
I'm not really a figure guys but would like to see some crew members that would not require nearly scratch building.

Sorry for high jacking your thread Louis.
Barry

[lmcq11]

Yeah, isn't it getting the same with IDF and modern Russian now?

I believe SOL makes a male Russian crew but no IDF male crew. I need a Commander, Loader and Driver for my Abrams. Now that Tamiya has done a Vietnam era Commander it would be nice to have a Loader and Driver from the same era.

As always Louis has done an outstanding job creating crew members of his Sheridan!
I'm not really a figure guys but would like to see some crew members that would not require nearly scratch building.

Sorry for high jacking your thread Louis.
Barry

Hi Barry, Spruebrothers have the Verlinden 659 Desert storm US tank crew on sale today for only $10. The face and the arm pose is terrible but it has the right helmet and uniform for the time. I already have a bunch of them in the shelf for future use. The plan is to empty the helmet, replace the head with a better one from Reedees, and change or reposition the arms to rest on the cupola. I know, many will say its 120mm but there is no alternatives. It makes pretty good half figures. At $10, risk is low and a good deal.

Verlinden 659

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For IDF crew for the Merkava I have in mind, I made a deal with BK.Kim of SOLMODEL. He sold me 3 of the female IDF tank crew heads with helmet at a cheaper cost. My plan is to empty the IDF helmets and put new male heads in there and new body. Those IDF modern helmets are the only ones available. Yeah, i know, they are pretty.

IDF tank crew helmets

[lmcq11]

Hi,

I took the opportunity of a vacation day to install all the electronics and run some tests, it took the whole day. The model has the following features;
- Clark TK-60 control board
- Mato 5.0 Gearbox
- Turret rotation, main gun elevation, gun recoil, flash and sound
- Coax MG flash and sound
- Movable commander cupola with secondary machine gun flash and sound
- Head light and tail lights

Electronic installation underway on the deck outside, under an umbrella on another beautiful hot day. Everything is thoroughly tested before running wires and soldering them in place.

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

View of the interior electronics. Nothing fancy other than the TK60. I am out of HL speakers so I reused something I had in stock from China, unknown brand. If I exclude the TK60 that I reuse on multiple builds, the figures and the accessories, I got an RC Sheridan for a total cost under $500, Tamiya static kit included. I purchased the Static kit from Axels Modellbau for about $300, tax free. Their worldwide shipping of $40 for whatever you buy is unbeatable. Then the gearbox I got from MatoMart on special for about $70 at their annual Black Friday specials, with free shipping. The TK-60 was paid years ago and can be easily switched from one vehicle to another when everything is pre-wired inside. Whenever I want to use a specific model, its a 5 minute job to connect the wires. So, no real need for each vehicle to have its own control board like vendors are selling. Lately, I even reuse the same receiver and battery because all my tanks are pretty much configured for the same options, saving a lot of time, issues and money. I tend to use the TK-60 for tanks, a TK-40 for wheeled vehicles. I gave up on the TK20 series, they somehow don't last very long. Out of the blue, they just die on me. I threw 3 in the garbage in past 4 years. Then the rest of the electronics are fixed but cheap stuff like a HL rotation unit, a few servos, LED kits, wires, speaker. Even the recoil units I can make myself now if I want to with brass tubes. Oh, I never liked smokers so I do not use them, I have about 20 of them piling up in a box, removed from HL build over the years. So, there is a way to do RC tanks and save on redundant electronics that can be reused. If I had paid for the Tamiya Sheridan control board, I would certainly want to reuse it in other vehicles. Overall, it allows me to do more modelling for the buck.

My vision of the future for guys like me with multiple RC vehicles is a unique and very good RC electronic pack, enclosed, removable and protected, and that can be switched to any vehicles within a 5 minute plug and play config task with the pre-wired static components. By pushing the concept further, even the tank gearbox could be made to be plug and play, connecting to standard shafts attached to sprockets.

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

Here is a short demo of the converted Mato Gearbox test with TK60 control board and tracks in operation. All is good. It did a tour of my wife's gardens in the backyard and it works really well.

https://youtu.be/MWyZz3WkBbk

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

Here is a short demo of the weapons testing. Everything needs a bit of grease to run more smoothly but all the electronics and movements work well.

https://youtu.be/dTnZ6JuflHo

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

Next step is the paint job for the tank, figures and accessories. It's a big task ahead with the 7 figures I created for this build.

Regards, Louis

[lmcq11]

Hi,

In this post, the model was given an enamel primer coat of Tamiya TS28 and the model is then inspected for issues and corrections made before the acrylic coats.

The model looks ok from far. But without satin acrylic and weathering, it mostly looks like a monument in front of city hall, painted by local volunteers more concerned about rust and cleanliness, and not so much about realism.

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

Closer inspections will reveal series of anomalies that will really stand out later and will impact the look and feel. These can be easily corrected at this time with the tip of a knife or a fine grain nail polish file.

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

Residues of glue, plastic and dust should be removed. Not so much cracks as when I build a plasticard kit.

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

A bit of polishing here.

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

Sanding with nail files during the build can leave visible scars and dust residue that can be easily eliminated.

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

Closer inspection of the model driver's position show that the Tamiya bolts lack in finesse compared to the real thing below.

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

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It might be a good idea at this point to fill the void or replace the Tamiya rod like sticks by Meng nuts of the right size. The thing is that once you start, there is no way back and need to do them all, a hundred and more. Use of real brass bolts, washers and nuts would be optimal here.

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

Overall its a pretty well detailed tank. It won't take much to paint and weather it to the point where it will be difficult to determine whether it is a model or the real thing.

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

M551 Sheridan Airborne light tank - Vietnam - build

After some fixing, the next step are the acrylic coats.

Regards, Louis