RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Inspired by another build here of a Takom Renault FT, I decided to try my hand. I had a specific parameter, to minimize costs. This of course affected the quality and complexity of the project.

Heng Long makes a 1:30 scale M4 Sherman r/c tank. It includes a main board and controller, transmission, turret rotation, sound and lights for $50 USD. I've used this equipment in two previous conversions, Takom's PzKpfw 1B in grey, and a DAK PzKpfw 1A. I'm also planning on using the equipment in a PzKpfw 1A Breda variant. The HL setup is very similar to their 1:16 modules, but slightly simpler.

When the tank arrived, I discovered that the hull was too narrow for the turret rotation motor box to fit. On the other hand, the kit featured a full interior. I decided on a "hybrid". Motive power, sound and a light, no turret rotation but a full crew interior instead.

Here is a closer view of the "engine compartment". On top is the main board. The sockets are the same as the 1:16 boards; two motor leads, sockets for turret rotation, headlight and machine gun lights, and more sockets for the IR functions. (I tried to see if they were compatible with the 1:16 IR but couldn't get them to work.)

Under the board is the 600mah 1S battery. It's not labelled either LiIon or Lipo. It comes with a USB charger, so that's what I'll use.

Below the battery is the gearbox; two motors each with a gear reduction. The axle is stationary, with the final sprocket gears spinning on it.

You may notice an orange object in the crew compartment. That's an LED with orange paint on it. It allows me to know if the tanks is switched on if there is no noise, so I don't forget to unplug the battery!

The controller, not pictured, has two joysticks and on/off button and a startup button, as well as trim buttons.

One feature I wanted to include was operable hatches. There are so many on this little tank! Once the main structures were built, I used a pin vise and a #72 drill bit to put holes in the hatch hinge moldings, and adjacent holes in the body. I used copper wire, like armature winding wire, to put through the holes. FYI, the kit comes in a dark yellow plastic, which apparently was a base color for many of these tanks.
The engine compartment hatches allowed me to place the on/off switch in an accessible location.

The tank now has it's base camo coat. First coat was Tamiya NATO Black spray, then Tamiya NATO green overall, Tamiya NATO Brown and Sand Yellow, and NATO Black again for the boundary lines. The tracks were painted NATO Black, then an AK Track Wash, and a rub-on AK Iron. It's now time for decaling, weathering, dirt, rust and dust!

Very nice! I envy openable hatches, mine is solid as brick

Kaczor wrote:Very nice! I envy openable hatches, mine is solid as brick

Thanks! Yours was the inspiration I mentioned. My weakest point was what your dad encountered. This thing scoots like a jack rabbit unless I work the throttle carefully.

I picked up the hatch hint when I was building a Vandra conversion, that was one of his construction steps.

That is ever-so-clever work! Bravo! Sacrificing the turret action for an interior isca smart compromise to reduce cost and preserve some of the kit’s interest.

Very neat work Bob, you've done well to fit R/C gear in while maintaining the detailed interior given how tiny the FT-17 is. Congratulations!

Ok, pretty much done. I'll do a video on a sunnier day (Hmm, I guess there are cloudy days in France though.)

Looks great! Openable hatches do the job