My first tank

[Ratrace]

Well as promised in my introductory thread here is some piccies of my first (maybe not last) tank. Heng Long Sherman pro edition.
After the initial unboxing & battery charging it was off for a spin around the house......details etc were to be added later.

20221121_152918 by Anthony Beardmore, on Flickr

I've been studying these boards for weeks before getting my grubby maulers on the beast so I had a few ideas on what I wanted to with it, so first job was to pull off the tracks and give them the gun blueing treatment.......lovely job.
Whilst the drive sprockets we off I also added some flanged bearings to the shafts for that little extra support.
Painted the rest of the metal parts, threw a bit of weathering at it here & there & bingo ! It'll do for a newbie like me.

20221126_113050 by Anthony Beardmore, on Flickr

20221126_113030 by Anthony Beardmore, on Flickr

So far I'm absolutely loving it, just so much fun, although just 5 minutes after I took those outdoor shots I broke a track, never mind it came with two spare links .........which would of been great if I had'nt broke one of them by trying to force (read hammer) the pin in the wrong way......learning the hard way.

Again after much reading of this site I contacted Dave at Forgebear Tanks & like everybody on here says the man is an absolute hero, he sorted me some spare links and whilst at it I ordered some track adjusters aswell.

[Martin2556]

Great looking Sherman

[Ecam]

Well done. My first Sherman was a rather quick build too. Then I started scratch building variants and have enjoyed that too. I've bought a few over the years. My favorite thing is the HL tanks are quite affordable and yet I can spend months building them to what I want and still keep the cost down.

Great job and I look forward to your next one.

[c.rainford73]

Nice looking tank, have fun, the broken track links just add to the realism, enjoy the hobby!

[Jimster]

And the addiction begins. Nice tank.

[43rdRecceReg]

The innocence of beginners never fails to charm! Enjoy your Sherman, and DO allow it to evolve!. I began like you, but ended up (with accumulated experience, tips, and- the 'shoulders of others') building this rare Sherman 1c Firefly.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

It's great to hear about your fun with the Sherman! Yay! If you are already fitting bearings and changing Sherman track pads, you have proven dexterity. Way to go!

[Kaczor]

Try to make some fixing for stowage. On a real tank it was fixed with ropes. They could of course sit by gravity (like on the front), but most of your load would fall off the first time tank moved. For example, a bag on the turret or a backpack and wheels on the back