RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hi folks
I have for a while fancied an early M4 . Of course no such RTR exists . . .
However I finally succumbed and decided to scratch the itch .
* This hull came from the depths of the stash ( before these were discontinued OK ,so don't shoot me!) The whole hull forward of the turret ring needs reprofiling , small hatches added.
- Resin Tranny over , with new flanges - (there were not enough bolts ) Suspension surgery - Progress !
B.

happy the suspension still works I thought I'd cheat a little and save some work . . . Next - the wheels
TTFN. B.

The old Mato hull, nice! And some RTV mold work, too? I'm watching!

Mike.

That's great ! What metal did you use to cast the bogies ? What's your process ?

Hi Mike , yes , the upper hull is Mato . The lower half is HL .
MonsieurTox - the castings are low temp white metal ( on offer too )The Silicon came from 4D Model shop. I used to use Sylmasta but they discontinued it. Basically the same process as resin casting .
Talking of which - I have been converted to more modern means to get things made , Our local club 3d wizard has been 'tinkering' on my behalf. More anon . . .

Back to some mogelling , chopping and changing the tiurret into an early low bustle type . And a '34 gun mount . . . . With elevation / recoil servo mounts .

Next , the sand shields . . .

B.

Bish,bash,bosh - Bertram rails as well .
Coming along now .

blimp wrote: ↑Tue Jun 04, 2024 3:49 pm Hi Mike , yes , the upper hull is Mato . The lower half is HL .
MonsieurTox - the castings are low temp white metal ( on offer too )The Silicon came from 4D Model shop. I used to use Sylmasta but they discontinued it. Basically the same process as resin casting .
Talking of which - I have been converted to more modern means to get things made , Our local club 3d wizard has been 'tinkering' on my behalf. More anon . . .

Thanks mate ! I was wondering as I am casting Sherman bogies right now, but using resin. I would love to give it a try but is not white metal too soft ? (would like to do the suspensions arms too). I'm puting brass rods in my resin to get them stronger.

Great job on the turret ! Been there too, filling the hatch, making the low bustle... That's a lot of work !

Awesome brass mud guards ! Going to be a fantastic Sherman !

Lol , Yes MonsieurTox Shermans are a right rabbit hole . As for white metal , it is generally stronger than plastic , if You want something stronger , say , zinc/mazak how about these -
https://www.forgebeartanks.com/store/p5 ... _Tank.html
I am using the HL plastic arms , no problems at all and cheap to replace

Roundy bits -
A while back i was chatting with my local club 3d printer Guru about early M4's , like ya do , and Lo !
- Dimensions are based on the real thing - his files are 1:1 and resize to whatever scale required
I drilled and bushed them with brass tube . Then sleeved the idlers with thin wall aluminium tube to take pairs of roller bearings.
- Thus a straight swop for the adjustable metal Idler set
And that wasn't all !
Yet more goodies mysteriously appeared - T41 track pads to replace the metal chevron T74 types- - A couple of evenings with a pin punch , vice and some care needed here.
linky - viewtopic.php?t=35799
All the best , B.