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Pat's R/C M5 Stuart Tank |
| NOTICE: No Gears Here
I get mail... mostly from folks who are looking for spare gearbox parts, who didn't fix their 'boxes from the start (see the Gearbox Fix, below).
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| After searching for months, I picked up one of these BIG
1:6 scale radio-controlled Stuart tanks at Wal*Mart- amazing what they can
sell for $150! But for as much as 21st Century packs into this model,
there's a lot more a customizer can do. I'm still working on mine, but I
got a lot done already |
| So, what to do? Well first, go join the Yahoo forum for
this cult-tank at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/M5Stuartrctankbattalion/ You'll find lots of links there, pictures, tips, and enthusiasts who love to help and kibbitz. Then you can get into customization. After chasing the cat around for a
while, you'll want to open up that tank and see what makes it tick, and to
figure out what to modify first. I won't try to publish a complete how-to
here, but here's a sampling of what can be done. |
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Skirts Stuarts in the field rarely kept their skirts. Most customizers cut these off...a Dremel tool and a coping saw really came in handy for me! But careful- you need to leave the front fenders and a little rear splash guard. |
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37mm Main Gun That stubby pop gun has got to go! The original non-r/c model had a scale barrel, but the missile-shooting r/c version has this horrid thing. I machined up a new scale barrel, fixes everything. NEW BARRELS AVAILABLE! |
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Paint & Markings You may like one of the several paint schemes that the 21st Century Stu's come in (see The Many Colors of Stu), but if you get into heavy customization, you'll end up repainting. You can always add weathering, but there's only one proper color for a US Army M5- olive drab. And don't bother with little bottles of hobby paint- I used a few cans of Krylon OD camo paint on my Stu! I cut out stencils for the markings- even the numbering- that's how big 1:6 is. I printed the numbers first using my own homemade stencil font... get a copy here: (need to join the M5 Stuart group on Yahoo to access)
By the way, that circled-star? I've yet to find a picture of an M5
marked this way, I just like it! |
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30 caliber Barrels The originals are tolerable, but I made brass ones with real cooling holes. 30 cal Mount Side Shield |
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Screws A nice touch- get rid of those molded-on nubs, put real screws on the rear quarters, and handles on the fuel and water caps. Research your Stu, the different versions have different grab handle arrangements. |
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Lights I hollowed out my headlights and inserted reflectors and bulbs from small flashlights. Also put some bulbs in the tail lights, along with red lenses. New light guards were made from brass strip, and silver-soldered. And see those little tie-downs? They're all over the tank. I made mine from doll-house window pulls. |
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Welds You need big weld beads all over the place. Putty will do the job, along with patience. Few putties have the needed strength as well as the ability to stick like snot to plastic. I use Milliput, a 2 part putty that also works nicely when wetted. |
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Tools Again, research your version of the M5, tool placement varies (don't use my picture for a reference, it's wrong!). Later M5's should have a big stowage bin on the back. I filled in the rear angled section with styrene and Milliput, instead
of using the big screw-in panel from 21st C. Tool brackets were fabbed
from brass. Leather straps were made from "jewelry suede", brass
wire was bent up for buckles. Green cloth web straps are more typical on
later vehicles. |
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Antenna Base Lathe-turned, with solder wound around for the spring. |
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Bearings All of the road wheels, rear idlers, and return rollers run plastic-on-plastic. This will wear out. Before that happens, you can bush them. I used brass tubes pressed on the various axles, and reamed out the holes in the wheels to accept the next size tube. You need to know what you're doing here! Greased it all up, runs great, will last a long time. While you're at it, make sure to grease all the moving parts of the suspension... I didn't even know some of the parts were supposed to move until I took it all apart! Grease helps. |
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Electronics OK, I've gone a little far here. The stock electronics are fun, but I wanted a GOOD radio and variable speed control for the tracks and turret. But I also wanted to keep the cool sounds, which reside on the same board as the stock radio. What to do? Well, how about some over-kill? I found a way to keep the sound effects AND install a new radio and ESC's. And I can "start" the engine remotely, and turn the lights off and on from the radio. Again, no how-to here, but the tank now has a programmable microcomputer interfacing the two systems. Works like a charm! Also relocated the power switch and volume knob to underneath the rear panel. |
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Gearbox Fix Seems that most tanks have poorly made gearbox frames. The hole with the arrow is mislocated, which skews the axis of the first set of driven gears. This bad for noise, and WAY BAD for durability. Seen here is a plate I fabbed up to relocate the hole and realign the gears. |
But wait, there's more! The options are plenty. There are outfits that offer many high quality replacement parts, even metal tracks. If you're into electronics and robotics, this is a great base to start with. And if you like super-detailing, there's lots of stuff to "fix" on this tank, just takes research and some modeling know-how. Happy Tanking! |
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| Pat has other r/c pages! PAT's PAGES |
e-mail me! |
