Review and Discuss: Heng Long 1/16 Scale "M4A3 Sherman" Tank

[Rubicon99]

Hi All,

New to the forum. New to Heng Long tanks. I have the Sherman and the airsoft unit no longer launches BBs. It does cycle but nothing comes out. I am trying to get the airsoft unit out of the turret. I get past the barrel elevator motor unit but after that the screws seem to be inaccessible. Does the mantlet pop off? Anyone else get the unit out of their turret? Help!

Thanks

Dave

First you need to unplug all the wires leading to the turret from the upper hull mounted control board (if a 5.3 version) or unplug them from the MFU “black box” (if 6.0 versions).

Unscrew the large black turret “ring gear” and remove it. After this the turret will come right off.

On the the bottom of the turret there are access points to the screws that hold the upper and lower turret parts together. Remove the screws through these points and the upper and lower turret parts will separate.

Once the turret is in two pieces it should be very easy to remove the Airsoft “cannon” for further inspection and or repair.

NOTE: Take photos of each step along the way for reference and reassemble in the reverse.

[akadave]

Thanks so much!

akadave Hi Dave, welcome to Hobby Squawk! If the barrel isn't firing a BB, but the motor is actually cycling, it's possible that the breech is jammed. It's almost 4:30am here, but I'll take a look at my Sherman tomorrow and let you know how to get the mantlet off.

[Alpha]

akadave Hi Dave, welcome to Hobby Squawk! If the barrel isn't firing a BB, but the motor is actually cycling, it's possible that the chamber is jammed so that BBs aren't feeding properly. It's almost 4:30am here, but I'll take a look at my Sherman tomorrow and let you know how to get the mantlet off.

The general takedown process for a Heng Long barrel is:

1) Remove the lower hull screws and lift the upper hull/turret off the lower hull
2) From the underside of the upper hull, remove the five screws that attach the turret ring
3) Take a photo of the wires coming out of the turret and into the MFCB (this makes reconnecting them afterward easier)
4) With the turret ring unscrewed and the wires disconnected, separate the turret from the upper hull
5) Unscrew the turret floor from the turret top
6) Unscrew the barrel elevation motor unit
7) Locate and unscrew the screws securing the Airsoft unit to the mantlet. These are usually two servos, silver colored instead of black, one on either side of the mantlet base.

[akadave]

Hi All,

New to the forum. New to Heng Long tanks. I have the Sherman and the airsoft unit no longer launches BBs. It does cycle but nothing comes out. I am trying to get the airsoft unit out of the turret. I get past the barrel elevator motor unit but after that the screws seem to be inaccessible. Does the mantlet pop off? Anyone else get the unit out of their turret? Help!

Thanks

Dave

[Too Many Hobbies]

I have 3 of the HL tanks and the Sherman...for some reason....shoots MUCH farther than the other 2 tanks combined! I paced 70 yards from my front porch to the tree line and if I angle the tank on a slight incline, my shots almost reach the woods! I estimate my Sherman shoots a 6mm airsoft BB about 60+ yards! Anybody notice a greater shooting distance unique to this tank?

Will post pics...have to go on my other ipad to get them...

[Alpha]

Honest opinion and thoughtful experience will never ruffle the feathers of management around here, RichJohnson, we're all hobbyists and eager to learn. Knowledge is power!

There is an Upgrades thread, stickied, please feel free to post any aftermarket parts or components from other manufacturers that fit this or any other tank. I'll gradually be updating the first post with collected information from the community. If stocking those components helps others, we can add to the Upgrades tab on our product pages over time.

As patterns emerge, this is precisely the kind of data that I can also take to the factory and discuss implementing over time in future production. We aim to do our part to make this segment of the hobby better.

[OV10]

Yeah, I might be able to pull it off ;)

Here's some I did back in the 90s..

That's a tremendous understatement just based on what I've seen ya do with the aircraft in the past couple years.
The Stuart and M3 just nails the case on your skill set my friend(as well as the full scale TI stuff)

[TiredIronGRB]

Wow nice.... I wouldnt convert that model to RC its too nicely detailed for display. Do you have to skills to build an RC model? I can teach you how to build an RC M4a3 E8 if you wish.

Yeah, I might be able to pull it off ;)

Here's some I did back in the 90s..

M5 Stuart

M3 Scout Car

[RichJohnson]

Wow nice.... I wouldnt convert that model to RC its too nicely detailed for display. Do you have to skills to build an RC model? I can teach you how to build an RC M4a3 E8 if you wish.

[TiredIronGRB]

I'll need a Sherman for sure, I may have to retrofit my Franklin Mint M4A3.

[RichJohnson]

Im going to add to this review and I hope I dont ruffle any feathers with the management but there is one, drawback to the henglong Sherman.
Now I am a sherman fan, more like a shermanholic lol. I have custom built many sherman variants on top of henglong, tamiya, mato plastic, mato metal, and taigen sherman lower half chassis.
I have had many of each and still do. My first or second, major build up of a custom sherman was on an older model henglong, not the current 6.0 version.
Below I will show you my remodeled henglong and my sons henglong.

Lets start with my sons. First off, I have it to him when he was two and half.... yeah I wanted to get him started early lol. It held up very well as I knew it would from battling mine alot for several years. The thing that kept breaking was the the transmitter. He would drop it and such so I kept scrounging systems to put in it and keep it working.
Well when he was 3 he was pushing it, yes when the battery would die or if I wasnt supervising he would push it. He got a rock caught in the rear idler and broke it off the hull. Now normally I dont think an adult would have this problem, the electronic system would see the current draw from the track jam and shut down before any damage would occur. Still, he busted it off. I was at a loss to fix it that would be strong enough to keep working so ordered another empty hull. Just days later it hit me to use the metal adjustable idler from a mato all metal sherman. While I do not like the mato all metal sherman after owning two and still one, I knew this part would likely solve my problem. I ordered the pair of adjustable idlers and when I got them, I just used the dremmel and ground off the plastic detail from the idler mount on the henglong hull and then mocked up and drilled the holes for the mato metal unit and then installed it. The tank is on its 6th radio system from other friends tanks that upgrade to after market boards, but its still running.
All is not lost when your working with a plastic tank if its good enough and worth fixing. I do have to say I am quite impressed with how strong the sherman is even though its all plastic.

Now on to my reamining henglong sherman. California Girl as I named her is still one of my favorites. When you BUILD an IR battle tank, some perform ok, some just rock, and she rocks. She shoots straight and runs great. I installed tamiya motors on the original trannys because back then they had 280 motors in them. I changed hulls for a cast hull and did a bunch of other remodeling incluidng making a servo recoil. I have used a couple different TCB systems to run the tank and currently have an old IBU2 in it which is no longer available.
Now since I have litterally run the wheels off this tank, that is where I feel the only problem with the plastic bogies lies.
The plastic wheels roll on plastic axles that have a screw through the middle of them. Eventually with lots of dirt driving, the holes in the wheels get really big, and the plastic tubing that is the axle, develops into an eye shape rather than a circle. I put California Girl on the shelf for a while to decide what I wanted to do with her.
Henglong has released newer all metal bogies with metal wheels that I think have rubber tires. I do not know if they have bearings in the wheels but I suspect they probably do.
I have many boxes of sherman parts here from all my bashing and so for expediancy one afternoon I just installed tagigen metal wheels that use a brass tubing bushing. THey seem to have worn well on my other battle tanks. California Girl is back on the field and battling once again. However, I am gonna need those wheels back for a taigen chassis sitting on my shelf, or order up the newer henglong metal bogies and install them on California Girl. I still havent decided yet.
I like to say I will try anything sherman in 1/16, and I litterally have, bought just about every offereing of parts or whole tank or after market kit made for 1/16 shermans with the exception of a new hull on shapeways, which I will get soon.... and these metal bogies. They are on my list to get to and check out and see if they are suitable for a battle tank or if I will stick with the taigen wheels.

Any way review the photos below after reading this and you will see what I am saying.

[borntoolate]

Get the Panzer Bob. we need moving targets.

Well, maybe I will have to get both!

[quitcherbitchen]

Get the Panzer Bob. we need moving targets.

[borntoolate]

I think the Sherman will complement my fleet of B-17s and B-24 very well! On my list to buy!

Bob

[RCjetdude]

I will have to get the m-4, I have a 1:16th Franklin Mint E8.

The Sherman is definitely a smart looking tank!

[TiredIronGRB]

TiredIronGRB , I was going to put a banana for scale, but that would throw off the entire shot

Lol...

[James]

TiredIronGRB , I was going to put a banana for scale, but that would throw off the entire shot

[TiredIronGRB]

I will have to get the m-4, I have a 1:16th Franklin Mint E8.

[TiredIronGRB]

Especially if you got a Flightline 16th scale B-24!

That leaf isn't scale...

[James]

Should be number 1 on everyone's list

Especially if you got a Flightline 16th scale B-24!