M3 Lee Tank

[SoCalBobS]

I think this will be a project for me in the near future, after a couple of things already in progress. It's a 3D printed mod for the HL Sherman, made in Russia. I'm thinking of putting the main gun LED in the hull gun, and the MG LED in the turret. No airsoft, it doesn't look like there's enough room, and I'm not sure if I can have the turret rotate. Again, room for the mechanisms. Anybody tried anything similar?





I added this photo for a vision of my intended product.

[OKC_Jim]

It's a 3D printed mod for the HL Sherman, made in Russia.

Great looking tank and not something you see everyday. Where do they sell their stuff?

Thanks,

Jim

[SoCalBobS]

Great looking tank and not something you see everyday. Where do they sell their stuff?

Thanks,

Jim

ebay...of course! 😁

[OKC_Jim]

ebay...of course! 😁

I'm kind of new here. Are we not supposed to name other retailers?

Just to play it safe. I think there is an American supplier of these conversion kits that expects to have them in stock soon. He is the U.S. distributor for Clark boards too.

Sine the FAA is messing with my planes my tank hobby is growing. I'm eyeballing the M10.

[SoCalBobS]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/General-Lee-from-Sherman-Tank-Scale-1-16-Conversion-Resin-Kit/133511176038?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D4131f23f5c01486e8c8bfb63f52ebd34%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D15%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D133511176038%26itm%3D133511176038%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A586c3b13-4d5c-11eb-8bd2-1a3ad85d10fe%7Cparentrq%3Ac5b0a9981760a9c9540efc18ffccf500%7Ciid%3A1

[Afrikakorps]

Good kit, there is also a similar kit by Vandra. I have the later with some modifications. Side gun elevation, traverse and recoil are possible, along with turret traverse and elevation. Cannon flash, mg, and lights, Clark electronics.
Here’s mine.
Cheers
Afrikakorps

[oldwolf]

These are such interesting tanks. They, along with many similar '20s and '30s era tanks by several nations, are the tank equivalent of pre-dreadnought battleships. I suppose that 20 years from now, when 3D printers are as common in households as pop up toasters, STL files for every tank ever made will be but a download away.

[James]

I'm kind of new here. Are we not supposed to name other retailers?

Just to play it safe. I think there is an American supplier of these conversion kits that expects to have them in stock soon. He is the U.S. distributor for Clark boards too.

Sine the FAA is messing with my planes my tank hobby is growing. I'm eyeballing the M10.

No worries at all about discussing anything on Hobby Squawk. No manufacturer/supplier is out of bounds. This is a cool looking tank for sure.

[SoCalBobS]

Good kit, there is also a similar kit by Vandra. I have the later with some modifications. Side gun elevation, traverse and recoil are possible, along with turret traverse and elevation. Cannon flash, mg, and lights, Clark electronics.
Here’s mine.
Cheers
Afrikakorps

Wow Afrikakorps, what a find. Thanks so much for sharing. Did a web search, apparently Vandra is in Hungary. Did you buy direct, or thru eBay or something? I'd love to know more about your mods. I noticed their M3 webpage noted low profile gearboxes were needed, but also showed a way to cut a gearbox down. What was your experience? Also, what is the quality of the resin? Strong, brittle...? Did you animate the hull gun and/or turret?

Check Vandra out guys. If you like to kitbash, it'll be like Christmas in January! SU122, Mobelwagen, Jagdpanzer IV and much more. You'll be able to triple your tank garage!

[OKC_Jim]

Did a web search, apparently Vandra is in Hungary. Did you buy direct, or thru eBay or something?

This is the U.S. supplier I mentioned above.

https://dakrctank.com/

I've yet to purchase anything from him but I have chatted with him a few times with various questions. He seems like a great guy. If I go with the TK40S board in my StuG, I plan to order it from him.

[SoCalBobS]

Thanks Jim, I just found their site. Glad you feel they're a good seller. looks like I may have to learn about Clark boards for this project, so that the hull gun and turret can move.

[OKC_Jim]

Thanks Jim, I just found their site. Glad you feel they're a good seller.

I've yet to buy anything but so far he has been really helpful.

The M3 and the M10 both really appeal to me.

[Sureshot]

Just ordered one of the M3 Lee kits from DAK today. Should be a fun project and learning experience.
I just love the steampunk looks of the tank with all the bolt heads and rivets.
Steve.

[OKC_Jim]

I've yet to buy anything but so far he has been really helpful.

I placed an order with DAK tonight. Great service so far. Seems like a really nice guy.

[OKC_Jim]

Just ordered one of the M3 Lee kits from DAK today.

Love to see some pictures when you get it.

[SoCalBobS]

Just ordered one of the M3 Lee kits from DAK today. Should be a fun project and learning experience.
I just love the steampunk looks of the tank with all the bolt heads and rivets.
Steve.

Be sure and keep us informed! My biggest question is their note that the kit requires "low profile" gearboxes. As the front doesn't appear to be all that much different than the M4 Sherman, I'll be interested if the stock boxes can be used.

[Sureshot]

Yeah I wondered about that too.
It's been a while since I looked inside my HL Sherman but I don't remember the motors sticking up above the front armor of the lower hull.
I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
Think I'll buy one of the "static display" Sherman's that Toucan sells on EBay.
I got one of those in a King Tiger with Porsche turret not long ago and converted it to 6.0. It was surprisingly easy. They are old 27mhz tanks and still have all the gearboxes and air soft. I only needed a 6.0 MFU, smoke unit, speaker and IR bulb. Works great.
Steve.

[SoCalBobS]

Great minds, and all that! The static route was what I was thinking about too.

[Afrikakorps]

Sorry I did not get back to you sooner, been away. To answer your question on gearboxes, standard HL sherman will fit (high/Low), but it is a very tight fit. Henglong medium/low boxes would be an easier fit.
Bob, the resin is fairly robust and easy to work with so you should have no problems.
On my M3 Lee I animated both top and lower guns with elevation, traverse and flash. The turret is very small, so fitting everything inside it is tricky. 🤔
I live in Australia, so I purchased direct from Vandra, but if you have a local distributor that would make it easy. I have also built the M10 and SU122, but the M3 Lee is my favourite.
Cheers
Afrikakorps

[SoCalBobS]

Thank you so much for your reply! I noticed on their "instructions" - pictures, no words - that it looks like they recommend filing down the gearbox frame a bit. I presume that is to make a better fit. Am I interpreting that correctly? Regarding the animation of the turret and guns, whenever and whatever you'd like to share about how you did it would be much appreciated. This is shaping up to be my spring project! Thanks again.

Cheers, from San Diego.

Bob