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M3 Lee Tank

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  • #81
    Facebook Message Kenny for quickest response.
    Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

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    • #82
      I don't have the Facebook account :-(

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      • #83
        DAK RC
        Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

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        • #84
          Thanks Bob. I could not contact Kenny thru his facebook since I don't have a facebook account. But I did email Vandra and the rep from Vandra returned my email. They will have Kenny contacted me thru my email. Just by curiosity, between the Stug IV conversion and the M3 Lee conversion projects, which one was more difficult for you, Bob? I just one to start with one.....but the easier one :-)

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          • #85
            M3 Lee:
            Gotta shave off the gearboxes and figure out a way to disguise the gear on the starboard side.
            Gotta figure out a way to rotate the turret.

            Stug IV:
            Gotta watch the alignment of the upper hull and the body.
            Gotta figure out a way to elevate the gun - haven’t worked that one out yet, it’ll need a fabricated hinge and a servo operated elevation.

            Details of this are in my individual threads. Depending on If you don’t mind the reduced functionality of the M3 turret or the StuG gun elevation, they’re both about even. Neither will easily accept airsoft. Perhaps the M3 result is more iconic. I’ve put IR bulbs in the barrels for battles, so both needed different barrels.

            Another potential is the RAM II conversion. Turret uses the HL mechanism, and there’s no need to conceal the right side gear. I have a static Sherman set aside for it as a future project.
            Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

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            • #86
              Thanks again for your input. I think I will go with the M3 Lee. The Sherman comes with the HL49 gearbox. Maybe if I put in the ML49 gearbox, it won't be that high up. If it is still sticking out, I will copy your method with a wooden box. Anyway, The M3 is so unique in its own way. About the Stug IV kit: for me, if a product that doesn't align well with the part that it was intend to, then it's unacceptable to be put up in the market. Just my two cents :-) It is too much work for the paying customer to modify their mistake.

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              • #87
                I guess I don’t think of Vandra so harshly. It’s a garage shop serving a very limited customer base - those who 1) own 1:16 tanks, a minor niche in itself, and 2) want to modify them. Definitely not a large demographic! He certainly won’t be getting rich at that scale. Making multi-part resin casts of complex objects is bound to cause some discrepancies. I just post my observations so my fellow hobbyists can make informed decisions.
                Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

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                • #88
                  Well said. Thank you for reminding me on that note. I should be thankful for their existence since I will order the M3 Lee conversion kit from them.

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                  • #89
                    The way to make gear boxes fit into this tank is to use panzer 3 transmissions and swap the axles out from the Sherman trannys to the panzer trannys since the Sherman is shorter.
                    RC tank parts and accessories I make
                    www.RichardSJohnson.net/id28.html

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                    • #90
                      I will put a note on that. Kenny emailed me early this morning. He had 3 kits available but he did not update the website. He apologized and then put them up. I went in to order and found out his flat shipping rate was quite high. I have no alternative and decided to order the M3 kit, the Stug IV kit and some decals for the same shipping fee. Well, I will be busy this summer.

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                      • #91
                        So DavidN. Wanna try weathering your Lee? Here's two shots I took of a Grant at MVTF some years back. How many colors of rust can there be? 😲

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                        Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

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                        • #92
                          Thank you for those real pictures. The mother nature really did her work on the weathering. My M3 will be resin, plastic and cheap metal from China. It won't rust as much :-). I wonder if the owner intends to restore it. About Kenny from DAKRC, you were right. He is a really concerned person. He sent me a very detailed email and explained to me on many subject. I ordered the M3 and Stug kit and I was charged $50 shipping fee. He stated that the shipping fee was for international. So he refunded it back to me. Great guy! He noticed that I was new so he also introduced me to the LA RC tank club. It seems that those members have high end Tamiya IR type of tanks. I am a little skeptical to join them at this time.

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                          • #93
                            Glad to hear of your experience with Kenny. Regarding the LA club, I think Rubicon may have some advice on how they treat newcomers - not bad, as I recall. if nothing else, go by and just talk. Also, our San Diego club is much more informal, about half and half HL and Tamiya. We play fine together.

                            As far as the Grant, that museum is now gone. That tank was probably their parts skeleton for the nicer Lee inside!

                            Click image for larger version

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                            Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

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                            • #94
                              Now that is a nice indoor picture! For the LA club, it is about 40 minute weekend drive from my house in HB. I will wait until the beginning of August. Rubicon will probably make announcement and I will just follow his advice.

                              While waiting for the M3 Lee kit to arrive, should I order the ML49 gearboxes?

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                              • #95
                                Originally posted by DavidN View Post
                                While waiting for the M3 Lee kit to arrive, should I order the ML49 gearboxes?
                                I'd defer to Rich Johnson's advice. Hey, if it doesn't work, put it in your spares box. You have one, don't you? 😉

                                Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

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                                • #96
                                  Originally posted by SoCalBobS View Post

                                  I'd defer to Rich Johnson's advice. Hey, if it doesn't work, put it in your spares box. You have one, don't you? 😉
                                  I don't one spares box. I have.....9 of them. Rich Johnson's advice, it is then :-)

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                                  • #97
                                    My M3 conversion kits arrived. I will use separate my M4 HL lower hull from the tank for the M3 conversion. While browsing on Ebay, I saw a metal Mato M4 chassis. Since I have my HL M4 upper hull unused, I would like to get the Mato lower hull to make it a complete tank. Can anyone confirm with me that the HL upper hull can fit into the M4 Mato chassis? Thank you!

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                                    • #98
                                      No don’t buy the mato. I could go on and on but… I’ve owned every single Sherman made in 1/16. I had bought two mato tanks at the same time.
                                      today one mato is under a blowup battlefield prop Sherman and the other was sold ASAP while it was still new.
                                      if you want better than henglong, get taigen/Torro.
                                      I have over a dozen Sherman’s, Tamiya, taigen, and one Henglong.
                                      RC tank parts and accessories I make
                                      www.RichardSJohnson.net/id28.html

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                                      • #99
                                        Originally posted by SoCalBobS View Post
                                        Ok, getting there....

                                        Some weathering, accessorizing. Mainly, I ran an "AK Africa Dust Wash" over the olive drab. Sure changes the color, compared to post #54! Looks like it had been out in the sun for a year. Still some more to do, but the character is taking shape. As Rubicon has said, run it in dirt and sand a bit, and it weathers itself, so that's next.

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                                        Hi Bob! The two front lights on your M3, where did you get them from? Or did you cut them out from a HL M4 and modify them? Thanks!

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                                        • You guessed right. Cut off the cages,drilled small holes in the fenders. Just make sure the wires don’t foul the tracks.
                                          Twenty six tanks, and not done yet!

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