HL Sherman metal VVSS questions

[Kurtz]

I bought one of the HL metal suspension Shermans off Amazon a couple months ago.. I'm to the point of tearing it down to do some paint and detail.

Does anyone have a 'trick' or easy way to remove the 'plug' that hides the screw holding on the VVSS? I've tried tapping an x-acto blade into the crack and prying up to pop it out, no luck. Or does anybody have a picture of what the plug looks like removed to give me a better idea where to drill/pry?

Appreciate the help!

Side question: how do you put a signature/information at the bottom of your posts? Noticed some members have a sig-line or information..

[RichJohnson]

Just paint it with the bogies on. Those plugs are a pain on the plastic ones. They kinda dont come out well.

[Rubicon99]

If there is one person that knows Sherman’s it’s Rich. Best to take his advice.

[Kurtz]

Will do.. was hoping to take the 'rubbers' off for a lil cleaner job, but I guess it will all get weathered in the long run..

Thank you Rich and Rubicon!

[SoCalBobS]

Use a pair of pliers and twist and wiggle. Be ready to touch up the paint after, though!

[Kurtz]

Use a pair of pliers and twist and wiggle. Be ready to touch up the paint after, though!

Thank you Bob!

I'll give it a try, if it looks like I'm gonna muck'em up too bad I'll leave'em be..

nice weather/grime job!

[RichJohnson]

I have not owned the new metal ball bearing bogies yet. On the plastic there is a screw for each axle. If the metal ones have that you could unscrew each wheel and pull the rubber to paint them.
if not…. Poor design on HL ….

[Kurtz]

Some of the plugs come right out, and some are more difficult (still working on them)

The single screw through the center holds the entire suspension piece together.. there are four steel pivot pins for the arms,, a single suspension spring that spreads the arms,, all the wheels are full ball bearings, the wheel axles are two-part made onto the arms and suspension housing..

Assembled everything seems pretty robust and spins freely...

[RichJohnson]

Interesting design. Those may even be better than the taigen bogies except that you can still see the screw plug cover once installed unless you putty it and make it disappear but then you could not take them off for service.

[Kurtz]

A couple things I noticed once I tore down the suspension pieces..

The entire suspension assembly is held together and held to the hull by a single screw although two screw locations are available on the hull and inboard suspension piece.. I'll be going back with some M3 self-tappers in the second location, removes a lot of flex from the make-up..

The inner and outer suspension arms have the 'axle' molded as part of the arms... the axle portion is hollow, like it was intended to have a screw through it, although there are no threads... a 2.5mm screw will pass through the hole in the inner arm, the hole in the outer arm is slightly undersized enough that a 2.5mm tap runs in perfect.. a 2.5x14mm pulls the whole arm wheel assembly together perfect and makes reassembly much easier..