Rumors of Future Releases

[Rubicon99]

Rich, when I saw this, I cried for you! You're still one up with your IR capability.

The good part about Rich having an M113 there is already a bunch of work being done to develop accessories 😉😉.

[SoCalBobS]

Rich, when I saw this, I cried for you! You're still one up with your IR capability.

[RichJohnson]

The timing is impeccable.
I just finished this and got it battle ready but haven’t finished the camo paint yet.

[Wulfgar]

Tongde and Coolbank are really advancing this hobby.

[tank_me]

Tongde is releasing these models in 1:16 for 2025 according to FB:

M113A1 MRV

M113A1 ACAV

M113A2 Armored Personnel Carrier

[Tang - RC.Senshado]

Dunno about scale but the nylon tracks hold up nicely, just like on their stuart. I already drove it pretty hard on dirt and concrete, doing drifts on hard surfaces. It's good enough quality for me.

[cleong]

I like the Crusader - but the tracks look rather slender and there doesn’t seem to be a metal track option yet?

[Tang - RC.Senshado]

Mine was a tiny bit not flush, but it was level on both sides. There's no screws or anything toward that area to help tighten it up. It's nothing I'd lose sleep over but some people really dislike it so I leave it to the court of public opinion. I've been busy so I haven't really done anything with it, I drove it out of the box for a few hours without the details put on and now I've attached the little accessories. I'll get around to painting it at some point. But all in all, I'd say it's another home run for Coolbank.

[SoCalBobS]

I see online talk about a gap in front between the lower an upper hull. Have you seen this?

[Tang - RC.Senshado]

Here you go Rich. Same style as the Stuart from Coolbank, a clutch type gearbox (I think is what you call it?). But different form factor. Note the axle shaft going into a bearing and then turning an additional set of chassis mounted gears that turns the sprockets. Everything else looks similar to the Stuart. Ignore the dime bag of spare tracks in the lower hull.

[RichJohnson]

Tang, what tranny does the crusader have in it? Dual tranys or a cross drive dynamic like the M5?

[Tang - RC.Senshado]

Just got my crusader in yesterday from overseas. It held up a few days at the airport or whatever but that's probably normal given our current trade climate. It can drive in fast or "sim" mode and its longer "wheelbase" makes it handle better than the Stuart which was way too twitchy out of the box. But I'm undecided what to do with this project, I like the matching color remote so much. And it has a working spotlight too!

[SoCalBobS]

Well, it exists, but...


Looks like a nice kit. AliExpress advertises it at $109 plus $96 shipping. There's a video on the site that shows the turret rotation and barrel recoil as being similar to Coolbank's Stuart. Separate side skirts are a nice touch. It was driven slowly, but I think that was just careful operator control. As much as I'd like to have one, I just can't chance another $150 in customs duty on top of that. Not worth a total of $355.

[oldwolf]

I have converted a few older clutch units to ball bearing wheels and Henglong tranys. Those old clutches are all just terrible

Ah but the nostalgia!

[RichJohnson]

I have converted a few older clutch units to ball bearing wheels and Henglong tranys. Those old clutches are all just terrible

[oldwolf]

Tamiya has made an interesting release, which while isn't full option or even four channel such that the turret and gun can be operated, does represent a significant rethink (some may say regression) to a single motor setup as with their 1980s/90s tanks:

https://tamiyablog.com/2025/03/full-details-and-photos-of-tamiya-56048-1-16-r-c-m4-sherman-105mm-howitzer-mechanical-steering-system/

But to be fair, it is prototypical that most tanks have only one power source and require a gearbox and brakes to divert power between the two tracks. Let's see where this goes.

I am quite fascinated by this, since I have one of the old originals with the servo controlled, clutch steering. I am forever in the process of restoring it to running order. And not actually getting it done, lol. I think I will dust mine off and see where I was with it. Seems to me that I was in the middle of adding turret rotation

[oldwolf]

Oops, didnt get this linked to the post I was replying to. Lets try again.

[SoCalBobS]

A couple of items from Coolbank Wang's FB site. These are screenshots taken from FB videos. First, there is a running model of the Crusader Mlk III.

Second, there is a video of the CAD drawing of a Matilda II:


The Crusader was mentioned close to a year ago, and it's to be released in April or early May if that's to be believed. Given that development time, I'm guessing it'll be that long for the Matilda. Well, whenever it shows up, it'll be fun.

[Rubicon99]

any updates on this? Just wondering.

It had some issues and needed to be worked out. So delayed for a few more months. I suspect summer for full release.

[quitcherbitchen]

The internals of the T55 (T59).

any updates on this? Just wondering.