Unofficial Coolbank M5A1 Stuart 1/16 Scale Light Tank Discussion Thread

[Max-U52]

I've been wondering about how to reduce the speed of this little rabbit myself. I wonder what would happen if I put a 100 ohm resistor in line on each motor. I do that for LEDs and it brings the voltage down from five volts to a little over three volts. Unless anyone else comes up with a better idea I think I'll give that a try.

[SoCalBobS]

Just a tip to share, for those who haven't yet removed their tracks. You will need to do so for painting or interior access. They're standard construction, with pins knurled on one end, easy to drift out and in. Also if you're looking for a paint that matches the body, Tamiya's AS-6 Olive Drab (USAF) is nearly perfect. You'll have to inspect your tank in a good light to ensure you actually covered it in paint! One negative issue; the tires don't come off the wheels, or at least when I put reasonable pressure on them, so they get painted too.

[Max-U52]

Just a tip to share, for those who haven't yet removed their tracks. You will need to do so for painting or interior access. They're standard construction, with pins knurled on one end, easy to drift out and in. Also if you're looking for a paint that matches the body, Tamiya's AS-6 Olive Drab (USAF) is nearly perfect. You'll have to inspect your tank in a good light to ensure you actually covered it in paint! One negative issue; the tires don't come off the wheels, or at least when I put reasonable pressure on them, so they get painted too.

Back when I was building aircraft models I was always using liquid mask. I wonder if that would work for the tires?

[SoCalBobS]

Max, yeah that would work.

To complicate things a bit, I added a "Willys Bantam" trailer from Cults3D (or Thingiverse, I don't remember which). No backing up, no spin turns! I inserted a music wire hook onto the real one to secure the trailer.



No decals yet, therefore no weathering on the tank. I'm negotiating with "Company B Miniatures" to see if they'll enlarge some smaller scale M5 sets. Very expensive, but nothing's too good for baby!

[MaverickTank]

I've been wondering about how to reduce the speed of this little rabbit myself. I wonder what would happen if I put a 100 ohm resistor in line on each motor. I do that for LEDs and it brings the voltage down from five volts to a little over three volts. Unless anyone else comes up with a better idea I think I'll give that a try.

How about a variable resistor that can be trimmed to the speed you want, in case 100 ohms is not suitable.

[tank_me]

How about a variable resistor that can be trimmed to the speed you want, in case 100 ohms is not suitable.

I know someone already replaced the electronics and the tank speed was easily controlled. It tells me that maybe the ESC portion of the stock electronics just has larger steps in the PWM code which makes fine control difficult. Kinda like the difference between the old HL 5.3 and the newer 6+ boards.

[MaverickTank]

I know someone already replaced the electronics and the tank speed was easily controlled. It tells me that maybe the ESC portion of the stock electronics just has larger steps in the PWM code which makes fine control difficult. Kinda like the difference between the old HL 5.3 and the newer 6+ boards.

Or maybe the pots on the transmitter are poor quality.

[tank_me]

I replaced the center suspension philips head screw with an M3 x12mm bolt, but the one that came out was an M3 x 10mm. I didn't have a 10mm bolt on hand, but the 12mm fits fine.

Others may have wondered this like me so I'll post my results. YES...the Classy Hobby upper will fit with very minimal fitting and it is better detailed. As shown I have done zero fitting and it fits pretty good. It seems the center section of the chassis on the Coolbank upper uses ball bearings for the turret rotation. It is removable and could be transplanted over to the Classy Hobby upper.

[SoCalBobS]

A mechanical "bump" to share: My little Stewie began to NOT START! After running around the garage with my dress over my head for a few minutes, I took the little guy apart. The on/off switch wasn't functioning correctly. It fits though a very tight slot under the rear deck, and it was obstructed from going back and forth properly. I reamed out the slot and all is well.

While I had it on the operating table, I decided to remove a track link on each side. This eliminated nearly all the droop, but isn't too tight. It doesn't seem to make much difference in driving, except for one thing, a positive one. When driving up a step, there is no track slack from sprocket to the front road wheel, so it's less likely to jam. I also unplugged the smoke unit but didn't remove it.

Lastly, it was in the manual but I was able to confirm it personally. The transmission is one drive motor, one steering motor. Space saving setup.

[tank_me]

I also removed a link from each side and the smoker as it had already broken loose from the hot glue. I never use smokers as I just think they are more trouble than they are worth.

[F16viper]

I replaced the center suspension philips head screw with an M3 x12mm bolt, but the one that came out was an M3 x 10mm. I didn't have a 10mm bolt on hand, but the 12mm fits fine.

Others may have wondered this like me so I'll post my results. YES...the Classy Hobby upper will fit with very minimal fitting and it is better detailed. As shown I have done zero fitting and it fits pretty good. It seems the center section of the chassis on the Coolbank upper uses ball bearings for the turret rotation. It is removable and could be transplanted over to the Classy Hobby upper.

Try to remember how to put it back together:)

[MaverickTank]

Received my Stuart today! Everything powered up and worked correctly. What a nice model for the money...and it's a Stuart! I wish my other tank brands had a similar transmitter.

[tank_me]

Try to remember how to put it back together:)

Oh...I labeled all of the cables before removing them.

[Sureshot]

I ordered one of these from Bangood today. Looks like a fun little tank! They are on sale right now for $115.99 with free shipping.
I think I will try re- wiring the battery pack in parallel to cut the voltage in half and double the capacity to see how it runs. It's pretty fast in the videos I've seen. Might try a 1s Lipo too.
My Torro half track was way too fast also and reducing the cell count helped it a lot.

Steve

[Milspec1]

I thought I had seen somewhere on here where I could find 1/16 scale detail parts but can't seem to find the post. I'm looking for U.S. WW2 bags, ammunition boxes etc. Anyone know where I could find them?

[MaverickTank]

Ah the battery. There had to be something, eh? Why did they put a weird balance plug on the battery and no main plug? I'm going to put an XT60 on the tank. The plug looks like a JST connector, but the wire order is opposite the balance plug on my other batteries. Any thoughts?

[MaverickTank]

If you put an XT60 connector on the tank, it will slide inside the battery compartment wire hole and leave room for the battery. Worked great.

I took 1 link out of each side because the track was curling up around the sprocket. It seems to work great with the single link removed.

I had some issues with the tank very briefly intermittently pausing at 10'-15' away from the transmitter. That's my only issue so far.

So far, I am very pleased with the model. I am in the process of detailing now. By the way, Vallejo 70.894 Camouflage Olive Green is a very close match to the tank color. I recommend the solvent type, brush-on cement for the various pieces.

For those of you in more temperate climes, I don't recommend running this tank in grass. The various bits of the suspension are very nicely constructed to resemble the operation of the prototype, but not suitable for hard use.

[MaverickTank]

I made "leather" equipment tie-downs out of a piece of mail envelope, acrylic paint, and a wire from a Christmas ornament. This small detail really made the tools look better. I also took a scrap of the part tree and made an axe head holder. The tools are not positioned on the model like the tanks I have seen in museum photos, but a friend of mine that was in the army said not to fuss over which tools were where, because units tended to improvise in the field. I have some part trees from Heng Long tanks coming in the mail so I can add Jerry cans and the like. This has been a fun project!

Anyone planning on cutting off the mud/sand skirts? I am too chicken to do it. I tend do steps 1-9 perfect, then mangle step 10!

[Max-U52]

I know a trick for making leather straps and rifle slings that you might find handy. Nowadays you can get duct tape in just about any color you want, so I picked up a roll of brown and cut a strip of it and then folded it over so the two sticky sides are stuck together. Then with a good sharp blade and a metal straight edge I cut strips about 1/16 of an inch wide. They make great straps and slings.

[tank_me]

Anyone planning on cutting off the mud/sand skirts? I am too chicken to do it. I tend do steps 1-9 perfect, then mangle step 10!

Straps really do make it look better. Not sure if I'm going to cut them off yet or just swap the entire upper for the Classy Hobby one as it doesn't have them by default. I did cut the skirts off my old 1/6th scale Stuart and it really does make a difference in the way it looks.