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

[Houtje24]

This tank is imo.not 1/16 scale. The Caterpillar is from Bruder

[keilau]

The CoolBank M5A1 Stuart RC tank became very popular in a short time for its very low price and VERY GOOD driving property. A search on YouTube turns up tens of demonstration videos. My impression was:

1. It is unrealistically fast. WW2 light tank goes slow for lack of power and conserve fuel. The scale speed is 2-3 times faster than actual.
2. It shows amazing ability to run easily and truns well on all sort of surface both indoor and outdoor. The dual current gearbox deserves the credit.
3. The light RC tank weight betrays its run quality. On rough terrain, it bunces like a RC buggy. Running at the actual scale speed of the real tank is quite perfect.
4. CoolBank should receive the credit for packing so much function into its small chassis.

These are not insight, just personal impression by watching videos of other owners.

[Milspec1]

My M5s in a bancroft LC

[Sureshot]

One of the reasons I took the skirts off is because if you look around on the internet it is pretty hard to find a photo of an M5a1 with the skirts still on it. Plus I think it looks much better.
This tank from Coolbank seems to me to be a scaled down copy of the 21st Century 1/6 scale Stuart in every detail.

Steve.

[Sureshot]

I used a Dremel tool with a thin abrasive disk to do the cutting, and a sanding drum to clean up the edges. Also used foam sanding sticks, razor knife among other things.

Steve.

[MaverickTank]

Finished my Stuart today.
Removed the skirts and bobbed the fenders front and rear. Painted it with Tamiya as-6 od and added the markings. I added a touch of transparent orange to the muzzle to give a more realistic flash. A great little tank for the price and fun to drive.
Going to add some accessories in the future and possibly some weathering.

Steve. 😀

Looks great with the skirt and fender mod! How did you do it?

[Sureshot]

Finished my Stuart today.
Removed the skirts and bobbed the fenders front and rear. Painted it with Tamiya as-6 od and added the markings. I added a touch of transparent orange to the muzzle to give a more realistic flash. A great little tank for the price and fun to drive.
Going to add some accessories in the future and possibly some weathering.

Steve. 😀

[MaverickTank]

If you are considering purchasing this model and are put off by the Youtube videos of it zipping around patios and parking lots like an RC buggy, rest assured that it is fully capable of crawling very slowly and turning smoothly!

This model has quickly become one of my favorites to drive, and there are lots of opportunities to accentuate its appearance. I keep finding little bits to modify and add. Next up, adding a camo net to the rear deck, and more dust and grime.

[Max-U52]

I actually have a whole boat load of tires and rims that I 3D printed a couple of years ago, all with the 6 mm hex for a WPL truck.. I'm going to see how it looks with dual wheels on the back axles. And I also still have a set of those expensive tires and rims with metal rims, so I might try those.

[MaverickTank]

Love the cab- now you need the military tires.

[Max-U52]

OK, when my M5 gets tired and needs a lift I'll be using this, and I took off the Ural cab and replaced it with the cab from a JJRC Q-60. Kind of a generic cab but to me it looks a lot like a '38 Chevy truck.





and here's the tractor by itself, the new cab is plug and play, just the lights and the power from the battery. I think I'll still have to tweak the interior, but that shouldn't be too much trouble. There's also fuel tanks but I have several to choose from so no worries there, eh?



Not exactly passing the rivetcounter test, but I think it makes for a good model, and I think the new cab looks much more "WWII". What do you guys think?

[keilau]

Heng Long make some cheaper version of the PDSGB.

https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=30997

The DKLMRC and Heng Long all metal version of the PDSGB are priced similarly. HL make cheaper versions using plastic box or plastic gears.

[MaverickTank]

Back in 2022, tank_me started a thread on the merit of the PDSGB. The many posts touch on other types of gearbox too. Very interesting read on the topic.

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc-cars-tanks-trucks-and-more/rc-tanks/359451-pdsgb-propulsion-dynamics-steel-gearbox-and-hl-dual-current-gearbox-discussion

The major obstacle was cost then as is now.

Will read. Thanks for posting.

Looks like the output shafts for the gearbox on the Stuart are nylon?

[keilau]

Back in 2022, tank_me started a thread on the merit of the PDSGB. The many posts touch on other types of gearbox too. Very interesting read on the topic.

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc-cars-tanks-trucks-and-more/rc-tanks/359451-pdsgb-propulsion-dynamics-steel-gearbox-and-hl-dual-current-gearbox-discussion

The major obstacle was cost then as is now.

[MaverickTank]

Love this tank. I may get another and cut off the skirts.

[DavidN]

[DavidN]

I received my M5 yesterday. It was fun driving it.

[RichJohnson]

Right, it’s small and plastic to fit into the small light weight m5.
the DKlM unit is super impressive and the fine control and slow crawl it offfers is amazing but yes it’s costly.

[keilau]

It is the same design as the dual current named transmission. They have many names but they are all the same. Tamiya leo 2, Abrams, type 10, DKLM, Henglong coolbank m5, all the same design different name. One more drives and the other somehow mechanically speeds up one side or slows down the other to turn.
the DKLM product is amazing. Rubiocon put one in an M60 and wow does it have control

I presume that you are referring to the PDSGB from DKLMRC.com.

https://www.dklmrc.com/product/dk-fmpdsgb

The biggest holdback is its price. It costs twice as much as the CoolBank Stuart M5A1 tank.

The CoolBank Propulsion Dynamic Plastic Gear Box is priced at about $13. It is physically too small to fit any Heng Long tank.

https://www.banggood.com/COOLBANK-M5A1-1-or-16-Dual-Flow-Drive-Main-Gearbox-RC-Car-Tank-Spare-Parts-p-2016021.html?warehouse=CN&poa=SKUK67732&rmmds=feed-brand-topProducts&cur_warehouse=CN

[RichJohnson]

It is the same design as the dual current named transmission. They have many names but they are all the same. Tamiya leo 2, Abrams, type 10, DKlM, Henglong coolbank m5, all the same design different name. One more drives and the other somehow mechanically speeds up one side or slows down the other to turn.
the DKlM product is amazing. Rubiocon put one in an M60 and wow does it have control