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

[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.

[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?

[MaverickTank]

Love the cab- now you need the military tires.

[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]

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.

[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]

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]

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.

[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.

[Milspec1]

My M5s in a bancroft LC

[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.

[Houtje24]

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

[Houtje24]

Stuart Little and Big

[SoCalBobS]

When we placed it side by side with the Classy Hobby 1:16 static kit, the Coolbank M5 was nearly identical in dimensions.

[keilau]

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

What is the scale of the Caterpillar from Bruder? How did you draw the conclusion? IMHO, the scale of the CoolBank Stuart RC tank seems to be consistent with other 1:16 scale RC tanks.

[tank_me]

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

From what I can tell, it is the proper 1/16. The M5 is a really small tank. The gun is only 37mm in real life. It's extremely cramped inside as I've crawled around in a real one. If the Bruder is a D12 Dozer then it is a lot bigger than a Stuart.

D12 weight...124 tons
Stuart weight...15 tons

[Houtje24]

Bruder is 1/16 scale. Started today to convert it to rc. They sell a Huina bulldozer that is supposed to be 1/16 scale. It will be difficult to change the 1/6 Stuart to run with the Coolbank transmitterr.

Very happy with Little Stuart btw.

[Houtje24]

I have this oldie for the 1/6 scale. Mixer on right stick so it acts the same like the 1/16. Busy with the multiprop to work with Arduino so i can use servo's

Bruder is a copy of a D11 btw. still a big one.

[tank_me]

Most people don't realize just how heavy construction equipment actually is. Even a Bobcat skid loader is 10-12,000 lbs. You can lift the rear end of a 1 ton pickup just getting the Bobcat off the trailer.

[Houtje24]

I'm figuring out if I can the 2 esc's from Robbe connect to the front external device interface and make them work on the right stick. There's a lot in the manual about the combination of keys. Got a steering servo working following step 13. on page two