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

[Sureshot]

I finally got my cannon elevation working again on my Stuart. After opening it up and checking connections and wiggling wires with no luck, I got desperate and read the manual (OMG!) I read through all the combinations of buttons and I decided to do the "reset to factory defaults" option to see what would happen. After I did that the tank was completely dead!! I read the manual a bit more and decided to try re-binding the TX to the tank. After going through that sequence eureka it started working again, and best of all the elevation was back!
Everything works now with the exception of the smoke, but I think until the low voltage problem is fixed (2.6v) I will have to live without it.

Steve. 😀

[Max-U52]

Once warmed up, these tanks don't really make smoke. They had Cadillac engines, which were of very good quality. You might get a few puffs at start up, but once she comes up to temp she runs pretty clean.

[Sureshot]

I am aware that not all tanks smoke while running, from watching videos. Some smoke at start-up and some smoke all the time.
My goal is to have all the functions working on the tank. The smoke function is on a switch so you can use it or not, your choice.

Steve.

[Sureshot]

I see Coolbank is now offering the Stuart in a couple of camo schemes as well as a weathered green version.
Not too bad. Great little tank for the money.

Steve. 😄

[PanzerLoco]

I see Coolbank is now offering the Stuart in a couple of camo schemes as well as a weathered green version.
Not too bad. Great little tank for the money.

Steve. 😄

No doubt that RC Tank enthusiast are excited with Coolbank tank.
This company seem to establish their ''niche'' in releasing light tank.
But i would prefer a Panzerkampwagen 38(t) or/ Hetzer instead of the Soviet BT-7.
PL.

[PanzerLoco]

To avoid confusion w/ the previous post.
List of soon to be released product by CoolBank Models

[tank_me]

No doubt that RC Tank enthusiast are excited with Coolbank tank.
This company seem to establish their ''niche'' in releasing light tank.
But i would prefer a Panzerkampwagen 38(t) or/ Hetzer instead of the Soviet BT-7.
PL.

Don't think you will see a Hetzer from them anytime soon as like 6 months ago they used a pic of the Warprints Hetzer in one of their Facebook posts and got caught by Warprints. When confronted they made up some excuse why they used someone else's product in their photos of upcoming projects.

[PanzerLoco]

I see Coolbank is now offering the Stuart in a couple of camo schemes as well as a weathered green version.
Not too bad. Great little tank for the money.

Steve. 😄

Coolbank miss a opportunities to squeeze money out of my pocket for a second Stuart tank.
Only if their Stuart camo tank had the ''Chris Curran'' turret version. (since i'm to chicken to removed the machine gun shield by myself)
Another type of track maybe also,..

[Max-U52]

Don't think you will see a Hetzer from them anytime soon as like 6 months ago they used a pic of the Warprints Hetzer in one of their Facebook posts and got caught by Warprints. When confronted they made up some excuse why they used someone else's product in their photos of upcoming projects.

Kinda surprised they needed an excuse. Can't they just say, "We're Chinese, that's what we do"?

[DavidN]

Has anyone figured out any other functions or features from all of the buttons and knobs on the controller?

[Roaming Gnome]

Been flipping coins about getting this tank, I have enough to go through this winter as it is, but an unexpected xmas bonus seemed like a sign to go ahead and see, been watching videos left and right so i have a clue what to expect, it think, but really it will look cool on the shelf with the other US tanks

[RichJohnson]

I bought one but didn’t have time to open it yet, and I have a really nice one I built from the clsssy hobby kit.
i was quite impressed with the club members tank I drove around. They need some tweeking but look like a good tank.

[Roaming Gnome]

I bought it mainly as a cheap way to flesh out my US tank collection, a few videos ripped into them so I have a clue what's going on inside, doesn't seem to be any real aftermarket stuff for them so I'll stick the details on and it will look nice sitting next to the Sharman if nothing else.

[Roaming Gnome]

Is it done electronically? Or mechanically like the CVT? No matter how they do it. It is very, very impressive to have proportional steering without the cost of Heng Long "dual current" gearbox or Tongde's.

At US$127, it is an excellent value. (7/2 price. It may go up and down a few dollars everyday.)

https://www.banggood.com/COOLBANK-M5A1-1-or-16-2_4G-RC-Tank-Sound-Recoil-Shooting-Simulated-Vehicles-Models-RTR-Toys-p-2013149.html?warehouse=CN&poa=POA10747076&rmmds=fe ed-brand-topProducts&cur_warehouse=CN&ID=6291567

as of 12/11, you can get one from Toucan for $95 plus shipping

[keilau]

as of 12/11, you can get one from Toucan for $95 plus shipping

The total price you pay is the item price plus shipping plus tax. Because of competition, the difference in total price is small except for some Amazon sellers. It is more important to establish reliable communication with the seller to get after sales service if you need it.

I have purchased from BangGood and Toucan Hobby multiple times. Both are reliable independent sellers.

[RichJohnson]

From what I have seen, they need to have a li k removed from each side of the tracks because they are too long. The wheels need to be oiled and they are way too fast. A hl 7.1 system would make it run much better.

[Roaming Gnome]

The total price you pay is the item price plus shipping plus tax. Because of competition, the difference in total price is small except for some Amazon sellers. It is more important to establish reliable communication with the seller to get after sales service if you need it.

I have purchased from BangGood and Toucan Hobby multiple times. Both are reliable independent sellers.

Toucan usually is the only one with the Heng Long stuff I need other than oem parts so I do the most with them, I do get a kick out of their pricing games on fleabay though, I just search by lowest overall price with shipping and start low balling ")

Mine was $129 shipped from their NJ warehouse

[Roaming Gnome]

From what I have seen, they need to have a li k removed from each side of the tracks because they are too long. The wheels need to be oiled and they are way too fast. A hl 7.1 system would make it run much better.

I've been reading that from people, probably the first thing i do, first thing I did on my Tongde M60 was install a 7.0 MCU, instant improvement in running at least. Right now I'm just trying to find details on the gearbox operation, I've yet to even see anyone who's had the cover off, I'm guessing there's a reason for that, too many fling things under the lid?

[keilau]

I've been reading that from people, probably the first thing i do, first thing I did on my Tongde M60 was install a 7.0 MCU, instant improvement in running at least. Right now I'm just trying to find details on the gearbox operation, I've yet to even see anyone who's had the cover off, I'm guessing there's a reason for that, too many fling things under the lid?

Tongde use very soft metal for the gearbox case. But the design is not much different from other closed box design for Heng Long. I strongly recommend that you replace the mounting screws with steel screw and be gentle when remounting the gearbox.

Another worthwhile upgrade is replace the motor with 390 motors. You can find a lot of suggestions from the M60A3 review by @Rubincon99 . My M60A1 upgrade followed his script.

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc...ve-reliability

[Rubicon99]

I've been reading that from people, probably the first thing i do, first thing I did on my Tongde M60 was install a 7.0 MCU, instant improvement in running at least. Right now I'm just trying to find details on the gearbox operation, I've yet to even see anyone who's had the cover off, I'm guessing there's a reason for that, too many fling things under the lid?

The M5s gearbox is a "dual current" / "cross drive" type. It's all plastic and nylon gears. It's actually proving quite reliable and robust but that is to be expected given the light weight of the tank and small motors used. There are a number of photos of it dismantled online, mostly Facebook.