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

[SoCalBobS]

My M5 Stuart arrived today, intact and complete! This one was pre-ordered on May 5. Looks like it shipped starting 5/28, and showed up in Southern California on 6/3, so via air cargo obviously. Here are my first photos:




I'm posting this before I energize and run it, but a couple of details: double pinned tracks, plastic with metal pins. The battery is a 18650 1200 mah 2 cell li-ion. There are manuals for the tank and the transmitter, in Chinese and in English.

Off to play!

[Rubicon99]

My M5 Stuart arrived today, intact and complete! This one was pre-ordered on May 5. Looks like it shipped starting 5/28, and showed up in Southern California on 6/3, so via air cargo obviously. Here are my first photos:




I'm posting this before I energize and run it, but a couple of details: double pinned tracks, plastic with metal pins. The battery is a 18650 1299 mah 2 cell li-ion. There are manuals for the tank and the transmitter, in Chinese and in English.

Off to play!

Now the learning adventure begins 👍👍

[Tang - RC.Senshado]

Hell yes!

[SoCalBobS]

Oh yeah! So I've done the customary 2 minute function check. Everything seems to be working as advertised. Two things stand out to start. It's very fast! That was something some others have observed, so it takes a steady hand on the throttle to control speed. I think the designers' thought was to make it attractive to "toy players'. There is a two option switch, fast and simulation. The tank is still quite fast on either mode, but on one option there is no reverse. Perhaps the main control board and transmitter are intended to drive vehicles other than tanks as well? Maybe in dirt it will be a bit calmer. The other point is the main gun elevation. It raises up and down per control input, but then returns to mid-point automatically. Disconcerting, but I've found this with Tongde boards also. The gun recoils correctly and there is a muzzle flash.

The battery uses a connector I haven't seen before. The charger is a USB connector with a three wire plug. I'll have to use that until I can make a suitable connector for my main battery charger. The manual is pretty comprehensive and printed clearly, with very little translation glitches, although it references some things that this tank may not have. We'll see.

On balance, I'd say it's a good first start, especially for the price on Banggood. Mine was $132 with a second battery and shipping included. I remember Tongde's first products and how they've advanced. The mold is fine, comparable to HL and TD's tanks. There's a lot of add-on parts. It's very powerful, crawls right up slopes and over obstructions. The decals are of the HL and TD type, rub-on stickers. I'll be looking for alternatives. It has a fun sound chip, with good start up, idle shut down sequences. However, it's quite faint and there doesn't seem to be a volume control. I think there is a tension idler, I see a bolt and a nut but I haven't tried it yet.

I'll leave it to others to evaluate "accuracy".

[SoCalBobS]

Size comparison with my "Kelly's Heroes" Sherman:

[MaverickTank]

There has been an M5 sitting on the side of the road near where I lived for many decades. https://preservedtanks.com/ImageLoca...=0&PhotoID=598

I've always wanted a model of it. Looks like I will roll the dice and order one.

[keilau]

@SoCalBobS , a very nice and comprehensive open box review. I enjoyed it.

On the BangGood side, I saw 2 user reviews posted yesterday. People are getting the preorder M5A1 Stuart from BG.

[SoCalBobS]

Some more shots with some riders to give context. They aren't finished which is why I b&w'ed the photos! The external pieces have all been attached except the extra track links stowed on the turret's left side. They go on after painting. The hedge cutter is snapped on and can be removed easily. The wheels have rubber tires. Here's a question for the group: the tail lights are functional, but there's a red bulb on the left and a white bulb on the right. is that supposed to represent a backup light on the real one, or did an assembler just pick up the wrong LED?



I haven't opened it up yet, it's too new. However, the barrel recoil may have become unattached. So like every other tank in my garage I'll be opening it up someday to check.

[SoCalBobS]

The controller is way cool! I wish HL and TD had something like this. After reading through the manual (AFTER I drove the tank, of course!) it's apparent that many of the functions the radio is capable of are not present in this tank. Saying again, this tank! Something to look forward to, I hope. Things like second machine gun, searchlights, etc. Earlier I said the english version was pretty clear; that's only partly true. There are some technical capabilities referred to that are very confusing.

[Tang - RC.Senshado]

Welp I guess I know my next purchase. Though for the sake of speed control I might switch to a better board, but it's a shame. Is there IR functionality on this guy?

[SoCalBobS]

No IR. When I get around to opening it up, we'll see how much room there is, say for a HL board with the case removed. I'll probably just keep it stock for now, a "runabout".

[tank_me]

I see the Stuart being very popular especially at the current pricing.

[tdriver113]

Some more shots with some riders to give context. They aren't finished which is why I b&w'ed the photos! The external pieces have all been attached except the extra track links stowed on the turret's left side. They go on after painting. The hedge cutter is snapped on and can be removed easily. The wheels have rubber tires. Here's a question for the group: the tail lights are functional, but there's a red bulb on the left and a white bulb on the right. is that supposed to represent a backup light on the real one, or did an assembler just pick up the wrong LED?



I haven't opened it up yet, it's too new. However, the barrel recoil may have become unattached. So like every other tank in my garage I'll be opening it up someday to check.

The rear light difference would be related to the blackout drive lights, and normal light operation.

[Max-U52]

Great photos, Bob, I can't wait to get mine. It's on the way, and when it gets here you guys know I'll do a box opening video and then I'll get some video of it running outside to go along with all of Bob's great pictures.

[Max-U52]

Oh yeah ... Bob, You said it doesn't have IR function and that barrel is way too small for airsoft, does it at least have a flash in the end of the barrel?

[SoCalBobS]

Oh yeah ... Bob, You said it doesn't have IR function and that barrel is way too small for airsoft, does it at least have a flash in the end of the barrel?

Yes, it dos have a white LED muzzle flash, along with the usual hull mg red LED flashing.

Hmm, for some reason on post #5 the photos didn't attach. Here they are:



Note that the barrel is not recovering from retract. It did at first. Both elevation and recoil are servo actuated. I'll be looking into that presently.

[SoCalBobS]

Muzzle flash:

[SoCalBobS]

A short video displaying the suspension working on rough ground. No sign of any problems, definitely no de-tracking! Discerning viewers though will not that reverse is not very proportional.

(If the resolution isn't clear, watch it directly in Youtube. Sometimes it suffers in tranfer.)

[keilau]

I just received the Coolbank M5A1 Stuart from BangGood. It arrived double boxed in good condition. For the $130 I paid, I have no complaint about the transaction.

I have the HL German Leopard 2A6 on the bench. So I took some pictures for the extreme in size comparation.

I am finishing up the servo recoil/elevation for the Leo. Next project will be the detail and painting of the HL IDF Merkava. So it may be a while before I return to the Stuart.

[tank_me]

Nice. Mine say they reached my post office this afternoon. Should arrive tomorrow I would guess.