M5 Stuart

[PanzerLoco]

Keilau, the plastic on these tanks is much strongger than, say, a display model, and a lot thicker. Scoring with a blade will take forever. Is it worth removing the M26 skirts? You judge:

Someway, somehow ; the plastic of the Coolbang models didn't seem to react the same (when cutting side skirt) as the HL Tanks.
At least i had this impression.

[Chris curran]

It looks just great. I'm thinking about doing the same thing to my 1/6 scale Stuart.

I did it with mine. It really adds to the looks by removing the skirts.

[Chris curran]

Well, everybody is doing it, so....



I removed my skirts with a "dremel on steroids" a Ryobi rotary cutter. With a plastic cutting wheel and a sanding drum, it took all of 50 minutes, including some hand sanding at the end. Oh yeah, she looks naughty all right without her skirts!

The skirt less is so much better. You can see the cool track layout that makes the Stuart such a beautiful looking tank.

[Chris curran]

My Stuart is a fun evening project. I don't know if I have the nerve yet to get out the knife, though I agree it does look great without the skirts. Im debating whether to go full-on crates and junk or leave it simple.

Well done with the details.

[Chris curran]

Keilau, the plastic on these tanks is much strongger than, say, a display model, and a lot thicker. Scoring with a blade will take forever. Is it worth removing the M26 skirts? You judge:

I like it!

[MaverickTank]

My Stuart is a fun evening project. I don't know if I have the nerve yet to get out the knife, though I agree it does look great without the skirts. Im debating whether to go full-on crates and junk or leave it simple.

[MaverickTank]

Keilau, the plastic on these tanks is much strongger than, say, a display model, and a lot thicker. Scoring with a blade will take forever. Is it worth removing the M26 skirts? You judge:

Holy cow that looks 10x better.

[SoCalBobS]

Keilau, the plastic on these tanks is much strongger than, say, a display model, and a lot thicker. Scoring with a blade will take forever. Is it worth removing the M26 skirts? You judge:

[SoCalBobS]

No, not yet. I have had the tank open - tap a track pin out to access the screws - and all the guts are there. The hoses do go to the back panel but I haven't checked if there are vents. I hear the fan motor work, but no exhaust up to now.

[MaverickTank]

Bob, does the smoke work on yours?

[SoCalBobS]

Well, everybody is doing it, so....



I removed my skirts with a "dremel on steroids" a Ryobi rotary cutter. With a plastic cutting wheel and a sanding drum, it took all of 50 minutes, including some hand sanding at the end. Oh yeah, she looks naughty all right without her skirts!

[keilau]

[QUOTE=tank_me;n405970]

If your cutting skills lack, you can take an Xacto type blade, score where you want it to be cut off a few times, and then slowly bend the part along the score line. It will separate cleanly if you do it right and won't create all that dust from Dremel cutting. While bending it might start to separate in a place you don't want, then you get out your knife and score that area again. If you go slow with the bending after the score, you will get a really clean line with minimal sanding to clean up the rest. Bending along the score line may not move much at all at first, but working it back and forth it will move more and more until it separates. If you don't want to use an Xacto blade, you can also score with something like a dental pick, but usually that works best when you are scoring along a panel with a raised guide.

I have been thinking about cutting off the skirt on the HL M26 Pershing for many years. But am reluctant to take the dremel to it. You gave an idea which seems to be easy and fool proof.

[tank_me]

[QUOTE=PanzerLoco;n405907]

[What bit did you use in your Dremmel? That was some careful cutting! Nice job./QUOTE]

I had also removed the skirt ; give a meaner look to the tank.
But used Power Fist tools. (lower quality)
And since my skill need improvement and this departement,..
The result is definitely less impressive.
Again NICE CUTTING JOB !!

If your cutting skills lack, you can take an Xacto type blade, score where you want it to be cut off a few times, and then slowly bend the part along the score line. It will separate cleanly if you do it right and won't create all that dust from Dremel cutting. While bending it might start to separate in a place you don't want, then you get out your knife and score that area again. If you go slow with the bending after the score, you will get a really clean line with minimal sanding to clean up the rest. Bending along the score line may not move much at all at first, but working it back and forth it will move more and more until it separates. If you don't want to use an Xacto blade, you can also score with something like a dental pick, but usually that works best when you are scoring along a panel with a raised guide.

[Max-U52]

It looks just great. I'm thinking about doing the same thing to my 1/6 scale Stuart.

[Chris curran]

[QUOTE=PanzerLoco;n405907]

[What bit did you use in your Dremmel? That was some careful cutting! Nice job./QUOTE]

I had also removed the skirt ; give a meaner look to the tank.
But used Power Fist tools. (lower quality)
And since my skill need improvement and this departement,..
The result is definitely less impressive.
Again NICE CUTTING JOB !!

Thanks bro. , even with inferior tools, if you leave enough extra plastic so you can sand down it can improve your results.

[PanzerLoco]

[QUOTE][What bit did you use in your Dremmel? That was some careful cutting! Nice job./QUOTE]

I had also removed the skirt ; give a meaner look to the tank.
But used Power Fist tools. (lower quality)
And since my skill need improvement and this departement,..
The result is definitely less impressive.
Again NICE CUTTING JOB !!

[Chris curran]

What bit did you use in your Dremmel? That was some careful cutting! Nice job.

Just the standard cutting wheel, then the round sand paper attachment. Thank you, It was scary, but I went for it. I really didn't like the skirts.

[MaverickTank]

What bit did you use in your Dremmel? That was some careful cutting! Nice job.

[Chris curran]

Tell us about your mods!

I removed the side skirts with a Dremel, and removed the 50 cal. stowage bin on the turret side. Then I filled the holes and sanded it all down. Did the same with the residual plastic from the side skirts. Once that was done, the repaint and weathering commenced. I also removed one track link from each tread. Then, made the decals, weathered it some more, and added Commander Kay from the Saunders Academy. I'm so happy that an RC Stuart was made in 1/16 scale.

[SoCalBobS]

Tell us about your mods!