M8 HMC "Scott" by Coolbank

[SoCalBobS]

This arrived today, wrapped together with my Coolbank Crusader. Even though it was ordered at a different time, they both arrived in LA at the same time and was forwarded by a single courier.

I purchased this on AliExpress from a seller who advertised that the price included all import duties and fees, and shipping. Here's the travel saga:

Ordered on 5/30.
6/1: Picked up by courier.
6/1: Arrived at Hong Kong Airport.
6/8: Left HK.
6/8: Arrived at Los Angeles Customs.
6/12: Cleared LA Customs.
6/12: Arrived at local courier.
6/13: Delivered to me by an unmarked courier - no uniform, a personal car. Drove from LA? Who knows. It was bundled with my Coolbank Crusader bought from a different seller. There was no payment required upon delivery by me.

[SoCalBobS]

Did my 2 minute test OOB. Everything works fine. I re-bound it to my M5 Stuart's transmitter, a matter of 30 seconds to read how and a button press.

The chassis runs and sounds identically to the M5 Stuart, of course. The gun recoil happens in the open turret, the chamber and dampers are what recoil. It's nice that they didn't just plop a different turret on the M5 hull, that would have occasioned some outrage!. The main difference is in the crew hatches in the front.


There's an interesting barrel comparison among Coolbank's three tanks. The Stuart barrel's neutral point is mid-elevation. One can run it up or down, but once the stick is released it returns to neutral. The Crusader however, allows the barrel to remain in whatever position you leave it at. And it raises and lowers slower as opposed to Stuart, which snaps up and down. The M8 is like the M5's, but the neutral position is pointed slightly upwards. Full depression is horizontal, full elevation is for howitzer style lobbing shots. Nice touch.

The main nit to pick so far is about the decals. The numbers and "Naughty" are the same as M5's. I'll have to look for others elsewhere. There are 1/16 scale M8 models on the market, maybe they can be snagged for this.

[RichJohnson]

Keep n eye on the bogie pins that guide the movement up and down. Two of Jerome’s slipped out at LA and we didn’t notice till much later.
They are 3mm shaft stock. I replaced them and we tacked them in with RTV .

[PanzerLoco]

Hello
On the look out for a M8 amunition trailer,..
any suggestion?
Cheers PZLoco

[keilau]

Hello
On the look out for a M8 amunition trailer,..
any suggestion?
Cheers PZLoco

1/16 scale trailer will be hard to find. Most trailer model are for willy jeep and in larger scale. The scale does not matter if it look the right size for the M8 tank.

https://www.banggood.com/JJRC-C8815-1-or-10-Willys-Military-Truck-RC-Car-Parts-Trailer-Set-or-Soldier-Doll-Vehicles-Models-Spare-Accessories-p-2028612.html?cur_warehouse=CN&ID=6315284&rmmds=detail-top-spareparts

[RichJohnson]

M10 ammo trailer
https://lewsmodelboats.org/M10AT.html

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/rc-tank-remorque-us-m10-1-16-autres-echelles-possible?srsltid=AfmBOookPZpSzYNV6uqAYOqHHAVCH1Hhf vYhbm-krHP1-rSjdQRypLax

[SoCalBobS]

Got a question here: I'm finally getting to where I need to disassemble this tank, for painting an modifying. I can't figure out how to separate the top and bottom hulls. If anybody has done this on the M8 or the M5, "how you do dat?"

The Crusader uses screws and magnets, I'm guessing it'll be similar, but I don't want to pry and hear a snap.

[tank_me]

It uses screws. I think there are some screws hidden under the tracks just like the M5.

[SoCalBobS]

Thanks, found 'em. Gotta remove the tracks to access them. On to yanking the electronics & replacing the controller with a HL.

[SoCalBobS]

For anyone following along: the Coolbank transmission works successfully with the HL MFU in "double current/mix control" mode. (No clue why it's called that.) The drive motor, which is at the bottom of the transmission, is plugged into socket M1 and the steering motor, on top, is plugged into M2. In my case, the red and black motor wires are crossed over. Pressing "G" and the "Start Button" together for 5+ seconds toggles the modes.

[RichJohnson]

I thought I had posted this here but it’s on the other site

https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-tanks-369/11714342-coolbank-m5-stuart-upgrade.html

[SoCalBobS]

It was Rich's advice that's making short work of this project.

[SoCalBobS]

I FINALLY got around to the M8 project. It's installed with a Heng Long 7.1 board, high power IR emitter & LegoDEI IR receiver. There's a lot of rewiring required since Coolbank's setup uses auxiliary pc boards. Also, the elevation servo has only two wires! Rather than trying to make it work with the HL board, I replaced the servo itself. It's a common size. For those contemplating this conversion, an interesting observation. HL's dual current mode works fine. It's still a jackrabbit, but the steering is infinitely better than stock. Very precise and subtle. Another benefit is that the elevation servo doesn't return to middle position once the control stick is released, something not found in some other brands. One quirk I found. The barrel recoil is accomplished with a micro linear servo, like those found in micro r/c airplanes. It still has three wires, and once the plug is replaced the HL boards treats it like a regular servo. Anyway, it's functionally battle ready. It's off to the workbench for detailing. I painted it Field Drab, not necessarily authentic but it will blend in on our arid battleground. I've seen that color on artwork displaying tanks in the Italian campaign.

[SoCalBobS]

After touch-ups:

(Also posted in photo gallery.)