Fsttanks

I was in the market for a basic Sherman and had an opportunity to acquire a Hooben M4A3E8 or "Easy Eight" at whole sale cost. The one I have is the most basic RTR version which shares all they same modeling, gearboxes, motors, track, suspension, turret functions as the "top of the line" model. The plan is to run the tank hard (and you know I like to do that if you have read any of my past test postings) then take it apart down to the last screw and see what makes it tick so to speak. All the while finding compatible parts that work or can be made to work easily with the Hooben "Easy Eight". Now this is going to take time and help so I will be partnering with RCU Sherman guru "RichJohnson" or Rich as many know him. Rich will be looking for detail flaws, compatible aftermarket parts and ways to improve the Hooben "Easy Eight" that the average "Joe" can do. I will be looking for its off road limits and durability of factory parts. The end goal? Hopefully is to have a nice war torn, weathered looking 1950s era "Easy Eight" that is extremely reliable and can hold its own on the field, yet cost far less to "build up" than the raining high dollar champ.

Hooben "Easy Eight" as it came right out of the box.

So let us get started with some basics. The Hooben M4 "Easy Eight" came rather nicely packed in a fairly durable generic brown cardboard shipping crate. Inside was the tank, basic manual, and a few accessories(M2 mg, rear stowage rack, spare track pieces and such). All in all what one would expect from a basic RTR tank box. While reading through the manual and charged up a 7.2v battery (comes with a HL style black plastic incased Lipo) I took some close up photos of various parts that are not easy to find online. Please feel free to ask for photos of parts you would like to see closer up and I will do my best to post them. Also your constructive input and question are welcome.

The photos below were taken moments after the Hooben "Easy Eight" was taken out of the box. More photos to follow so check all thread posting below.

The shipping crate.



The accessories














Hooben's newer track is sealed unlike the older Heng Long M26 track the first batch was released with.

Hooben "Easy Eight" in comparison to Heng Long M26 and M41

Cruiser133

I am interested to see the final cost in comparison to the Tamiya M4 with Nick's upper hull build. I am sure it would be a lot easier to adapt the Hooben upper to the Tamiya lower than the pain in the butt alternative that I went through.

Jeff489

My Feedback: (12)

I wasn't aware that Hooben had a competitor on this. Only Easy 8 mfg. I know of.

Fsttanks

The following photos are of the internal electronics and mechanical workings.



If anyone can ID this control unit please do so. It is not a Clark, HL or Taigen from what we can tell. Also if you know what the red/white dip switches do please let us know.


Turret motor.


Sound box


Turret rotation stop switches


Underside of turret looking in


This circuit board connect to the control unit (MFU).


Turret opened and showing elevation and recoil system.




Turret removed from lower hull. Looking into lower hull.

Fsttanks

It is in reference to the Tamiya "Easy Eight" (that still needs aftermarket turret) or IDF M51. Both use a similar hull shape, HVSS and wider tracks. We are looking to see is the Hooben is a worth while starting point to build up from.

Jeff489

My Feedback: (12)

Thanks for the reply. Nice to know.

Fsttanks

These photos (video screen shots) were from the first run with the Hooben "Easy Eight". A couple of observations during this basic run which lasted about a hour. First the supplied transmitter makes the Heng Long transmitters look like a high end JR, HiTech or Futaba. It is junk and I would be not happy had I paid full retail of $250. My understanding is this is the transmitter that comes with ALL levels of the Hooben "Easy Eight" tanks. Just a heads up as I can not confirm this.

The HVSS is fully functional with both pivot and compression. Though the HVSS works well the tank is extremely light weight and bouncy over rough terrain. I will be adding weights to the inside to help with this. Gearbox was quite and surprisingly smooth at this point. Tracks did not come off though this was a basic test run and nothing hard. Top end speed was comparable to what one would see in a Heng Long tank running at 7.2 volts.

Please note this is "right out of the box" and still needs a lot of paint and detail work.

Ad Lav

Shorty54

Rich is an excellent choice for helping!

Very nice photos, thanks for taking them.
Can parts be purchased for these?
Elevation/recoil could be used in other builds if sold separate.
This will be a good test, as its in the right testers hands!

Fsttanks

Now that the Hooben "Easy Eight" has a few hours of run time on it I went ahead and pulled an idler wheel, bogie wheel assembly along with a drive sprocket to see the construction and look for any wear so far.

I was holding out hope that the idler and bogie wheels were at least riding on a brass bushing similar to what Heng Long uses in some of their tanks given the retail pricing for the Hooben "Easy Eight" line. Sadly the Hooben uses plastic shafts. Which after disassembly and inspection already show the all to common signs of plastic dust caused by plastic wheels rolling around plastic shafts (see photos). Add to that, dirt, sand, mud and dust that are sure to get between the moving wheel components means these parts will have a rather limited life. Knowing this will have us focus some attention to this area as this review progresses and working up a few simple cost effective solutions to extend the useful life of these parts.

The sprockets where also removed. I expected to see a Heng Long style shaft with only one mounting flat axle spot. I was surprised to see the axle shaft had two flats similar to what Tamiya uses. Does this mean the Hooben "Easy Eight" can use Tamyia sprockets? I will defer that to Rich's determination. For now it is just and FYI.

The following are a few of the photos taken during the "wheel" inspections.

Idler wheel and shaft.


Idler axle shaft.


The idler wheel is a two piece design.


Hooben bogie wheel assembly.

Hooben "Easy Eight" bogie hull attachment point and mount design.










Hooben bogie wheel disassembly. Note it is only one screw not the two shown.





Drive shaft axle. Notice the two flats for mounting the sprocket similar to Tamiya.


Sprocket is plastic with mounting flats similar to Tamiya.

mcovalsk

I'm building my second T-55 after eight years I built the first. I realized that the T-55 project was undervalued comparing with this cheap toy.
The T-55 was a big investment I guess, a perfect and improved copy of the 1/35 Tamiya kit which was fantastic in its time 10 years ago.
I really expected more from Hooben, maybe other serious project like the T55.
Here below the new one ( VERY improved regarding the first batch 10 years ago) and the second picture is the first I built in 2011

Rad_Schuhart

Thanks for your amazing review. I was curious about the idler wheel, and now all my doubts are vanished, lol.

The thing is the tamiya sherman idler is very similar... Metal axle with plastic wheel over it. Some tamiya fans will tell you they drove their tank 10 turns to the earth and had no issues, but I had wear on that idler wheels and I had to install some ball bearings on them.
I think hooben should do the same.,,

Cruiser133

Excellent review, if I were to build another I think I would simply graft the Hooben upper to a Tamiya lower.

Strathcona

Thanks, what a great review. I have one coming in the mail, looking forward to getting it. I once told a friend, that I am not really into Sherman Tanks. Meanwhile, 3 x HL M4A3's, 2 x MATO M4A1s, and 1 x MATO all metal Sherman later. LOL!

tiger rampage

tankme

Going for all variants? lol

Strathcona

Yes, those famous "last words". Lol!

RedWinchester

Do you have a picture of the M2 MG and the decals the tank came with?

Fsttanks

I will shoot some close ups of both and post them soon. The M2 is decent when compared to those of Heng Long. The decals are the cheap stickers type and I have no plans to use them on this build.

TheBennyB

Good to see Hooben actually deliver on something.....where's that E-100?

Fsttanks

Here are the photos you requested. Please note this is unpainted or detailed weathered yet. It is right "out of the box.

Hooben "Easy Eight" M2 close up.







Hooben "Easy Eight" decal sticker sheet.

RedWinchester

Does the MG rotate and pivot?

Fsttanks

Drive testing continues now that weight has been added to the Hooben Easy Eight and I must say it has helped considerably. I ended up with 1.75lbs (791g) of weight being added. Mostly to the rear third of the lower hull. The added weight now give the tank a reasonable close 50/50 weight balance front to rear.

Driving at top speed (scale 25mph range) was noticeably smoother with far less "bouncing" and it was much easier to control low speed turning movements. The traction was improved only slightly and in a few cases such as "steep" inclines on hard packed dirt the added weight reduced prior performance levels. I did notice that the Hooben could back up the steep incline when it could not drive forward up them. This was more an issue of the track "chevrons" direction being forward. I did remove the tracks and reinstalled them with the "chevrons" now in the "reverse" direction and the performance on all obstacles was greatly improved. But then this was no surprise as it has proven to increase performance on other tanks with "chevron" pads. For the "modeling aspect" I returned the tracks to the "chevron" forward positions for now.

**Side note because it was asked in a P.M. : The material I used for the weight was something I had not used in years and never on anything R/C, "plumbers putty". It is a heavy putty that stays pliable and slightly tacky for a long time yet easy to remove if needed. Given the limited space inside the Sherman and wanting to keep the "CG" low it was a workable option to add the needed amount of weight. The other plus side is it greatly reduces vibrations and the plastic "rattle" or "hallow" sound (for lack of better words) so common in lower price tanks. The Hooben Easy Eight is now super quite when run with the sound turned off.

Sorry no photos this time.

Fsttanks

No it does not. Something that kind of bothers me. It will get broken when someone that does not ask to touch it tries to move it. We have all been there with that one... LOL.

herrmill

Good news! Received word & photos from Hooben's laoban today that his metal track / upgrades which will be available after CNY holiday. 1/16 will first be offered followed by 1/10 parts.