GTORA2

I've been toying with the idea of buying another RC tank. The Pershing was so much fun to build, but my wife's eye starts twitching when I bring up the prices on Tamiya Kits, so that's out. I decided to use some bonus money and get something in the 450 to 650 range... I almost bought an all Metal Mato.... Glad I didn't after reading about them here. Then I saw a Taigen M4A3 76 for sale on eBay, light use, sitting at 450 bucks. I bid on it, and got it for the 450. I was a little nervous about the seller not having many transactions, but getting a refund from eBay isn't that hard. Well, it arrived today, and it's safe to say, the seller did not secure the tank inside the box. At all. And it arrived damaged.

Everything seems to work still, other than the broken-off tail light, and the gun will not elevate or fire. when you try and raise and lower the gun, makes a humming noise.
Looks like I need a new upper hull. Considering the damage done to the upper hull and box, the metal bits faired very well. While I'm disappointed it arrived broken, fixing it will be a fun project to fix it.
I think I want to paint it up as Thunderbolt VI, one of Creighton Abrams Tanks when he was a Colonel in the 37th Tank Battalion of the 4th AD.

How do you remove the muzzle Brake? Can it be modified to look like the thread protector that was WAY more common on these tanks? Especially on the early T23 turrets with the split hatch. You even see M4A3 76w HVSS tanks, (Easy 8) fairly commonly with the thread protector instead of the brake.


Some observations about the Taigen Sherman.
When you start it, it sounds like an R975 Radial Starting, not a GAA. Sounds in general a little tinny sounding. Gotta do a speaker.
The hull, what's left of it looks decent. Recessed welds, like so many old plastic kits, that's not great. I wish the hatches opened. It would be nice if the periscopes were modeled open, but no one but Dragon seems to do this! How is the driver to see where he is going. It will be really tempting try and get a Mato Metal Hull to work on this at some point.
The Boggies are great! Each wheel is sprung, just like the real tank, unlike the Mato plastic M4A1, they are rockers, not individual arms, just like all the old plastic model kits!

The Tracks are nice and solid, and I like the ECCs, what I don't like, and this seems to be a flaw with a lot of steel tracks for the Sherman, when they Model the T48 Track, they do it in Metal, when in real life, it rubber.

Rubber and rubber and steel.

Steel only.
The tracks also have the end links cast in. Seems odd. I really want to know if the Mato T74s will fit.

Anyway, thanks for reading.

BcuriousR

Man, I certainly admire your optimism. A couple of observations and possibilities: I'd guess the elevation and recoil mechanism is jammed, disconnected or likely very broken. It can be replaced through Taigen (Taigentanks.com), as can the upper hull. My understanding is that the Mato upper will not fit on the Taigen or Heng Long Lower. As far as motor sounds, most aftermarket boards, IBU2U, Clark, Elmod, or several others, can be configured to match the tank you are building. I don't know of any manufacturer that builds a metal and rubber treaded track for the M4, though I do think the Mato tracks do work on the Taigen and Heng Long sprockets. Best of luck!

RichJohnson

The Mato A1 upper hull can be made to fit on the taigen chassis as you saw on my Mongrel build thread. Some cutting work is necessary on the taigen chassis. Remove the differential cover and the transmissions and then screw the differential cover back on to do the work so you dont get all the filings in the trannys. You have to cut some material off the sides of the chassis and the top of the back bulkhead if I recall right.


And damn. I would have been so mad if a tank arrived like that. I didnt think it was possible to break a hull that bad. I hope you beat the guy up for a major partial refund becuase now you just have parts, not a tank. If you go to Ebay they will refund your money for sure and may make you ship the parts back to him, may not. IF you go direct to him before filing a claim with ebay, you should get at least half your money back, maybe more.

Michal_Kaczorowski

Replacement upper hull is cheap so it's worth to buy new one. Mato tracks will fit only with Mato sprocket so buy a set with them. Mato upper hull is very nice in case of details in comparison but it require a lot of cuting and grinding to fit on Taigen lower. Also Mato turret ring is different so transplantation of plastic Taigen turret ring will be required. I've made this on my "Kelly's Heroes" Sherman. Good luck with repairs and mods

Crius

I agree with Rich Johnson, you should contact the seller and try to negotiate a partial refund. The last item that I bought that arrived damaged was a Highway 61 truck that I had purchased for a little over $100 and when the seller saw photos of how badly it was damaged he refunded $75 without me even asking.

cleong

It’s likely inexperience in packaging.

Tanks aren’t easy to ship safely - I had my Tamiya Panther G packed in a Heng Long Panther G styrofoam box, then shipped in my suitcase from Asia to the US East Coast and it arrived a little damaged from being thrown around in the cargo hold. What more a parcel making its way through domestic postal service?

In my case, I was the sender and I was the recipient, so I knew how the tank was like before, and the elevation gearbox and recoil took a bit of unanticipated beating.

If I ever had to ship another tank, I would definitely remove the turret and the gun barrel, and foam pad everything three times more than I’d think is necessary.

Michal_Kaczorowski

My Jagdtiger packed in styrofoam and "wooden" box.


Also crappy plastic Taigen uses is the reason for this.

GTORA2

Oh, we are for SURE going to try and get some money back. I mean, no thought at all was given to packaging the thing. Hell, just some wadded-up newspaper might have prevented it. We shall see how it goes. It looks like the driveshafts might be slightly bent too, cause the sprockets have a slight wobble.

As for modifying a Taigen Hull, I have power tools, so I should be good! A little die-grinder can solve all fit problems!😁

RichJohnson

If the shafts are bent, your going to have to replace the trannys. That’s really sad.

GTORA2

The Saga continues. So I worked out a very nice discount with the seller. It will cover a new upper hull, gearboxes, and the little parts kit with enough money left over to get a soldering iron and some paints.

I posted a video on Youtube to show the sprockets. There was a much more pronounced wobble on both sides before I took the video and a lot of endplay. In fact, one sprocket was so loose, it was coming apart. So I tightened both down, and the wobble on the passenger side went away, but there is still a very slight wobble on the driver's side.

Turn your volume down, I couldn't figure out how to mute the volume in the Youtube editor.

Imex-Erik

Hey if you haven't hit us up on the site with a link to the thread ok? I'll have the guys help you out with a few things here. We have painted upper hulls, sprockets, and even the shafts (which looks like you figured out) you can get instead of just the gearbox if you need. While we don't advertise them I do have a pretty decent stock of just shafts to change one gearbox to another. I also do have a few exhausts for the rear too to fix that up. Elevation units are cheap as well and if you don't need it you can at least get some wiring diagrams from us at the same time to make sure you got all right when you start taking it apart. Just make sure to post the RCU thread in there so they notify me, I'm out for a ride today but I'll be back in the office tomorrow morning.

GTORA2

Erik
Thanks for popping in, I didn't want to bug you guys since this is in no way your companies fault. I actually ordered a new upper hull, recoil unit, trannies, and the little parts kits, since the guy already refunded a big chunk of money. I'd still love to get the new shafts too since I can rebuild these, and buy a new lower hull for the M4A1 project. I'm sure a new exhaust part would be easier to get it to stay on if the little pegs are not broken off.

GTORA2

I did find a pic with the tank's exact configuration.

Looks like A company Commanders tank, and you can see its got a brake, split loaders hatch, and VVSS tracks.

Imex-Erik

I got you just in time this morning actually. I seen your PM and responded too. I got you, I messaged the team yesterday and had them get it ready for me when I got back this morning.

GTORA2

Erik,
That's awesome, thank you! My experience with Taigen and my view of the product have been very good. The lower hull and suspension are crazy beefy, the Pershing feels fragile to me, this Sherman does not. A review of this thing will be the first post on my site I've done in a long time.

I have to admit, I was pretty bummed out when I picked up the box and could feel something thumping around loose inside. After the beating the tank took, I really did not expect it to work at all. Since the Seller came through on a sizable refund, and I won't be out anything, I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. The best part of the M26 was building it, so in a way, I get to "Build" this one too. I found a place called Eastcoast Armory that does a 3d Printed muzzle cap, and some other goodies, so customizing it will be fun. why does no one make an M2 .50 caliber in 1/16th?

So, I'm having a bit of a wild idea on the tracks. What if I sanded down the pad about halfway, with a very rough grit, and then added a layer of something like Flex Seal liquid rubber to build the pad back up. Then, it would almost be like a real T48?

RichJohnson

I’ve put flex seal like rubber on, it just tears off.

M2 HBs are available on shapeways.

Pah co chu puk

I painted the flex seal rubber on tracks too. Hours of application, gives you a few seconds of performance. Don't bother.

afv aficionado

Hi
The usual go to for the M2HB is the Tamiya V & W sprues for Sherman & Pershing kits. It's a lot better than the HL version.
Mine on my M41






A further enhancement is Aber M2HB barrel - https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/foru...24115&start=80 - (Dec 5 2017 post, near bottom of page, not my build, but excellent tutorial) plus you can get individual brass rounds - both full & expended, plus photo etch dis-intergrating link, or go with the Live Resin belts - https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/foru...4115&start=120 - all in 1/16th.

Mal

RichJohnson

Tamiya Sherman and Pershing parts are discontinued. Not in production any more and no parts available.
go to shapeways and you will find a few different offerings.

afv aficionado

Hi Rich
Did not know that the parts have now gone too. Sad news.

Mal

GTORA2

Ok, just did a search for Shapeways .50 Caliber 1/16th and found a nice one. Then I did one for Sherman, and found all kinds of interesting stuff, like the periscope guards! Shermans do not look right without them! My Pershing needs them too! Stoked, super stoked! Thanks Rich!

GTORA2

Ok, so looking to pop the turret off, prepping for the new upper hull, and I see how to disconnect everything, but a light blue wire. It looks like it has heat shrink wrap on it, and it goes through the slip ring, and into the side of the main board, is there a way to disconnect this?

BcuriousR

It is the ground wire for the recoil function. Pull it apart inside the tubing. (The tubing may slide to one side or the other along the wire).

Judging by the position of the factory black stripe, It looks like your barrel may be jammed back into the turret, thus the recoil mechanism is pulled off its track. You may be able to reset it by pulling the barrel as the motor cycles through when you attempt to fire it.

GTORA2

The plot thickens today. Everything was working yesterday, aside from the gun not working. Now when I powered it up, as soon as it's powered on it started making a weird noise from the speaker almost clicking and won't startup.


NM, this is what is does with a dead battery.

Imex-Erik

I'll say this... stock RC batteries are equal to brand new car tires. They will work, but just barely. I've never been a fan of the stock batteries and always either went a different capacity or chemistry.