Thought I'd be throwing my W.I.P. 3D Printed 1:16
E-100 into the fray 😁
For a more thorough read along the build journey there's an
Imgur Gallery that gets updated as I chugg along with the current project goal being a Display Stand Model and the obvious long-term one being a Full-Option FPV capable RC Model.
Latest Images from the above-mentioned Gallery:
The model kinda started like two years ago with the intent of CNC machining it using my
Inventables X-Carve 3-Axis CNC Machine out of scale thick plastic but the lack of affordable plastic at that thickness kinda soured the mood to continue it for a while despite the Tracks already having been SLA 3D Printed on my
Formlabs Form³. The lack of a Metal Working Lathe and the unwillingness of local companies to even respond to pricing requests for having things like the Barrels and various Axles turned didn't exactly help either.
Still... At some point I even considered having the entire Tank professionally 3D Printed akin to how DKLMRC does some of their models at the expense of it losing the scale thick armor.
That obviously never matured either due to the high costs of having a model of that size made like that and the risk of it arriving totally warped wich I wasn't too much into either.
Fast forward about a year and the acquisition of a
much faster Voron 2.4 CoreXY FDM 3D Printer ( compared to my back then
Prusa i3 MK3S ) reignited my mood for tackling the project once more by restarting the CAD modelling from scratch due to the necessary clearances for an FDM approach not already having been part of the old CAD Files - Which also presented itself for fixing some errors and adding some neat things to it.
A week or so later a set of parts was sitting on my table:
My initial goal with the new FDM 3D Printing approach was for one to make use of a panel based assembly the E-100 would lend itself to ( so no complete hull in like 3 parts with everything included ) and for the other to have an easy game with the structuring of the surface by simply 3D printing them with the visible sides facing the textured Print bed and followed by partially sanding it down for a rolled steel effect - The latter of which didn't work out as by the time I'd have managed to get rid of the unfortunately still visible layer lines the effect for the rolled steel from the bumps in the print bed would long have been gone. So, in the end Tamiya Putty Basic Type it was.
As for the Running Gear I'm currently betting on the Standard Formlabs SLA Resin to not be snapping at the slightest sneeze:
The Test Axle in the picture is a simple 5mm Aluminium Round Stock cut to length over which a 6/5mm Brass Tube was placed onto that will keep the Wheel Bearings apart. The final ones will be made out of readily available Steel Dowel Pins with M3 Threads on one end from AliExp... Should the Swing Arms prove to be too brittle then Pewter Casting using High Temperature Silicone it will be for them.
So, yea... The Project is essentially a giant cluster**** of new experiences and problem solving because of lack of machinery 😁