Old MSgt

The Field of Armor Dragon 1/6 Sherman I ordered got delivered by FedEx a few minutes ago. I helped the driver carry the Dragon box in and it was heavier than even I thought it would be. I unpacked everything and will start getting everything sorted soon.

There was a big box of the T48 track pads and two bags of the cast end connectors. The steel inner hull frame is heavier gauge than I expected. There's bags of swingarms, suspension frames/springs, sprockets/hubs, drive train frame, two 24v drive motors, nuts, bolts, clips, and, of course, the plastic Dragon Sherman kit. Enough to DRIVE ME TA DRANK!!!

I'm going to start by working on the tracks and that'll take a while to assemble them I can see. Then I'll put the drive system and inner steel frame together. I ordered some detail parts from East Coast Armory but I'm in no hurry for them because working on the upper hull and details will be about the last job.

When I ordered this Sherman from FOA I went ahead and ordered the T23 turret that they're about to come out with. John, the excellent tank builder at ECA, did the detailing (cast finish, hatch locations, etc.) on the T23 turret for FOA and now Loic, the owner of FOA (in Murray, Utah), is working on getting the turret produced. He has the mold made, just needs to find a company to make'em. Loic is GREAT to deal with and you should go on the FOA site and sign up for the FOA newsletter because it pretty interesting!

I'll start figuring ALL these parts out post pics later on how the build is coming along. I've been so anxious to receive this FOA Dragon Sherman and now that I've got it it's time to get busy! I LOVE IT!!!

Mike in Kentucky

watchguyusa

wow thats cool!

Panther F

Well, we won't be seeing you for awhile. LOL

(nice score and I am envious)




Jeff

Max-U52

What he said. You Lucky Dog.

Tanker 10

That looks like it's going to be fun to build. Lot's of tiny parts. I'll be following your progress, and congratulations.

sevoblast

This build is going to keep you busy for the winter, which is not a bad thing. It's always good to keep you busy, idle hands foment revolution up there in the hills.

Old MSgt

Yeah, I haven't even opened up anything yet but can see there IS a lot of parts. And almost ALL of these FOA parts are HEAVY STEEL.

Ya know, compared to the prices of other 1/6 tank makers, the cost for this Sherman is REALLY DECENT for what all you get! I ordered this without the electronics so I could use my own. That saved more than enough so I could get the T23 turret too.

I love to build and drive my tanks PLUS, I needed a Sherman to sit alongside the Tiger 1 to even things out!

I'll unwrap more and post pics soon. This CERTAINLY WILL keep me busy for a long time and it is going to be an awful LOT of work... and it's GONNA BE A BLAST!!!!!

Mike

rivetcounter

That looks interesting Mike, I take it you will be posting a build thread, does the kit come with rubber tyres for the road wheels

Old MSgt

Good Morning Rivetcounter and everybody! No, the roadwheels are the ones that came in the Dragon kit but they've been filled with epoxy to make them solid.

Here's a pic of what comes in the Dragon 1/6 Sherman box (that you all already know). I moved the kit to a back bedroom until I need the plastic parts.

And here's some pics of the parts that Field of Armor makes to turn the tank into R/C. The motors are 24v 25a. They come with the basic drive sprockets but a builder can order four other sprocket combinations (two other ratios up and two down) according to what speeds you want.

There's the laser cut inner hull steel frame with the turret plate. A picture of the suspension housing parts (trucks) with shafts and hardware is in the bags. There's the drive parts with bearings, chains, and sprockets. I was curious this morning so I took the coffee can that has just the end connectors in it and weighed it. It weighs 9 pounds.

I'll clean up the rubber T48 pads as I assemble the tracks. There's just a little rubber 'flash' on the shafts from being made and I'll peel that off. The shafts are 3mm. I was looking at the end connectors and I think that inside the casting there's a steel frame.

When I get enough done that's worth it, I'll post more pics so ya know I ain't been SLACK'IN (and getting in the fridge too often!)

Mike

Max-U52

I'll be really interested to see how you paint this. I think it's a tad large for a standard hobby airbrush, maybe one of the smaller automotive paint guns that they use for touch up, like this?



I'm sure you've thought about this, have you formulated a plan of attack for paint?

I also saw that for just a few dollars more you can get a Panther from these guys. You're really seriously tempting me, Mike. Will your Sherman be IR, or maybe paintball? I think I've seen .50 caliber paintball systems with laser sighting in this scale. That would lead to all kind of interesting possibilities for a course with targets along the way. Then stick a Mobius on top and you'd get some awesome footage.

Old MSgt

Good Morning! I've been out in the garage putting the tracks together. I thought putting all those itsy-bitsy cotter pins in each of the Tigers' track pins was a job. That was easy compared to the 'C' clips on this Sherman! The track pad shafts are 3mm and the end connectors are cast, roughly 3mm. SOOO, I drilled some connectors out 3mm to clean the cast in holes. That don't work and I switched to the next size drill bit, 3.3mm, and THAT is PERFECT! What track I've put together flexes GREAT and side play is so minimal you can hardly see.

Well, painting is a long way off but I haven't decided to use a gun or spray cans. IF I wanted really dark OD green I like those big cans of green camo Walmart has. I've used them to paint my Tamiya Shermans before and the look good. The Fury Sherman had that kind of dark green. I'm debating it weither I want dark green or the lighter early WWII OD. I want this Sherman to be late '44 ETO. Course, with the weathering covering up any OD color I don't know if it matters much.

I also worked some on the sprockets this morning. I have the bolts to fasten them to the back plate but the holes were just too tight for the brass 2.4mm bolts. I miced EVERY small drill bit I have and FINALLY found ONE 2.5mm bit. So I chased out the sprocket holes and the backing plate and will put them together later (I'll take a picture then).

I gotta get dip in my lip and get back to work! This is FUN! Mike

Old MSgt

Here's what I got done this morning. Got the backing plate on the sprockets and put some more track together. I set my drill drag brake at the lowest setting and used it as an impact wrench to run the nuts on (with a drop of Loctite on each). The used the dremel to cut the excess brass treads off.

Yeah, I noticed a laser pointer and a paintball setup for this Sherman on the FOA site. Did you watch the videos of this Sherman on there?

My eyes and fingers are tired from doing those C clips... that AND I just realized it O-BEEER THIRTY!!!!! I'll work some more tomorrow!

Mike

Tankhobby

I've had my eyes on his site for a while and I'm really glad you are posting your build on this. I have a Dragon kit sitting on a shelf so going this route is an option. I currently have the Vantex Sherman I've done a lot of mods to and when that's all finalized I'll need something new to work on. Please keep the posts going!

Is the suspension the plastic kit's or are they metal? I'm also very interested in the T23 turret when you get it. I mounted an airsoft gun in my Sherman and aside from some BB feed issues it appears to work well now (I'll need to update my site soon).

I'm glad the tracks are rubber as the Vantex pads are metal and tend to be slippery on some surfaces. Are you going to power this with standard SLAs or go with the newer LiFePO type?

Old MSgt

The suspension is steel with the Dragon plastic detail truck over it. I haven't even dealt with any of that yet. But all that suspension that FOA supplied is heavy. The housings, arms, pins, bolts, springs, etc., there's a lot to figure out later.

Yesterday I bent the inner steel shell for the hull and painted it white. When I installed it I had to make a couple of slight mods to the plastic hull (one side rib and one little plastic post had to go) and the shell went in easily. I'm going to have to figure out how to modify the two side covers for the transmission cover because there's a good sized bearing on each side. It'll be mostly behind the sprockets anyway.

This morning I did a mockup to see how the motors/drive fit in. Still deciding how I'm going to anchor the drive with the threaded rod & spacers; high or low.

I'm going to power it with probably two scooter batteries. I use them in other tanks and they seem to last a long time between charges. I deleted the FOA electronics (which look excellent) because I like Sabertooth ESCs.

The tracks are good but a JOB to put together. I drill the flash out of the end connector holes (I use a 3.4mm bit) and have to do a little rubber removal on the pad studs (flash) or trim it back on the pad sides a little (Dremel cutting wheel works GREAT). Trying not go BLIND dealing with those little C clips or wearing my finger tips out is the challenge! I only do about ten pads a day so I don't get burned out then I go to something else. After assembling 10 or 15 of these pads the ICE COLD CANS in the garage fridge start sounding pretty good!

When you get this Sherman you don't just 'assemble' this big model, you have to BUILD it. I am HONESTLY having a GREAT TIME working on this tank! I love to accomplish mechanical projects.

It's almost required that you have a drill press, good range of bits, grinders, sanders, micrometer, cutting tools, and all the equipment of a decently stocked home shop. You do have to make things work with each other on this tank... the parts are there but some 'hand fitting' (or 'drill or file fitting') is required.

AND above all you absolutely must possess high levels of ingenuity, mental resourcefulness, excellent mechanical skills, task planning, experience on making parts fit and work, monk-like patience, a natural aggressiveness to overcome daunting obstacles, keen eyesight, and high mental stress levels. Unfortunately I don't possess ANY of these qualities BUT I have a well versed vocabulary in socially unexceptable naughty words AND have a well stocked BEEER FRIDGE in the garage!

I AM HONESTLY having a LOT OF FUN working on this! Even in the evenings while we're watching TV I'll jump up and run out to the garage to look at something quick. Planning for tomorrow!

I'll post more pics when I get more done. I'm now heading out put some more track links together... oh joy, be still my heart.

Mike

purgatory

Enjoying your 1/6th project. Hoping for some more updates and pictures. For curiosity, what did this kit cost?

Old MSgt

Hi Everybody! As a matter of fact Purgatory, YOU brought this thread forward at the perfect time! I WAS going to bring it forward today because FedEx delivered the box with the FOA T23 turret in it just about an hour ago.

Here's the story on this turret: When I ordered the Field of Armor Dragon 1/6 Sherman kit I also ordered the 'just being made' T23 turret at the same time. At that time John at East Coast Armory had just finished sculpting it. He sent the finished turret to Loic at FOA and he had a mold made. Then FOA looked for a company to cast it. FOA had a hard time finding a 'vacuum form' company to suck it so FOA decided to go with fiberglass. They found a company in California to make'em so they sent them the mold.

Later, the fiberglass outfit sent the 'sample, pre-production' turret to FOA and it was exactly like it was suppost to be, thick and beefy in certain areas and exact measurements. So FOA ordered a batch of the turrets. But when the batch came in they were too thin in critical areas and 1/8" narrower on the sides in the front so were unacceptable. FOA sent them back, straightened the supplier out, and new correct ones are being made. This happened about a week ago...

Last Tuesday Loic emailed me. I had been the first one to order a turret (with the tank), and asked me if I wanted the 'sample' turret because it's EXACTLY the way it should be. I said 'Heck Yeah!'. So Loic sent it out to me that day. Now that I've seen it, YEAH, it's VERY 'beefy'.

This turret is heavier than I expected but SOLID because it's THICK. It comes with ECA hatches, ejection port, mantlet, and a couple other things.

I've already gotten the tracks, steel inner shell, and housings of the suspension built. When I ordered the tank, the springs and 'slider arms' of the suspension was still being 'tweeked' so they'd be right for the job of carrying this tank. Loic emailed me a couple of weeks ago and said the suspension was ready and the turret should (then) arrive in about a week so I told him to wait to ship the springs, arms, etc., at the same time he sent the turret. They ALL are here now. In a few days I'll finish the suspension and get it on. Then put the motors in, rear idlers, and get the lower hull RUNNING.

During the wait for the springs I've been working some on the upper hull details some. I'm not anywhere as near the skill of John (ECA), Rivetcounter, and You Others! ('You Knows Who You Is') but I'm doing the best I can.

Next, after I get the lower hull 'mobile', then I'll work on the upper hull, then turret. That will take some thinking (drink'in) on to design a way to make the mantlet and turret happy to work with each other. Thank Goodness for Miliput, Bondo, and JB Weld!

A few weeks ago I was 'whining' that I didn't have anything to work on. NOW I've got ALL KINDS OF WORK building this tank! And it's GREAT! This builds going to take a while!

I've did some minor mods to it (put angle aluminum in the sides of the plastic upper hull) and posted the pics on the FOA forum so other builders of this FOA/Dragon Sherman can see what I'VE did to try to help others.

This FOA/Dragon Sherman sells for $2500, but that includes all the electronics (ESCs), wiring, switches, circuit brakers, etc. I didn't want the electronic package (because I like Sabertooth) so the kit, with two 24v drive motors, trans housing, and turret traverse motor (with 'Lazy Susan' and toothed ring), was a little over $2100. THEN I also ordered the new FOA T23 turret and that's regularly $300 (includes ECA stuff) but for a short time since it came out, it's $270.

I'll post more pics soon and show how the suspension goes together. Mike

Panther F

Looking good Mike. Yeah, John at East Coast Armory is amazing and I follow all his projects on FB.

Your turret is yet another example of what he can do, in 1/6 AND 1/16 too!




Jeff

purgatory

Glad I was useful. Still new here. Was looking at old threads for anything 1/6th scale related and found yours. It amazes me, the detail one gets at that scale. It makes my new 1/16th Early Metal Tiger look like a mere toy!

A little out of my price range currently, perhaps one day I will be able and willing to take on a "big" project. Enjoy your detailed explanations, and of course, your photo journey of this beast. Looks like a lot of fun, and labor of course. Good luck to you as you continue your amazing build.

Old MSgt

This morning I got the suspension parts that arrived yesterday ready and then painted them. They're still a little tacky but I was curious as to how good they go together and work.

The first thing to assemble them is to put in the long bolt in the middle. It has a steel sleeve that goes over it and the hole in the middle of the slider arms assembly is where it slides up and down. Then there's two shorter bolts and locknuts on each side of it for the springs to go over. There's two more on the slider assembly.

You have to push down HARD on each side to get it in enough to put the washer and locknut on. My little wife helped because this is a two person job. After the threads were started, I finished tightening the lower locknut until it goes on enough to lock.

Next I put each side of the suspension arms on and put the pins in then put a couple of wheels on. I used some small washers on each side of the wheel axle so there's barely any sideplay. Going to use the same washers on the top return rollers.

And, yeah Rivetcounter, I WISH the roadwheels had rubber on them instead of hard plastic... it would make'em a LOT better.

It's pretty firm when you push down of the bogie housing and rolls so easy. With six of these on this tank it should easily carry the weight.

I'll assemble the other five tomorrow when their real dry (ANNND right now it's O-BEEER-THIRTY! Don't want to get burned out on this job!) Mike

purgatory

looking great, amazed at the fine detail of these parts. must admit, a bit jealous, I could use one of these as a winter project

sevoblast

Great work as usual, Granpappy! I like the way this is coming along, just wish I could have one here!

Strathcona

Wow, what a beast! Looks like a great kit, can't wait to see it, when completed. I don't have room in my condo for it, otherwise I would get one. I have a 1/6 scale M5 Stuart Tank (static model) brand new, except for a broken track, easy fix), and right now it is collecting dust and taking up space in my rather small hobby room. I have about 20 RC tanks. But a 1/6 scale Sherman would be nice!

Old MSgt

Here's a few pics of what I've got done so far. This thing keeps getting HEAVIER every day...

When I went to paint the track end connectors I thought about taping them off (because the tracks were already built). I got set up outside and tried that but it was a lot of work AND right then the WIND picked up so newspaper and tape was blowing EVERYWHERE. I said HECK with it and just sprayed'em where they were. I figure that the overspray won't last long on the rubber pads when they're run in sand or mud much.

I bolted the suspension housings (bogies) on the hull then installed the rear idler housings. The idlers are spring loaded to take up the slack. I first installed 78 pads per track but that seemed just a tiny bit loose (look at it in the pic). So after these pics were taken I removed one pad each so now there's 77 per side and there's tension but flexible. It rolls easily back and forth on the table.

I installed the motor drive unit and got everything aligned and tightened.

I ordered the Sabertooth ESCs and they should be here tomorrow (Monday) then I'll get some batteries and see (with MY luck, if I can FRY the ESCs!) if I can get the lower hull moving. I haven't installed the two drive chains yet so I can adjust the ESCs (with Turnigy retarder) without getting RAN OVER and KILLED.

There's LOTS of room inside the hull for the batteries and a couple of cooling fans. Once I get it moving, then I can start working on the upper hull and turret. The turret will take some figuring to get it done and'll take a WHILE.

I'll show more when I get something done worth seeing. Mike

**** Since I posted this I and FOA decided to go with solid rear idler adjustment. Those idler springs were too hard to adjust and didn't keep the tracks in tension under load. If you want to see the mods for this build look on the Field of Armor forum. I post them there for the new builders of this Sherman AND there is so many that everybody on here would get 'bored' with seeing them posted so many times. Check them out if you're curious. Thanks! Mike

purgatory

As usual, your picture and your project are truly amazing. Been really enjoying your thread. Keep em coming.

Old MSgt

I posted a couple of videos on the Field of Armor facebook page (and they're on the FOA forum build page) of the test runs I did today. I've made a few runs before but usually found something that had to be 'tweeked'. But today's tests went GREAT! Nothing came off and seems like all the track/suspension parts are getting worn in and are working together.

Building this FOA/Dragon 1/6 r/c Sherman is the most CHALLENGING build I've ever tried. It's a LOT of work, making things work together, and doing 'field modifications'. This is the first production Sherman sold and being built so I'm helping to 'work the bugs out' (or not 'F.U.!)

Todays runs went PERFECT! It was going smooth so I decided to really WRING IT OUT and even TRY to see if it would break. But both LONG, ROUGH runs I did went fine. Nothing came loose, the E clips on the tracks all stayed on, no tracks tried to climb out, and the suspension worked great! I'M EXTREMELY HAPPY! Been grinning all day!

I took these pictures at the beginning of the test runs because on both later runs I TORE THAT SAND UP! (Now I have to get a shovel and rake to fix it because this is my Tamiya tank field...)

This isn't the last 'Thunder Run' to look for any lower problems, BUT now I can start working more on the upper hull (and then the turret).

So to see the closer build (or problems!) I ran on to, look at them on the FOA forum 'Combat' site and look at the drive test videos on facebook. I would have put the videos on youtube but don't know how but FOA will probably post them on youtube later.

Mike