Buggman60

Hello all! Been quite a while since I was last here. Had some major health issues and still do which is kind of the reason I'm back. In the past, I focused on RTR tanks that I disassembled and painted only (Heng Long mostly). All along, I really wanted to try to build Tamiya tank, my favorite being the Israeli M51. Well I ordered that tank 2 days ago. My question is, is there anything special I should know about that model tank, any replacement parts I should order to avoid driving issues? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Fsttanks

The Tamiya M4/M51 is a great Tamiya tank build for your first go at it. About the only thing I would recommend right up front is to do the full wheel bearing upgrade. It just makes for an even smoother running tank. Otherwise the M4/M51 is a pretty darn reliable running tank.

There are of course other “little things” that can be done to enhance all around reliability. Fortunately those can be added as you need them and are not do or die when building the M51. Mine still does not have these “little things” and it shows no signed of needing them anytime soon and I run mine pretty hard.

Now the model itself that’s another story. The welded hull version Tamiya chose to go with was used by the IDF but was fairly rare. There are endless detailing upgrades you can make and I am sure others will chime in on those.

I am sure you will have fun with your build and even more fun running the M51.

Buggman60

Hey Fsttanks, thanks for the response. I've played around with Heng Long tanks before but I've never owned a Tamiya and have NO idea of what to expect. Btw, the wheel bearings you recommended arrived Saturday. I do recall others having issues with bushings when running them long and hard. Anyway, thanks again for the heads up.

RichJohnson

If you want to build it as an accurate model I can walk you through all the really awesome detail upgrades to do to it to make it look right. It will cost you probably another 100-150 bucks or so from shapeways and East Coast Armory to detail it out properly. Tamiya really left alot to be desired with that tank model. Its a great place to start, but they just didnt do it right. Just please, do not follow the instructions and glue the tamiya brand K rats boxes on the side of the tank, it looks so horribly dumb.

Here are some pictures of the M51 I helped my friend properly detail out. You will notice the changed out rear deck, very easy to do if you have any model skills at al. Then the barrel travel lock on the rear, the stowage basket, the tool boxes on the sides, the proper jerry can racks (HL), and if you look beneath he scratch an engine door properly and scratch made the infantry call box on the rear. Note the spot light as well as well as the spare wheels are mounted on proper brackets available.
All these details take the model from looking very plain to very detailed.

Buggman60

Hello Rich Johnson! When I saw that you had replied to my thread, my first thought was "what took you so long". I have followed many of your threads and would love to have your help on this project as long as you realize that my skills don't come close to comparing to yours. That includes both building/modeling skills and general tank knowledge that you possess. If you're still interested in helping knowing all that, I would love it.