Hi Guys! I'm not sure how long it will take to get to this, but I recently stumbled on a brand new, still in the box 21st Century RC M5 Stuart for under $300 so I snapped it up. The guy said he bought it in 2006 and it's been in the closet ever since, still unopened. After all that time the battery was questionable, and still is, and I found the charger didn't want to charge it. Enter the 3S lipo from the Jeep. Works great. I'll get a couple larger capacity 3S lipos specifically for the M5 and I should be good to go.

So here's the box opening video and the video for the first function check. Everything works as the manufacturer intended, but their system leaves a lot to be desired so it's time for an IBU. Now to sweet-talk Jerry for a good deal. Can ya hear me, Jer? We luv ya, Buddy!!



I'll post more as I make progress, but the PII is still under construction so I need to get that done first. Then maybe we should up-gun the M5? I do have another paintball gun. Bwahahahaha

Another cool toy. You have too many, those 1/6 taking up alot of space, you going to have to send me your 1/16 stuff so I can help you clear room for more 1/6 haha

Yo, I think I have an IBU 2 or two lying around...ya got any spare 38 special brass?....or some 90 or 160 ohm 1/4 watt resistors?

Unfortunately, the only resistors I have are 10 ohm 1 watt for smokers, and I'm not sure what you mean by 38 special brass. I have access to limited amounts of ammco 18, 660 bronze, and some unknown stuff, but no where near enough to pay for an IBU. But, if you can take good old greenbacks I think we can work something out through paypal.

Maybe you could message me with a price and a paypal address, and I'll respond with payment and shipping info? You might still have my info, but it has been a while since you had to use it. I'd really like to get a hold of one of the older green board IBU2 Pro boards, that's been bench tested. Think you can hook me up?

Nice one ,if i ever get one it will be the only one due to lack of space. Here is the Panzer 2 link

Gary, I do have a supply of base and some pro boards left. I was going to go into more elaborate details but bottom line is since I made that poorly thought out reply above I rethought the idea. I don't want to cause harm to anyone nor do I wish to cause harm to any present seller of IBU products. I got out of selling because I'm just not suited for this sort of thing. As soon as you said 'bench tested' that was my red flag. Of course I understand why you would want that just as I would; I just don't care to rehash the grief I had when selling these for real so I'm going to have to bow out. Sorry.

Jerry

Thanks, Ronnie. I think that one is just static, or at least he doesn't show any RC stuff being added. Lorenzo has a fairly decent video of the PII and I think I'm going to copy his suspension.

Jerry, I remember all that well, and I thought you had bench tested your remaining supply, that's why I mention it. For me the trouble is that I don't know anyone besides you that still has the green board IBU2 Pro. Everyone else has the IBU2U with the blue board, and those have built in momentum that can't be turned off, so if I can't get one from you I'll probably go with a clark. I still have one of the greenboards I got from you (if you recall, I got two, with TPAs, and the other controls my pride and joy, the 1/6 Hetzer) but I was hoping to use that in the King Tiger project. Maybe I should use it for the PII and get something else for the KT. You were wise to keep a stash of those. IMHO the newer stuff just isn't as good. And Kevin really bummed me out when he gave up on the Asp, as that, IMHO, is the best RC tank control system extant.

Now that I think about it, the sound I get in the Hetzer with the IBU and the TPA driving two 4 inch speakers is just so good I don't think the clark can compete, so it looks like my last IBU will go in the Stuart. Now I have to figure out if I can use the sherman sounds (V8 Ford). For some reason I seem to recall the M5 had a Cadillac mill under the deck.

If you change your mind, Jerry, I'll scrape up the loot for two IBUs and two TPAs, if you have any of those left, and I don't see how it can harm anyone selling them now since they don't have the greenboards and I won't buy the blue.

And you've piqued my curiosity, what do you need 160 ohm resistors for? It already sounds like an interesting project.

Crius, you are correct about the M5 Stuart. It had dual Caddie flathead V8s pushing her around. I had the pleasure of hearing them with the doors open in the back at they started up and boy they sounded nice. Unfortunately once the tank is all buttoned up and running all you hear is wheel and track noise. It is really amazing just how quiet the Stuart is while it is running. I took this video of U-Go while it was at Fort Snelling running around the museum "Parade Ground": U-GO has since been moved to the east coast and relegated back into a static display. Buying the 1/6th scale M5 Stuart on eBay is what got me back into R/C tanks and lead me to volunteering at the museum. I hadn't done any modeling in over 20 years so I ended up screwing up my M5. When it fell and cracked the upper hull I ended up parting it out on eBay.

Good luck with the build. There are so many resources out the that make parts for the Stuart.

Gary, are you going to upgrade the tracks with a set from the greatest moo? He has a nice set of track as a kit or prebuilt.

Sorry, those are too pricey for me, especially since they're plastic. We'll see how long these last, and then I might print some in petg or abs.