Got a question about the shield on the right side of the turret where the machine gun is mounted.I will assume that this was coppied from a real stuart tank,what was it for.Looks to me like it would only serve a purpose if a gunner was standing outside the turret firing the machine gun,but there is no floor in it and I can't imagine a guy trying to follow the turret around as it is being moved.??
BIGMIG

That curved armoured fairing on the turret is intended to protect the machine gun mount from damage during a battle.

HI

I'd like to know where to get these tracks as well. I have three of these tanks, one still new in box, and would love to get a proper set of the tracks for one of them.

Cheers
Gorehound

Hello, I think pattoncommander has the source for the after market tracks for these big guys.I was wondering if all your's are the olive drab color,I do see some that have the muddy look. BIGMIG

Hi

No, one is the weathered olive drab and two are the three colour camo ones.

Cheers

Factory colors where: green, tan, camo, and a sort of weathered, muddy.

If your changing the track you should change the boogies too as they should be solid around the rim.

There was a run of 2 channel tanks towards the end of production. They had 27 and 49 mhz (A,B) built in. I know there was camo and olive drab 2 channel but thats all Ive seen.
Even for the approx. going price now of $250 they cant be beat. Getting into sixth scale is not cheap. Battle Ready Armor is what, $600 plus? Then you have to build it, paint it, no suspension, no radio, battery, charger, motors, etc. After that it gets into the thousands for brands like Spearhead, Verio, and Armortek.

Hello Dap,
I agree if you can get a good one for $250.00 or less they are a bargin.I was planning on buying one of the $600.00 dollar 1-6 metal kits until I got hold of one of these guys,saved me a lot of money and this is the size I was after.These tanks are also a good canidate for other up-grades depending on what you want to spend on one, and how far you want to go.Just in general the suspension seems to be well made and if properly cared for appears to me it will perform for a long time.Every thing is heavy duty looking to me for what these sold for. BIGMIG

P.S. when I first got to looking at the pictures of them I thought they were kind of goofy looking,Now having one I must say they grow on you and are neat looking tanks.The only thing that don't look right to me is the gun,it's to short and needs to be able to be lowered if wanted. BIGMIG

The "short" barrel is to launch the stupid kids like missile. It must be replaced. Also, if you are to regularly run your Stuart, you must take the precaution of reinforcing the front sprockets with a small hose clamp where the axle slides into the back side. In time, the plastic WILL fail and break off. It can be reglued and clamped but it just saves that from happening.

The tracks I have on my Stuart are the only ones used by the M-3/5 series, ie; single rubber block external track guides on the end connectors...NOT the double pin steel chevron combat track and center guides with split wheels like the M-26, like the Chinese manufacturer dreamed up. . Jack Yang makes these and they really do make a great difference. He also supplies hole plugs for the various screw holes in the suspension with his track. They are hand made and really not that expensive. You have a choice, either assemble them yourself at home at a cheaper cost (and faster) or he will assemble them complete where all you have to do is take off the old ones and install the new. Comes with extra blacks fo mounting on the bow etc.
[email protected]. Or M5stuartrctankbattalion.com .

As has been mentioned, a drawback is the single speed of the tank but some giuys have modified them. Also the gun is a fixed position thing which you can improve my pressing the plastic detent on the upper part of the mantlet. This releases the mantlet and gun and you can simply reverse it to point straight ahead, but you'll have tio clip off a bit at the back. Some guys had added elevation/depression and set up to shoot paintballs. Either way, it's an impressive tank and a defibate attention getter. Upgrade parts are available on a couple sites, just clock on 1;6 scale.

if you have ever driven a track vehicle, the steering is not backwards on the Stuart..you steer a tank by slowing the track in the direction you want to turn, ie; running the Stuart you have thumbs on both buttons...to steer right, you let off the right button, so the power still goes to the left track and the right one slows...and you turn right. [>:] Not backwards, just basic tank driving mechanics.

forgot to mention on the Stuart tracks....Jack is working on slot fillers to fill in the slot and make the bogies look like solid wheels. He has not been successful but is working on it. I used thin sheet styrene cut to size and suoer glued it in place....works nice.

SCR-508 RADIO SET....GOES DIRECTLY IN BACK OF THE TC AND GUNNER

OK I sent the wrong photo, but this is an SCR-528 not 508, this has an additinal receiver in place of the storage box....so this is for a commander's tank.

I have never driven a tank,and in a lot of respects these do steer properly.The big problem is we get used to using a single joy stick
and the tank moves in the direction you point the stick.Seeing we are using duel electric motors it also allows one to make pivot turns because the motors can run in oposite directions at the same time,thus the super spin.I have run a lot of cat's in my time,mostly the old style but also some of the newer models in todays world.There have been a lot of changes as we well know,a lot of our toys in some ways work like the real tracked vehicles of today.(or is it the other way around,mabe they coppied the toys??)
Now on todays equipment most everything is done with joy sticks,talking cats and track hoe's here.The old style cats you were using one motor which in turn was supplying power to both tracks no mater what direction you were moving,you could not reverse a track
you could only take the power away from it and therefor it will turn.In a forward movement(for example)if you wanted to make a right turn one would pull back on the right steering clutch lever and this takes away the power to that track and it starts turning right,and to increase the severity of the turn you also had steering brakes for each track.The harder one pushed the steering brake the tighter it could pivot.There was other versions of this method used on different equipment,some of todays stuff you pull on both sticks to make them move.
But back to these stuart tanks some guys from what I have read on a few posts like to change the joy stick directions to kind of match up to work like the HL models.This is something I may do also just to keep my steering habbits the same.
BIGMIG

Not quite sure what plastic will break.(can you go into a little more detail in what you mean) I did open mine up and orginized the wiring a little and put it back togeather.I'm waiting to get the new one I ordered and will use the used one to start making some changes on and then will do the same to the new one.The used one I got was very complete except for one of the bottom covers was missing,I built one out of sheet plastic and if I had the matching color paint to have painted it with one would have trouble telling it was not the original.Very easy to make these if anyone has one missing.The only trouble I have found with the one I have now is one carrier roller is either frooz up or it had been repaired and got glue on it and it don't turn.I still have to look at it,and I'm getting some slipping on the turret motor that I have to deal with.It turns in one direction OK but has trouble going in the oposite direction.
That is one of the only things I have seen that would have been better if they had used a bigger ring gear for the turret.They used a very small gear for that sized turret.
The slots where the axles come out of the gear box to the sprockets should have had a filler piece that would be attached to the side of the iner hull with small bolts to help support the plastic bushing on the axel shaft,this could then be easily removed if one needed to remove a motor.(this may be what Panther is refering to) These are great tanks and I agree with Pattoncommander,these bigger guys will for sure be an attention getter where ever you take one. BIGMIG

interesting to read what's happening in the civvie word of tracks. never had a chance to drive a cat and have always wanted to. Last straight shift tank I drove was an Easy 8 Sherman...double clutch up and down and no syncromesh....had to listen to the engine and shift by sound....about every 100 yards up or down. All the others had auto or quasi auto transmissions but the fist US tank that could pivot was the M-46 and little brother M-41 with the "new" Allison CD tranny. The Tiger and KT could pivot, but VERY slow and rarely used for fear of dropping a track, and not like they way they are used in battle games. The M-26 still had laterals and a shifter at the side of the seat to the Ford Torquematic tranny that had to be manually shifted. The Stuart had laterals and a real small shifter box to the right of the driver. The M-24 Chaffee was a lot like the Stuart but the laterals placed on the floor, coming up as opposed to the Stuart's coming down from the bow plate. The M-46 and 47 had a "wobble stick" where you shifted and steered with the same big joystick setup off to your right. (Got very tiring on a long trip, so the M-46 had driver's controls in the bow gunners seat, so they could switch off.) ) The 48 and 60's went to the steering wheel system with a shifter at the right leg. (So did the Tiger) Many changes through the years but I prefer the laterals, although lots harder to drive and much more demanding....but more fun

See above. Pretty clear and no need to be a wizard of words. Use a small hose clamp around the piece that the axles slides into on the back side of the sprocket.

I allways looked at cats like you remember some of the times running tanks,they were a lot of fun to operate.The new age of automatic transmissions and hydrolics has changed the world of heavy equipment, and yes I'm sure even how tanks are opererated
and function in todays world.Not sure when it comes down to tanks and cats,who coppied who.Seems like I watched a show on the history chanel about cats and they kind of stated they were not sure who realy invented the first one.But most tracked vehicles and equipment use a lot of the same termanoligy for most of their parts.I would like to see the inside of one of our new model tanks,I have seen a little on TV about them but not enough to realy understand all the changes they have made to the over-all drive system in one.To me if a tank had a blade on the front and a winch on the back,they could do just about anything you wanted to do with one.
I am supprised that they did not have a winch on them,seems like a winch would have been a very usefull item to have for many reasons. BIGMIG

Thanks for the linke Pattoncommander. I have just mailed Jack to see if he can supply and what costs would be for shipping etc.

Cheers
Gorehound

Panther aswered the shield and it was eliminated or cut off on most later Stuarts. The Stuarts did not have a turret basket until mid 44 when many were upgraded and had them installed. The M-26 through 46 didn't have a basket either, and personnaly, I liked it better as you had more room and access to 90mm ammo was easier. The loader just had to keep awake and not load a round and stand in place when the gunner traversed onto a new target.

I found one for $125 buck near me!!!

I'm thinking about it..it's modified as well...


Should I go for it???

Hello Turbobearcat,
For that price if it's a working tank you can't go wrong,in my opinion.Guys are paying that much for their HL tanks,and two
hundred dollars for the Matorro KT.They are a neat tank and I think you will like them.I just got an e-mail from the guy I bought the new one from and he is shipping it to me tomorrow.I also just found another used one that is within driving distance that i'm going to go look at tomorrow afternoon. BIGMIG


P.S. If you are lucky enough to find one close enough to pick up in person that will save a lot in shipping and also the chance of it getting broken during shipping.That is my only concern on the new one that will be coming to me by truck. BIGMIG

Now if I can only find the Abrams they had out as well.. that is the tank I truly want.

Hi, If you are not going to buy it I would like to. I live in cleveland. Let me know about it. I am really looking for one. -jack