1/5 Scale Tank

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[Copernicus]

1/5 Scale Sherman Tank

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I bought a toy King Tiger for my 5-year old son (the only reason we men have kids is so we can play with their toys) and, well, I just "got to thinking." Could this thing be scaled up and fitted with R/C controls? How big could it be made? Why not - dare I say it? - big enough for ME TO DRIVE AROUND? Well, that was a bit excessive, but one big enough for my son to drive around is well within reason. (Or at least more reasonable than most of the things I do.)

Just imagine the looks on your neighbors faces when you rumble into the midst of their barbecue in a Panzer, and paste the beer cooler with your 37mm potato cannon. That'll teach 'em to drink imported beer on the 4th of July.

Recognize it? It's a WW II era M4 Sherman Tank. It's about 1/5 scale, 28" wide over the tracks (so it will fit through a standard interior door), and about 4 feet long. Except for the drive components, it's made entirely out of wood, even the tracks.

[Copernicus]

For those of you who have grandchildren who want to know what Daddy or Mommy is doing.

This is excerpted. Clink the link for complete details.

Pass it on.

[Copernicus]

One way to pass time

[O.C. - Old Cracker]

Love it!

[dep]

michael dukakis, look to your laurels!

dep

[longtermmemmory]

There was an ancient cartoon series called "Wait until your father gets home." There was an episode where the dads got into a Monitor vs Merimack competition. Their weapon of choice was pingpong ball guns. Perhaps a benign addition to the tank.

Does it move under its own power?

[Sledge]

If you want to make and fight an RC Tank, check out this site:

http://www.rctankcombat.com/

It's still a relatively new sport, but it looks good so far. One guy is converting a GI Joe Sherman tank for combat.

[umgud]

If the PC crowd has zero tolerance for toy guns, they'll probably blow a gasket over this.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Here is a real man's toy. http://www.armortek.co.uk/tigerbuild.html

By the way it has a working torsion bar, hinged mudgards, working hatches and drives via remote control.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I forgot to add that this is a 1/6 scale model so it's huge and at $2500 plus shipping from europe it's a steal.

[umgud]

Looks durable and fun. My freind crashed his $1,500+ RC helocopter on the first flight.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

At the site they have videos of it going over a course.

[archy]

The main gun of the M4 Sherman series was originally a 75mm, aside for some artillery and tank killer versions. That works out to about a 3 inch bore for the main gun. A quarter of that would be right in the vicinity of a 12 or 10-gauge shotgun. It'd need to maintain an 18-inch barrel length to remain legal, or can be built and federally licensed as a *short-barrelled shotgun* with no stock following federal licencing application as such and payment of a $5.00 fee. Alternatively, a 27mm signal flare pistol might be used.

Accordingly, I believe I'd think Quarter-scale rather than 1/5th if I were you. And I'd note that model railroaders have come up with equipment suitable for adult human ridership/occupancy with rairload equipment reduced to a quarter of it's prototype's size.

But oh yes, it can certainly be done.

-archy-/-

[Howie]

I have an old riding lawnmower (and no lawn) that would make a perfect chassis. It has a 12 hp motor I think. I have a 7 year old grandson that will be very happy to own something like that!

I have been thinking of building a single shot .22 rifle for a Christmas present but this is more suitable considering the tender age.

The tracks will be the most challenging part.

[archy]

Hmmm. 12 HP. That's in-the-ballpark close to one of these.