M548 tracked vehicle

[Mike Flea]

Windows, trim, lights, and accessories turned out great! The radio and wire look real

Good luck with the new gearbox, Personally I have no experience with them, but if it's made in Germany, and the craftsmanship is anything like Marklin, or Regner, I think they'll work better than cheap Chinese crap.

[cooper_xl]

Chinese crap indeed...the second set lasted a few minutes...


First trial of the setup on 3s. It's so good when things work at first try. Unfortunately, the gearbox it's too fast(33:1,actually), I've already ordered a slower one. The only bad thing was that the bores on the gears are a bit off center, that's why it sounds that way



https://youtu.be/TVfl-0jYy1c

[Mike Flea]

In your video, it does appear too fast, but did you try it with the weight of the rig? It's possible with the added weight, and the resistance from the tracks, it may slow it down, however, if there's not enough torque, it might also burn up the motor.

[cooper_xl]

Originally Posted by Mike Flea

In your video, it does appear too fast, but did you try it with the weight of the rig? It's possible with the added weight, and the resistance from the tracks, it may slow it down, however, if there's not enough torque, it might also burn up the motor.

Did not tried that, mainly because I only had one gearbox to test




But because it looked too fast,ordered 2 slower ones(56:1) and assembled everything, even correcting the pinion bores that were off-center(the reason of the noise in the last video)



https://youtu.be/hNNUqaVFsx0

[Mike Flea]

Looks much better, and with 56:1 should have more torque

[Steve g]

You build incredible rigs. It was your unimog build that made me finally make an account on here just to give it praise.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[cooper_xl]

Originally Posted by Mike Flea

Looks much better, and with 56:1 should have more torque

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Steve g

You build incredible rigs. It was your unimog build that made me finally make an account on here just to give it praise.

Really? thanks a lot, much appreciated. These are not everyone's cup of tea, specially because they take a while to build but I like it. I like challenges, this one has been one but don't know if you checked Unimog's thread lately but stepped up a notch

[cooper_xl]

Dollhouse stuff:

Thought that the operator needed some goggles for his helmet. The first idea was to scratchbuild everything but my Dremel broke so I've copied the goggles' frame from a real army model and 3d printed it.The lens are from a bit of clear package plastic and the strap is a strip of bicycle inner tube

[Mike Flea]

Looks good

[cooper_xl]

there it is,assembled and working. Just need a cover to reduce some noise and prevent that some LED wires don't get caught on the gears. The electronics are not in place because I'm about to take everything out to paint the hull





There's some video.Sorry about the background but I can't go to the woods right now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X06S7Hyng1Y

[cooper_xl]

My goal of closing off the drivetrain it's closer to finish.Needed something on top to keep away dirt and sand




First idea was a standard cover but started to mess with the 3d printer and decided to do a more elaborate clear cover to see the gears working(might sound like a joke but many non-rc people who see this truck don't understand how this truck moves or why it needs 2 motors...)

[Mike Flea]

That's a great idea! As far as the loose wires, head down to your local auto parts store, and get some 1/4" or 3/8"( 6.35, 9.525mm) wire loom to keep the wires together and not wrapped around the axles. Easy to put on and if there's a problem, easy to remove without having to cut through electrical tape.

[cooper_xl]

Originally Posted by Mike Flea

That's a great idea! As far as the loose wires, head down to your local auto parts store, and get some 1/4" or 3/8"( 6.35, 9.525mm) wire loom to keep the wires together and not wrapped around the axles. Easy to put on and if there's a problem, easy to remove without having to cut through electrical tape.

Thanks for the tip. It was a pretty big mess on that photo. Was just the anxiety of mounting the gearbox

[cooper_xl]

More on the drivetrain.

Put some rubber over the sheetmetal to cover 2 previous holes from the first gearboxes and to supress some noise




And a small rubber lip on the cover to keep sand and dirt away

[cooper_xl]

Now a small detail that it's almost invisible but wanted to do it anyway

Each road wheel arm has a piece atached to the hull where the axle pivots


So printed 8 of these:





OD paint to cover it all



These were meant to be bolted on but will try with glue only, for now

[Mike Flea]

Now you can print 32 tiny bolt heads for the stuffing boxes, & glue them on, then you won't have open holes

[cooper_xl]

Originally Posted by Mike Flea

Now you can print 32 tiny bolt heads for the stuffing boxes, & glue them on, then you won't have open holes

It's a thing to to in the future,the holes were with that in mind






The M548 often came with the winch to load cargo,mainly ammo




I thought mine would look more complete with it so...3D printed the I-beam and the winch:




It's held in place with small zip-ties:







It has a chain, only needs a hook or a D-ring

[cooper_xl]

Well, the truck is rebuilt, didn't change the pinions but eliminate the weak spots....


Had the urge to do another accessory for Bishop, now a set of binoculars to spot other fellow truckers














The binoculars are printed, the strap is a strip of rubber and for the lenses, I put a drop of green threadlock in place(designed those parts like small cups)

[Mike Flea]

I love the detail items, everything you've made is so realistic looking. Nice job on the beam and chainfall

[cooper_xl]

Originally Posted by Mike Flea

I love the detail items, everything you've made is so realistic looking. Nice job on the beam and chainfall

thanks! now I know how that thing is called in english




Truck is basically done. Just need some details.


One is a set of tags and labels, like this one:




The other one came to mind a couple days ago. The seat cushions I've had were fine. Cloth with foam inside, just don't look very scale

So, took some modelling clay, did a mold to have a uniform thickness , the texture was made pressing cloth to the clay and the stitching was with a spatula. Roughed them up a bit and the next day, applied Tamiya XF-62