Scratch Built 1/6th scale M26 Pershing project

Thanks guys, I have made some more progress on the tank's turret.

I have also completed the tank's turret loaders hatch and added it to the product line. The hatch will work for many US tanks of the period including the M4 Sherman, the M4A3E2 Jumbo Sherman, 76mm turreted shamans, and M46 / M47 Pattons.

http://www.eastcoastarmory.com/ustankparts.htm

I have also completed many of the turret details. including the

commanders copula

Retracting 50.cal pintle mount.

Rear turret bustle 50.cal storage racks and pintle.

On the turret's front the gunner's scope, range finder, search light, lift hooks, and loader hatch retaining hatch was added.

The last piece of detail that I added was the foul weather driving hood rack. The rack is all scratch built out of sheet steel and brass.

The Muzzle brake master is completed and is currently in molding. More info to come!

WOW!!!! Always a treat to see your posts and see whats happened next!!!! Beautiful work!!!

the doog

WOW, man! I just came across this thread, and I'm simply gobsmacked by the amount of work and dedication in this build!

YOU, SIR, ARE IN A LEAGUE OF YOUR OWN! THIS IS SOME AMAZING WORK!

I have one question--where does one get those massive styrene sheets used to construct the hull?

I hope that you are able to sell the master for this project and make some serious cash from your efforts!

Thanks guys, The styrene lower hull was started by another 1/6th scale model maker. The large panels can be bought from the styrene companies direct. No way would I sell this one, it's all mine 

I fabricated the mantlet and the tank's gun barrel. All that is needed to complete the mantlet will be some casting / foundry numbers. The gun barrel is constructed out of turned PVC. The gun barrel also has a retention spring that prevents the heavy barrel from drooping.

I will now be fabricating the tank's 90mm muzzle brake.

Looking forward to seeing the barrel put on and REALLY looking forward to seeing the tracks being made!!! Stunning work mate!!!

WOW, man! I just came across this thread, and I'm simply gobsmacked by the amount of work and dedication in this build!

YOU, SIR, ARE IN A LEAGUE OF YOUR OWN! THIS IS SOME AMAZING WORK!

I have one question--where does one get those massive styrene sheets used to construct the hull?

I hope that you are able to sell the master for this project and make some serious cash from your efforts!

Thanks guys, I've been building 1/6th scale tank models for about ten years now, and since then I have seen the hobby grow by leaps and bounds.

I have finished up the turret body work, and I added cast texture to the surface.

I also built and mounted the armored mantet drum top covering. The mantlet, when installed will then go over this plate. The plate is secured to the tank via slot screws as per the real vehicle.

I'm now fabricating the tank's gun mantlet and gun barrel. more progress to come. 

Great work. The suspension is wonderful.

Very impressive collection mate!!! Stunning detail on all!!!!!!! How long have you been building these 1/6th scale jobbies???

Bocks Suv

Please use a dust collection system and a good mask when sanding. The particles of debris will be so fine... and we don;t want this project to be your last.  How long is it... about 4' ? And what are you going to do with it?  

Thanks for your concern, but I do have a professional dust and particle respirator. This is also not my first 1/6th scale vehicle. I'm building the tank for my own personal 1/6th scale tank collection. Currently I have about 20 of these 1/6th scale tank models. I also have about a dozen or so in the pipeline.  

most of my collection is at the following website. http://www.eastcoastarmory.com/battlezone.htm 

Please use a dust collection system and a good mask when sanding. The particles of debris will be so fine... and we don;t want this project to be your last.  How long is it... about 4' ? And what are you going to do with it?  

I have some progress on the tank's turret.



The tank's turret is fabricated out of a 1/4 inch plywood skeleton. The plywood is then thoroughly coated and soaked with fiberglass resin. The fiberglass resin transforms the wood to plastic.



















The turret's basic body work and shape has been completed. The casted in details for the copula, loaders hatch, and other fittings have been "casted" into the turret's surface.













Currently the turret's surface is far too rough and sanding and filling will be required to finish the turret. The sanding will be the next procedure that I will perform on the model. More info to follow shortly!!

I keep saying it, WOW!!!! Really looking forward to seeing the turret coming to life as well!!!

Just a quick update, I completed the tank's right side fenders. With these out of the way

The tank's sheet metal work is now complete. Now that the tin work is completed I can say that this tank has had the most complex and intricate sheet metal work of any of the 1/6th scale tanks that I have built second only to the BRA Jag (which is all sheet metal construction).  

The right hand fender boxes were completed and mounted to the fenders. The right hand side boxes and fenders have numerous foot loops soldered to the boxes and to the fenders.

The tank's front horn and brush were also added to the tank. The horn's power cord will be added along with the head lights later.

It is now off to the tank's 90mm turret! More progress to come

Beautiful work mate!!! REALLYYYY looking forward to seeing that turret build and installation!!!!

I have completed 1/2 of the tank's fenders.

The storage boxes have been completed with the exception of the working latch handles which will be casted in resin shortly. The storage box lids are also all brass / steel construction and all components are soldered together.

The storage container inner lids feature the ridgidity straps and the condensation vent details.

The remaining fender details were added. These would include the rear armored first aid kit container, front fender rigidity crimps, and fender tip hex bolt head details

I will now focus on the fender details on the tank’s other side. Once that is wrapped up I can finally start on the turret

And your family moved out when??  I've heard of big projects but this is too much. Even those model rocket nuts out west can at least fly their projects 2-3 miles up. You should restore the real deal for a museum..in Europe. 

As a quick update I have created the sheet metal fender boxes. The fender box interior tool posts have been created and added. The boxes are all sheet metal construction. The tool boxes have a gutter that runs around the edges of the box interior. The gutters are fabricated out of a 1/8th inch brass channel that is soldered into place. I have completed 3 of the gutters, but I ran out of brass stock and have to place the boxes on hold until I can resupply .

Once the gutters are complete, the box lids and lid details will be constructed thus finishing off the boxes and fender details. 

WOW that is really looking great!!! Your attention to detail is amazing!!!

Thanks Guys, I have made some more progress on the tank's fenders and completed the mud flaps. The tank now has its width complete.

The tank's front fenders were completed first. Unlike the other panels that are simple straight panels of steel the front portions bend inward and overhang the front armored plate. The panel's corners also angle outward from the tank. These panels will also receive 3 stiffener crimps. These crimps will be created out of half round styrene and will be added later.  

To mount the tank's front and rear mud flaps to the tank, I had to fabricate the mud flap mounts. The mud flap mounts were installed to the tank with small fasteners and have epoxy weld bead detail added to them

The tank's rear mud flap mount was particularly difficult to fabricate.

Like the rest of the tank's fender components the mud flaps are created out of sheet steel. the mud flaps feature real pressed stiffener crimps. The mud flaps attach to these panels via fasteners.

The tank's rear fenders were very complex to fabricate, I added the distinctive X crimp. The part of the fender that connects to the tank's hull had to be sculpted out of sheet metal. On the later M26A1 and M46, large turn buckles were added to the front and rear portions to the tank's fenders. These were not present on the early production zebra T26.

The tank's storage lockers will be next followed by the tank's turret! More info to come.

Killjoy

I think we have long ago exhausted the superlatives, so I'll stick with WOW!  I am really enjoying watching this one come to life!

Chris

I think we have long ago exhausted the superlatives, so I'll stick with WOW!  I am really enjoying watching this one come to life!

Chris

Thanks Guys,

It's been a while since I had any progress, but I have been working on the tank's side fenders and fender detail.

Like most late war tanks (comet, Chaffee, JS2) and post WWII tanks (Patton, M60, Centurion, T55) the M26 has a very elaborate and complex fender / storage container design. Because of this the fenders themselves are going to be a very important focal point.

All of the fender components are scratch built and are constructed out of soldered sheet steel and brass. The parts are then mounted to the hull via steel fasteners.

The part of the fenders that was constructed first were the fender support / mount arms. The arms feature the correct "spot weld" seams that are present on the real vehicle. The arms were first attached to the hull with fasteners and glues. Epoxy was then added on top of the fasteners giving the arm more strength, and covering the fasteners with accurate weld seam detail. Small resin hex heads will be added to all of the corner extender points, but this will be after all of the sheet metal fabrication is completed.

The sheet metal fender panels where then cut, shaped and mounted to the suspending arms. The panels themselves have the side skirt mounting holes drilled into them. The tank's functional storage boxes will be fabricated and soldered directly onto these panels once they are complete.

The next fender parts that need to be created will be the front two fenders and the front and rear mud flaps. Once they are complete it will then be off to the fender storage boxes! More info to come

Holy Cow! That is really impressive! I can't wait to see the final product!

The "cool factor" is genormous here.

WOWSERS!!!!!!!!

...EPIC

I take my hat of to you, that is really some incredible work and the results are staggeringly realistic. Beatifull work.

I have made some headway with the project

The tank's lower hull and running gear was primed and painted with their base coat

The All of the Tank's wheels were installed permanently. to their swing arms and idler mounts. The inner rubber tire sections of all the wheels were painted in Black; these sections are difficult to paint once the model is fully detailed and built.

As I mentioned before the wheels are mounted permanently to the tank, but they will be able to spin and roll freely, due to their axle design.

I have just completed The tank's main drive sprockets. Both The drive sprockets and the suspension have been added to the product line.

The Drive sprockets will work for the M26 series, M46, M47 Pattons, and  the T30 Heavy / Super heavy tank series.

http://www.eastcoastarmory.com/ustankparts.htm

The Sprockets are mounted to the tank's final drive mounts with a 1/4 inch steel shaft and spacers. Like the road wheels the sprockets will also spin freely. The large spacer keeps the sprockets in perfect alignment with the road wheels.

With the completion of the sprockets I can now fabricate the Track Masters, which will be molded several times over to produce the necessary links required. I will also now be moving upward to the tank's fenders which will be fabricated out of sheet steel and brass. More info to follow!