1:6 M5A1 WWII Stuart Tank

[Mr. Nagata]

I worked on this puppy for almost a year. The base is an old 21st Century Toys Stuart tank. If you've ever seen one of these things, they're very toy-like. So I basically stripped all the details off and scratch-built everything. I tried to give her all the bells and whistles. It's fully RC with proportional steering, working turret, recoiling barrel, and a smoke generator to simulate exhaust. The headlights, tail lamps, and search lamp all work. Both the driver and commander are animatronic. All the stowage is scratch-built. The ammo and ration crates are all made from basswood with screen-printed decals.

I scratch-built the stowage bin from styrene and wire sculpting mesh.

Scratch-built interior mods

Here is a video of it in action. The first link is to my website with an embedded Quicktime file that's a little higher resolution. There's also some photos of a 1:6 Sherman tank I did:

http://www.ryannagata.com/otherstuff/16-stuart-tank/

In case you can't view that, here is a youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aE71rmON-Q

 

[Capt MarVell]

That. Is. OUTSTANDING.

Fantastic work. Everything just looks great.

I wish there was an M113 available in that scale.

Jim

 

[Invicta]

Absolutely fantastic! can't fault it anywhere. The M5 is one of my favourite WWII tanks.

Do you mind if I use one of the photos as my desktop??

 

[MonsieurTox]

That's perfection, all looks so real !
How did you build the tracks ?

The figures are just incredible, animatronics ? Please post a vid !

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Sweet!!!

 

[yt]

Amazing! I have a huge 1:18 scale collection, the only 1:6 pieces I have are the Little Bird and the Hummer. I have been eying the Stuart for a while, but after seeing your work, I am in awe!

 

[porteador]

Beautiful work. Have any photo of the process?

 

[Dymerski]

Holy balls that is fantastic!!!!!!!!

 

[Gigatron]

That is too cool! I have the Stuart in my closet. I did a weathering job on it, but that was it.

I also have the hummer, which I tricked out and a few helicopters - not to mention a few of the 1:18 WWII fighters

-Fred

 

[DivineHeresy]

Stunning!
Outstanding work.

 

[zorg]

flawless job, very clean and crisp work, the figures are outstanding too.

pro standard without doubt.


-z

 

[altername]

This thing is incredible. Great job!

 

[INCOM]

Jaw-dropping!!! :eek :eek :eek

 

[tankguy40]

I saw your work on Youtube and was wondering where you got all the stuff to do your build. I'm working on a large tank and want to put that firing simulator on mine. Can you point me in the right dirrection as to your supplier?

Thanks,
George

 

[Scott Graham]

That's great! Love it!

 

[Trekkie313]

Damn, that thing looks good enough to be used in movie!

 

[eimb1999]

Damn, that thing looks good enough to be used in movie!

Actually, that's likely a lot better than anything that's ever been used in a movie. Movie models are a lot more crude than that!

You are one talented modelmaker, buddy. Do me a favour and don't try to do it for a living, okay? I like competition, and I think it's healthy, but I can't compete with that kind of work. You're just too damned good!

 

[Chief Bast]

Holy smokes, that's beyond amazing! You've got serious talent and an eye for the meticulous details. (even cork texturing on the M1 helmets!) Thanks so much for sharing with us. :cool

With that skill, I'd love to see more of your work.

 

[p51]

Good work, no question, but since you put it out there for comments, I’ll give you a few things I noticed on your tank as well as plenty of other similar models I’ve seen…
The helmets left on the back engine deck, jerry can and ammo cans tired to the front with only one string (and the top ammo can unsecured entirely, and a bucket that would be a twisted heap of tin after a few hundred yards. I know these things because I have crewed WW2 tanks, own my own WW2 Jeep I take to events, and served on active duty in a Mechanized Brigade of the US Army. In real life, all that stuff has to be REALLY secured or you’ll never see it again when the vehicle is on the move.
I have noticed you can always tell when someone builds a model (or paints a picture) and has actually used the thing being represented. With model building, people model vehicles and aircraft the way they're used if they have used them in real life. Many model builders will argue paint schemes with one another yet have no idea they put the flaps on upside down on an airplane or have lose items sitting on a tank in action. I once looked at the entries for a model contest and immediately pointed out the vehicle that was built by a real life tank crewman. The contest folks asked how I could tell, and I pointed out the M-1A1 tank model that all the gear was lashed down tight and out of the way of moving parts and pointed out the 1/35 scale igloo cooler and folding chair (lashed down with scale bungee and 100-mile-an-hour tape). I said nobody but a tanker would think to model that. Turns out, the guy who built it was standing ten feet away and the folks asking questions were trying to get me to say something to embarrass myself. The guy heard my comments and came over and shook my hand. Yes, he was a retired tank crewman NCO! I really wish someone would make 1/35 scale igloo coolers, folding chairs and boxes of Raman noodles or canned stuff for modern modeling. When I was working with tanks for a living, all the tanks we saw going to the field had these lased to the turrets!

 

[takevin]

That's perfection, all looks so real !
How did you build the tracks ?

The figures are just incredible, animatronics ? Please post a vid !

:rolleyesreread the first post :lol