M551 Sheridan

[Buzzbomb]

I do like a bit of hackage for a build starting point. 

I'm at my wits' end trying to source reasonably price PE diamond and rectangular mesh for the new stowage racks, I don't think 'cheap PE' is a thing. This may have to wait until I get that 3D printer.

Years ago I found some nice brass mesh (square & diamond) at a model railway shop -  good stuff for turret-baskets

K&S Metals at one stage did produce both square and diamond form sheets. Not seen them for a while though, but I do agree that at times, Model Railway shops do have stuff sometime mainstream model vendors do not. However the "reasonably priced" bit is not so readily available.

[ChalkLine]

Thanks for the tips on the mesh guys, I will check them out.

So, you get far in and then find something that radically changes everything you've done and now you suddenly realise that the whole thing may not work.

I'd assumed that the angle of the hull was a constant line. But over hours trawling the net I've discovered images of M551 hulls that show the lines of the forward hull going in unexpected directions. So it's out with the Verniers tonight to see if I can make the hull work after all.

Here's the images that threw said cat among said pigeons.

[ChalkLine]

:scratches head:

[Mig Eater]

Here are plans and drawing for a proposed upgrade of the M551 that removed the flotation structure around the hull and instead used the collapsible fabric frame. Hope it helps you with the internal hull layout.

[Mig Eater]

BTW the drawing of the hull you posted at the beginning of the thread is from the first prototype. The Sheridan went thought 4 different prototype stages, each time the shape of the hull changed slightly.

[Kerick]

I'm at my wits' end trying to source reasonably price PE diamond and rectangular mesh for the new stowage racks, I don't think 'cheap PE' is a thing. This may have to wait until I get that 3D printer.

Years ago I found some nice brass mesh (square & diamond) at a model railway shop -  good stuff for turret-baskets

Have you checked a fabric shop for the wedding veil fabric? It simulates chain link fence very well. Not sure if there are different sizes of mesh. Might be worth a look.

[ChalkLine]

Here are plans and drawing for a proposed upgrade of the M551 that removed the flotation structure around the hull and instead used the collapsible fabric frame. Hope it helps you with the internal hull layout.

Argh! I have those images!
Thanks, you're a lifesaver. I think I'm over-researching this :)

EDIT: I wonder why it still has the surfboard?

[Old Wombat]

EDIT: I wonder why it still has the surfboard?

Because a flat canvas screen could, possibly, have folded under the pressure of the forward motion, but, most importantly, the metal bow plates allowed the driver to see forward through the viewport & not have to rig up steering from outside the hull (&, I'm fairly sure, most of the bow plate is the same "armour-grade" aluminium as the rest of the tank).

The DD tanks of WW2 had a pointy-ish (very "-ish") bow but the drivers had to sit (stand) outside the hull with a complex system of levers to drive the tank.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD_tank

[ChalkLine]

No, I mean if it didn't have the flotation units why it would still need a surfboard. It's not amphibious anymore.

[Mig Eater]

The proposal that I posted removed the foam boxes around the hull and replaced them with a larger canvas frame (like the Sherman DD), the wight reduction from removing the foam boxes actually made it more buoyant in the water.   

[ChalkLine]

The proposal that I posted removed the foam boxes around the hull and replaced them with a larger canvas frame (like the Sherman DD), the weight reduction from removing the foam boxes actually made it more buoyant in the water.   

Weird, so even though it had the flotation screen already it had enough displacement to not need the flotation sponsons?

I can see why these were never used in service conditions, all the images of it look as unreliable as hell. I've got an image of a first series M2 Bradley swimming the same way and the crew look decidedly unhappy because it's even lower in the water than the Sheridan.

[ChalkLine]

I want to do the M551 MERDC camouflaged, covered with kit and heavily weathered.
My question is that I'm concerned the weathering, camouflage and kit combined will make the vehicle seem too 'busy'.
Can anyone supply some suggestions as to how to tie these three components together?

I'm doing the Verdant Summer or Verdant Winter version

Images:
MERDC camouflaged vehicle as an example.
Verdant Summer
Verdant Winter

[ChalkLine]

This is officially on the back burner while I sort out relearning CAD. I've gone off on another tangent and now I want to use the US Cadillac Gage Textron '6K' external suspension so I have to relearn how to model that because there's no way I could scratch-build that many and have them look identical.

I'll go to my 105mm Spanish What-If M41 instead.

Cadillac Gage Textron '6K' external suspension

[Frank3k]

That looks like a good start for a CAD project, especially if you have 3 views of the part and dimensions - but it seems like a good start. Some cylinders a flat extrusion and some filleting.

[ChalkLine]

That looks like a good start for a CAD project, especially if you have 3 views of the part and dimensions - but it seems like a good start. Some cylinders a flat extrusion and some filleting.

I don't have the dimensions, I'm just going to use the M551 suspension and scale off that.
I seriously thought about switching to M113 wheels/sprockets for the M551 but the Sheridan is much heavier and I'm not sure they'd work. M113 tracks are easy to get and it'd make it a lot easier.

[Frank3k]

That would work - just measure the axles/mounting posts on the kit and use the kit part dimensions.