M26 Pershing Production Images

[Robert E Morey]

Most likely not included in the kit Nick. Looking forward to your build.
Bob

[Armortek]

Is the .50 cal machine gun part of the kit or do I need to source that aftermarket?

As Bob says - the .50 cal is not part of the kit.

[Nick Chiocchio]

Received the other two boxes yesterday. Started to unbox and check contents. The turret is awesome!
This is my first Armortek tank and I'm really excited to start on it. I'm using my heavy duty bench for assembly, it should support the weight without any problem. Will need to rig up a spray booth for priming and painting. Fortunately it's getting warmer so having the windows open will not affect room temperature and paint drying.

[DaveMacri]

PM'd u on the .50 cal

[Ray Massa]

Nick,

Here are a few pics of the spray booth I fabricated out of heavy-duty coated cardboard (the kind used to protect floors when doing construction).
Then I encapsulated a standard window box fan in a wood housing and ported air out the back using standard 4" dryer vent hose and out my basement window. I put a 20 x 20 furnace filter on the input side to filter the paint before it leaves the paint booth. I later modified it by adding a second port for better air movement. The white circular ports are vent disconnects so that I can remove the hose easily from the main booth. This is all standard stuff from big box home improvement centers. I have sprayed almost all the aluminum parts with UPOL etch primer using about six cans so far and there is very little dust in the room. Make sure you get a good respirator, the UPOL stuff is pungent.

Also a couple pics of the bench I made just for my M26 (my first tank as well). It will have no problem support 200 pounds or more. Good luck with your build. I spent many hours just taking inventory!

-Ray

[Gary Richardson]

Hi Ray

Nice job on the spray booth, I must say that's a great workshop you have there. Just a little bit jealous
I look forward to seeing your Pershing build.

Regards
Gary

[Ray Massa]

Thanks Gary,

We moved into a ranch home a few years ago and it has a full basement. I have a lot of elbow room! And with a walkout set of stairs to the patio my plan is to drive the tank up the stairs on a ramp to the backyard. This is a retirement project for me, so I am taking my time, but it is addictive.

-Ray

[Nick Chiocchio]

Ray that's a great spray booth! Nice workshop too!
I was going to hang some plastic tarp from the ceiling and make a tunnel to the window fan. I guess I should use a filter so I don't pollute my back yard. I do have some wood from when the house was built. I have a ranch too with a full basement. When they were setting up the foundation forms they said I could get eight foot ceiling and the only added cost would be the extra cement (as opposed to six foot ceiling). Makes a big difference in the workplace.

Almost finished checking all the parts. There is a lot of hardware! This is going to be fun to build.

[Ray Massa]

Nick,

The only reason I used a filter was so that the fan did not get clogged up with paint. And that filter gets dirty real fast. Your method will probably be just fine. I agree, a six foot ceiling would feel very confined, and I am not a tall person.

Amazing amount of hardware, and taking inventory is a great way of getting familiar with the parts in addition to not being disappointed later if something is missing. I am starting with week 2 of the process and have not connected one part yet. Almost done priming all the aluminum parts, but have also spent time deburring and taking off sharp edges that I think would look better with a small rounded edge.

If you don't already have a respirator, I would recommend a "NIOSH-Approved 60923 OV/AG/P100 cartridge filters". I had a lesser version and I could still smell the fumes. With the NIOSH, I don't smell any fumes at all.

-Ray

[Armortek]

We are getting close to finalising the Pershing option packs - the images below show the mechanism for animating and adding an LED for the hull mounted machine gun.
It has been designed to make assembly easy even after the hull of the tank has been built.

Pershing Machine Gun Unit.jpg (91.59 KiB) Viewed 3287 times

Pershing Machine Gun Unit2.jpg (114.11 KiB) Viewed 3287 times

[Damon Resch]

Nice! Any chance of the smoker too?

[Armortek]

Nice! Any chance of the smoker too?

It's in the plans for 2023.

[Damon Resch]

That’s great news! It will make a superb Pershing tank kit even better! I was hoping this would be a possibility before I ordered the full suite of motion control and electronics.

[Nick Chiocchio]

Is there headlight control with the option packs?

I don't recall it being mentioned but I didn't want to start building light control if it is included.

Thanks,

[Paul Sparkes]

Not sure if the motion pack allows for switching lights ( I don’t use motion packs) but if you have a spare rc channel you just add an rc switch, or do what some do and add a servo controlling a micro switch .