Tom's Pershing Build

[Tom Miller]

Base paint is PPG Omni two part epoxy primer and PPG Omni top coat olive drab from their color chart.
Weathering is done with MIG filter tan for 3 tonre camo MIG 1510. MIG wash brown for german dark yellow MIG 1000 around bolts and crevasses etc.
Mig effects earth MIG 1403. Lastly I use Bragdon's weathering powders all over to blend everything together and create streaks etc.

[Tom Miller]

Well I didn't get very far with the turret when I discovered I made a mistake with the bolt spacing on the turret bearing.
When you get to drawing 20 front deck assembly, be careful to get the M4x60 bolts spaced correctly. I spaced them in thirds around the circle. That is not correct. The picture shows the correct spacing. Thankfully it was an easy fix.
Just a heads up. The drawing is correct.I just thought I was smarter than Kian. NOT

[Ray Massa]

Base paint is PPG Omni two part epoxy primer and PPG Omni top coat olive drab from their color chart.
Weathering is done with MIG filter tan for 3 tonre camo MIG 1510. MIG wash brown for german dark yellow MIG 1000 around bolts and crevasses etc.
Mig effects earth MIG 1403. Lastly I use Bragdon's weathering powders all over to blend everything together and create streaks etc.

Thanks Tom. Nicely done!

[Ray Massa]

Hi Tom,

Nice chatting with you and the others today.

Since it seems you have all the electronics installed (i just got my option packs yesterday, but no module A), I have a question on the sound module, which after reading the manual I am not sure exactly how it works with the 3-position switch. Are ALL sounds controlled by that switch, or can some be controlled separately by other channels? The appendix mentions Sound Channels 2-7 are discrete, which implied to me that they are separate from the toggle functions. Right or wrong?

Also, I think you mentioned that you use the right stick for all motion of the tracks. Again, since I don't have module A yet I can't test it, but just trying to program my transmitter for when it does comes in. So do you have it set up so that pushing the stick (from the middle center position) moves the tank forward driving both motors at the same speed, moving the stick down reverses the tank, and if you move the stick left or right it will adjust the speed of one of the tracks to turn it? I am not sure this is possible in mixing the outputs but just want to see if that is what is normal for a one stick control of the tracks.

Thanks.

-Ray

[Adrian Harris]

All the sounds are controlled by the three position switch. The engine sounds are toggled on and off, so the first activation starts the engine and the next stops it. All the rest are single shot, so each activation plays the relevant sound, such as the main gun.

The sound board counts the number of times the switch has been toggled to work out which sound you want, so it's tricky to do that from another channel. I'm sure it would be possible to write a lua script which sent the right number of pulses to the sound card to play a particular sound

You have the mixing correct, except stick full left will run the left track backwards and the right track forwards. So a left hand neutral turn. Stick full does the same but in the opposite direction.

Adrian

[Ray Massa]

All the sounds are controlled by the three position switch. The engine sounds are toggled on and off, so the first activation starts the engine and the next stops it. All the rest are single shot, so each activation plays the relevant sound, such as the main gun.

The sound board counts the number of times the switch has been toggled to work out which sound you want, so it's tricky to do that from another channel. I'm sure it would be possible to write a lua script which sent the right number of pulses to the sound card to play a particular sound

You have the mixing correct, except stick full left will run the left track backwards and the right track forwards. So a left hand neutral turn. Stick full does the same but in the opposite direction.

Adrian

Adrian,

Thanks for the info. I kind of figured that was the case with the switches, but since the Appendix sound descriptions showed position 4-7, I wasn't sure if they were also controlled by toggling the switch.

I don't have the mix completed on the single stick control yet. I have just mixed two servos operating concurrently on one throttle channel and two other servos on the steering, so I just need to mix the two. I have never used these new RC transmitters before with all these options, so I am learning. But I like them. I am using a FrSky Tandem X20s which uses an op system called ETHOS. So I am not using Open TX. It is basically an GUI interface to OpenTx from what I understand.

Since I don't have my Module A motor controller yet, I am using servos to test my logic. But I have a couple of ESC controllers from RC cars which I will connect up to a couple of test motors to see if I have everything working correctly.

Thanks.

-Ray

[Ronald Goodall]

G'day Tom, Your pitchers of the electronics was very helpful, I have one question if I may, did you put anything over the torsion bars to give you a flat surface ? Also can you advise me on which transmitter best suits the M26 and how many channels it needs.
Cheers Ron

[Tom Miller]

The option paks come with a battery tray that covers the torsion bars.
I use a spectrum DX8 transmitter. You need al least 7 channels.
Tom

[Ronald Goodall]

Thank you Tom.

[Tom Miller]

Hi Guys,
For those of you that bought the lighting option, there is a small problem.
The headlights are small incandescent bulbs and the red tail lights are LED's. The LED's require a current limiting resistor in the circuit to protect the LED's and there isn't one in the circuit. I blew out both the LED's when I turned on the switch. I went to my local hobby shop and bought a pack of 10 defused red LED's and they came with a variety of resistors. The supplier is Modelec. I tried all three resistors 270, 470 and 1000 ohm. Not much diffedrance in brightness so I wint with the 270 ohm. The LED's are in series so the resistor can go anywhere in the circuit. I chose to install it in the black wire that goes between the LED's.
Tom

[Tom Miller]

Here are a couple pics of the Pershing progress. I added the two antennas and the drivers foul weather hoods in the rack. I am now buiding an Armorpax 50 cal machine gun.

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[Tom Miller]

I finished the 50 cal machine gun and mounted it to the turret. The tank is now complete.

[Nick Chiocchio]

Hi Tom,

Did you scratch build the foul weather hoods or are they aftermarket? If after market where did you get them?

Thanks

[Tom Miller]

I built them by cutting a piece of wood to the shape I wanted then covered it with sail cloth I bought a a local hobby shop.

[Dan Fuhrman]

Tom,

Well done, the Pershing looks great! I really like the weathering and paint details. What did you use for your antenna? I have a few lengths of metal guitar string I was going to mess around with to get the accurate flex and look. Dan