Build Your Own Sherman Tank 240
absolut.evil writes "OK, so admittedly it is only 1/5th scale, but still pretty cool.. especially if you're a kid. The thing comes complete with working suspension, meticulously built wooden tank treads and X-Arcade controls. Check out the pics and construction timeline."
Heh (Score:3, Funny)
I can hear the shrieks of the gun control activists now!
Re:Heh (Score:5, Funny)
I like the pictures of lil' Rambo rolling along there in the panzer. Reminds me of my youth.
Where the heck did you grow up???
Re:Heh (Score:2)
>Where the heck did you grow up???
France.
Misread (Score:3, Funny)
The power source in this model is two 12v 75Ah deep-cycle Autocraft batteries driving two 24v 1/5 hp electric gear motors (see the bottom of this page for more on these motors). emphasis mine
Anyone else read this "antiaircraft batteries?"
Uh, can you get me out, now? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Uh, can you get me out, now? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Uh, can you get me out, now? (Score:2)
that poor kid probably had too much watery American "beer," but I'll bet he's not even half feeling it.
If this guy wandered into my party on July 1st (Canada Day) with that potato cannon he'd be pelted back pretty quick with dried squirrel meat and chunks of my melting igloo, that's fo
Re:Uh, can you get me out, now? (Score:2)
The guy rolls into a 4th of July party in a 1/5th scale german tank (Panzer) because their not drinking American beer...
That makes tons of sense...
What they failed to mention.... (Score:5, Funny)
Kindergarten is going to be rough for that little one.
Re:What they failed to mention.... (Score:5, Funny)
Although 5th grade might be rough. Reminds me of Bonzai Kitty.
Re:What they failed to mention.... (Score:1)
Re:What they failed to mention.... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:What they failed to mention.... (Score:2)
Are you kidding? Who's going to pick on a kid who drives around in a tank?
Rough for who? (Score:4, Funny)
The kid's got his own Sherman Tank. Kindergarten's going to rough for the other kids.
Re:What they failed to mention.... (Score:1)
rj
Cannon? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Cannon? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Cannon? (Score:2, Funny)
POTATO Gun! (Score:2)
Americans DO like war (Score:5, Funny)
Hey that big war budget HAS to be spent doing something "constructive" right?
Re:Americans DO like war (Score:2, Offtopic)
this sucks (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:this sucks (Score:1)
-Slashdot Junky
potential GWB jokes... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:potential GWB jokes... (Score:1, Flamebait)
Re:potential GWB jokes... (Score:2)
http://www.asu.net/bsh/union.wmv [asu.net]
The best part (Score:2, Funny)
hey look (Score:5, Funny)
Builld your own Tank (Score:5, Funny)
Now I want to sell the instructions to Build your own mine field to this guy's neigbors.
Where was cool stuff like this when I was a kid, or at least when I was small enough to fit inside one of these. I was impressed that the treads were make out of wood, I would've guessed that you would've need an expensive trip too the hardware store to do treads.
Re:Builld your own Tank (Score:1)
Give it a rest you anti-war hippies (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Give it a rest you anti-war hippies (Score:5, Interesting)
Just as a programmer can filter out certain inputs, a parents raising of a child filters there inputs,
You want a program to ignore a certain command you program it to, You want a child to not smoke you talk to them about it, now just like programming, there may be some bugs and it may not work but the parent has to try.
Im tired of listening to parents complain, when its a fact that parents spend less and less time with there children.
Before a parent can even begin to open there mouth they should look at themselves and answer some very simple questions.
1. Do I spend at least a hour of quality time a day with my child.
2. Do I know the names of my childs friends? Where does his best friend live?
3. Has my child every had sex? Do I know this for sure?
4. What is my kids favorite color
Some of the questions may seem stupid but come on, its your child.
Lets stop spending all our time blaming others and spend more time with our children, that is the only sure way to improve things.
Re:Give it a rest you anti-war hippies (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, you don't need to tell me about that stuff, man. My son is still in diapers.
Re:Give it a rest you anti-war hippies (Score:2)
Re:Give it a rest you anti-war hippies (Score:2)
Tcl (just pronounce it right, and they'll be rolling on the floor, peeing their pants).
Re:Give it a rest you anti-war hippies (Score:2)
unfortuately if we assume that the language is similar the grade point we have a problem-- languages are getting worse. So C is out... As is C++, but B might be OK. Algol is out because the name in Arabic means "The Ghoul" and we don't want to give the little monster any ideas....
Cobol is subversive (ever heard of cobols of plotters) although it i
Bowling for Columbine (Score:1, Insightful)
Hmmm... (Score:2, Funny)
...would a 1/3rd scale model be large enought for a grown man? Or should I try for a 1/2 scale?
I mean, this would be one hell of a toy to scare the neightbours with... *smiles*
Re:Hmmm... (Score:2)
Re:Hmmm... (Score:2)
Au contraire! (Pardon my French).
I took look around the guy's web site; he's got a page on tracked vehicle transmissions here [gizmology.net].
News Flash: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:News Flash: (Score:3, Funny)
you'll put your eye out with that thing! (Score:2, Interesting)
Forget equipping the cannon w/ live fire action... all he needs is for some kid to put his eye up real close to that barrel to look inside; then have the driver accidentally hit forward and jam the barrel into his skull.
I'd also be a bit leery about having those tank treds last very long... wood isn't designed to do that sort of thing... and certainl
Re:you'll put your eye out with that thing! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:you'll put your eye out with that thing! (Score:1)
Next thing we'll here (Score:3, Funny)
Kid Stuck in Tank (Score:1)
Re:Kid Stuck in Tank (Score:1)
I'll have to second this. My son's been really into Star Wars the past 5 or 6 months (He'll be 4 in a few months). He wanted Obi-Wan's ship. OK, cool. Then he wanted Zam-Wellel's ship, and Jango's ship, and yes damn near everything from Eps 4 -6 (my Mom had kept a lot of that stuff from I was a kid, so it was just hitting ebay for a few things)
Not so fast buddy (Score:5, Funny)
The response from my Guinness keg launcher promises to teach your 5-year-old a valuable lesson on the perils of unilateralism.
Re:Not so fast buddy (Score:1)
Re:Not so fast buddy ob:Beer (Score:2, Informative)
North Coast makes their Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout which makes me laugh and chuckle at the thought of ever drinking Guiness again unless I had to. Don't even get me started about the Old Stock Ale which is devine. Every day beers like Red Seal and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale are also usually in the fridge.
No, I'm afraid imports just can't cut it. So until I take a trip to Europe to see what
Re:Not so fast buddy (Score:1)
Sorry if you're stuck somewhere without any good local breweries... Then you're just outta luck.
Re:Not so fast buddy (Score:3, Funny)
Hobby? (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course he will soon find that the instructions are equally as hard to make as the tank...
Just what I've always wanted to see. . . (Score:5, Funny)
"Father" of the Daleks.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Cisco (Score:1)
Trees one, Cisco nothing.
Re:Cisco (Score:1)
Like a Sherman will hold up to that.
Military Vehicle Technology Foundation (Score:3, Interesting)
He's into detailed restoration, like an auto collector; he doesn't operate the tanks much.
Re:Military Vehicle Technology Foundation (Score:2)
Coolest Dad (Score:3, Insightful)
Awsome model.. (Score:1)
Re:Awsome model.. (Score:3, Insightful)
At which point the guy could:
a) have another kid
b) sell it on eBay for $$$
c) tinker with it and make it remote-controlled
d) c, then b
If it were me, I'd add remote control along with a motor for turret-rotation, put a wireless cam or two on it and enjoy it for a long time to come.
If his dad does that, I'd hate to live on that kid's block on Mischief Night in 11 or 12 years, if the tank lasts that long.
~Philly
Re:Awsome model.. (Score:3, Funny)
b) sell it on eBay for $$$
Sweet! That's one way to deal with unwanted pregnancies!
What I don't get is... (Score:1)
Re:What I don't get is... (Score:2)
This kid is lucky (Score:3, Interesting)
The big problem was, none of us had access to a welder. The fact that we couldn't actually weld would have proven no obstacle. Eventually, we took to building boats instead, and ended up in a series of harrowing pellet gun wars with the other gang of boat-building kids.
Ah, life in a small town, eh?
Tank (Score:2)
Gotta love this picture (Score:2)
Hmmm... Botparts.com is down now... (Score:2)
Or has it happened before... If it has I bet it never hapened with the main article withstanding the
Put an old 286 in it... (Score:1)
Sherman Tank (Score:2)
My only real suggestion would have been to make at least the drivetrain and suspension out of metal.. Ya, it'd take a bit of extra work, and may need to invest in some new tools (but possibly not), but it would have definately been worth it..
Personally, if I had the space and time, I would
That things only going to take... (Score:2, Funny)
like two panzershrecks, three max.
My son's first halloween (Score:2)
Inspiration struck, and I built this:
http://hallert.net/images/marcustank1-med.jpg
http://hallert.net/images/marcustank2-med.jpg
It's mounted on caster wheels and has a handle on the back that I used to push it down the street.
Now I wonder if anyone can guess what I was trying for..... ?
Re:Um... (Score:2)
Nothing like building your child's favorite toy... (Score:2)
Did he forget how fast kids grow?
I can just see this kid refusing to eat and crying his eyes out in June.
Poor kid (Score:2)
Must be his first kid. (Score:2)
-dameron
The German Kid Down the Street... (Score:3, Funny)
The Sherman Was a Piece of Crap (Score:4, Informative)
If I ever build my child a tank, it will be something other than the M4 Sherman. That tank should have never been put in service. Prior to the Normandy invasion in 1944, GEN George S. Patton made the decision to concentrate production on the M4 Sherman instead of the M26 Pershing. The Pershing, according to Patton, was much too heavy. Patton, being a cavalry man, saw tanks as tools of the infantry. Tanks were to be used in conjunction with assaults by foot soldiers and were not intended to fight other tanks. Patton's choice of the lighter, faster Sherman turned out to be a huge mistake. The high-velocity guns of the German Tiger and Panther tanks penetrated the Shermans like a fork through a slice of bread. According to Belton Y. Cooper (whose book you should read...more on that in a bit), the Army began the Normandy campaign with 232 M4 tanks. In eleven months of service, 648 were completely destroyed and 700 were knocked out but later prepared. This comes out to roughly 580% losses in less than a year. These incredible losses resulted in the deaths of thousands of highly (and expensively) trained tank crew members.
As if the M4's crappy armor wasn't bad enough, the Army equipped it with rotary aircraft engines, which it apparently had in surplus. These engines constantly fouled spark plugs (of which they had around 18, if I am remembering Cooper's book correctly). The engines did not like to idle at low RPMs and this created constant problems when travelling in convoys. On top of that, the tanks would let out an extremely un-tactical backfire when they were started, which often drew German artillery fire upon their positions. The M4s also had very narrow tracks. Your son's model tank looks to be fairly accurate as far as the dimensions of the tracks. When these narrow tracks encountered freshly-plowed farmland, they got stuck and it took incredible effort to free them.
But wait, it gets even worse... The M4's main gun (75mm or 76mm, depending) was almost useless when up against German armor. When that gun hit the hardened armor (rolled, if my memory serves me) of the Tiger tanks, it merely bounced off, leaving a scratch or pockmark on the surface.
So, all you Slashdotters...if you're going to build your kid a tank, do them a favor and build them an M26!
-Chris
PS - I got most of this information from reading Belton Y. Cooper's incredible book, "Death Traps", which follows the 3rd Armored Divison ("Spearhead") from Normandy to the heart of Germany. I'm not sure if it is still available--it was out-of-print for a while...
Re:The Sherman Was a Piece of Crap (Score:2)
All is well untill. . . (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:This is a dupe (Score:2)
www.gizmology.net
Linux Apache/1.3.26 (Unix)
Linux Apache/1.3.19 (Unix)
Linux Apache/1.3.4 (Unix)
From userfriendly.org (Score:1)
Re:WMD are not something to play with (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:WMD are not something to play with (Score:1, Insightful)
Fuck, if you had a slingshot and a pile of rocks, it would be a WOMD, but only if you were in Iraq.
Come on jerk-off, the whole fucking thing is relative. Why else would GW get his knickers in a knot over a 'Drone Plane' that was made out of balsa wood, weed whacker motors and duct tape, and controlled by a man on the ground at MOST 5 miles away? It's a fucking hobby plane that millions of americans have built for fun, but in Iraq, it's a restricted weapon!
Re:WMD are not something to play with (Score:2)
Chris
Oops. (Score:1, Flamebait)
Re:Completely Stupid (Score:1)
Re:Great for kids? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Great for kids? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:How are you Gentlemen!! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:How are you Gentlemen!! (Score:2)
It's seemed to work out pretty well for them, they've been playing these games for the last 185 years.
Re:War machinery is great (Score:5, Insightful)
Who knows he may even grow up to be an engineer.
I worked in prisons for quite a few years and believe me, kids with dads that spend this kind of time with them don't typically grow up to be dangerous and violent.
Re:War machinery is great (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah, I play "guns" all the time as a kid, and have never wanted to buy a real one, nor have I ever wanted to use one for anything. Man, those were the days!
Today's kids play with real guns, because their parents were to damn scared of hurting their feelings by saying no and setting real rules!
-Slashdot Junky
Re:War machinery is great (Score:1)
Re:War machinery is great (Score:1)
As a kid, I learned that real guns were not for play and when used can result in serious injury and death. With this, I CHOOSE to not use them in a hazardous way. It's all about the choices we make in life.
-Slashdot Junky
Re:tasteless! (Score:1)
Re:nitpicking (Score:2)
Oh. My. God.
That is hilarious. I just scared my roommate by spontaneously falling out of my chair laughing!
(For those who don't get it, read up on the relative armor thickness of various tanks in WWII.)
Regards,
Ross
Re:Wonderfull project - Build turret higher over h (Score:2)
Good idea-- but one would need a good vision solution in that case... If you think that tank could be dangerous, try limiting its vision