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US Light Tank M41 Walker Bulldog by Jack12477- Tamiya - 1:35 scale


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Posted (edited)

Of the 3 or 4 armor kits in my stash I decided to start with the latest acquisition,  the Tamiya M41 Walker Bulldog which I picked up in Hobby Lobby for a ridiculously low price of $13.  This is a remarkably simple kit to assemble. Painting it will be fun. It come with decals for 3 variants, 1 WWII US and 2 Japanese Defense Forces. I'm going to do the US markings.

 

The obligatory box art and contents

 

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And the beginning assembly progress.

 

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Edited by Jack12477
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Posted (edited)

I wouldn't know  @CDW , was never a big fan of Cadillac cars! But then in my youth my buddies always told me a Cadillac drove like a tank. 😉😊😇

 

But I can say this is by far the simplest tank kit I've built. There are no interior details to mess with, everything is exterior. And true to Tamiya standards, no flash, no ill fitting part, superb detail in the exterior castings. A great kit for a beginner modeler. Other than painting it olive drab green when I finish assembling, I haven’t decide on how much, if any, weathering I want to do. It does have 3 figures which will be a challenge to paint. 

Edited by Jack12477
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Not a big seller for Tamiya, that's why it costs so little, but it's the only real game in town for that particular model.... It's pretty accurate and cleanly molded...

 

Would benefit from aftermarket tracks though, T91E3 Workable Track Links 1-35 AFV Club

 

It's had an undistinguished career as a tank, designed to be a light recon tank, but sized more like a medium tank, it never really fulfilled either role well... After the initial issue to US troops, (who didn't like it) the remainder of production was sent to foreign allies....

Aside from Vietnam where the bulk of it's combat history took place with the ARVN, (who loved it) it's only real combat capabilities were revealed in the CIA backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, 8 of the 16 tanks landed held off three companies of T-34-85's in the only successful incursion off the beach, they eventually ran out of ammo and were destroyed or forced to surrender, the other 8 were abandoned on the beach...

 

It was a good tank, but by the time it was being issued, the whole concept of heavy, medium & light tanks was passe'.... The Main Battle Tank concept was being developed along with the M-48 Patton....

 

I'm down brother...

 

 

Current Build: F-86F-30 Sabre by Egilman - Kinetic - 1/32nd scale

In the Garage: East Bound & Down, Building a Smokey & the Bandit Kenworth Rig in 1/25th scale

Completed: M8A1 HST  1930 Packard Boattail Speedster  M1A1 75mm Pack Howitzer  F-4J Phantom II Bell H-13's P-51B/C

Temporary Suspension: USS Gwin DD-433  F-104C Starfighter "Blue Jay Four" 1/32nd Scale

Terminated Build: F-104C Starfighter

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:

"Relish Today, Ketchup Tomorrow"

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3 hours ago, CDW said:

The M41 was made by Cadillac. Wonder if it was as comfortable inside as a Cadillac? 😀

Nah according to the troops it was assigned to, it was too cramped inside, the crew had no room to be human....  {chuckle}

Current Build: F-86F-30 Sabre by Egilman - Kinetic - 1/32nd scale

In the Garage: East Bound & Down, Building a Smokey & the Bandit Kenworth Rig in 1/25th scale

Completed: M8A1 HST  1930 Packard Boattail Speedster  M1A1 75mm Pack Howitzer  F-4J Phantom II Bell H-13's P-51B/C

Temporary Suspension: USS Gwin DD-433  F-104C Starfighter "Blue Jay Four" 1/32nd Scale

Terminated Build: F-104C Starfighter

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:

"Relish Today, Ketchup Tomorrow"

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37 minutes ago, Jack12477 said:

I wouldn't know  @CDW , was never a big fan of Cadillac cars! But then in my youth my buddies always told me a Cadillac drove like a tank. 😉😊😇

 

But I can say this is by far the simplest tank kit I've built. There are no interior details to mess with, everything is exterior. And true to Tamiya standards, no flash, no ill fitting part, superb detail in the exterior castings. A great kit for a beginner modeler. Other than painting it olive drab green when I finish assembling, I haven’t decide on how much, if any, weathering I want to do. It does have 3 figures which will be a challenge to paint. 

The parents of one of my best friends from junior high school days used to drive new Cadillacs. They would drive us over to Daytona Beach for the weekends where we spent many hours on the boardwalk, riding the rides and playing the games of chance. I always thought riding in those Cadillacs was a big deal back then. They went down the road super smooth, quiet, and the air conditioning was superb. My oldest brother had several convertible Caddys down through time. They rode the best of them all because they weighed more. Super smooth rides.

 

I bought the same M-41 kit just to get the turret mounted .50 caliber machine gun from it, which I used on an Israeli Sherman tank. One day I should find another .50 cal to replace the one I stole then build my M-41, too. Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.

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3 hours ago, Egilman said:

Not a big seller for Tamiya, that's why it costs so little,

Actually Hobby Lobby was having a clearance sale, looked like they were rearranging merchandise aisle and were getting rid of some kits. According to the engravings on the sprues this kit was produced in 1973. 

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, CDW said:

Did you do your primer from a rattle can or from your airbrush? It laid down super smooth. Nice job, Jack.

Tamiya rattle can.  Yes, it dries to a semi smooth (gloss) finish.

 

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Edited by Jack12477
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Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, king derelict said:

That looks very nice and neat Jack. Some lovely detail there. This is a new AFV to me so its great to learn about it.

Alan

This is a 50 year old kit a cording to date engraved on sprues.  The detail is very sharp, and no flash to clean up. 

 

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Edited by Jack12477
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First coat of Vallejo Dark Green, airbrushed on.

 

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Now to find where I stashed my Badger fine needles/tips from my previous years of modeling armor so I can do some shading, etc. I just hope I can remember how I used to do it  😉🤔🤫. Some parts will be hand painted and/or dry brushed. Still have the 3 figures that were included to do. 

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nice job so far Jack........I don't do enough armor.  am I rubbing off on you?...........see.....it's kinda fun to research the production dates of older models.  it can get interesting when you can trace the same kit from company to company.........the 1:72 Stuka kits I built has been produced by at least three different companies!  I've seen this kit on oldmodelkits..........Alan has quite a selection to choose from ;)   I look on scale Hobbist to check out the time lines.  it shows how many time the molds changed hands ;) 

 

look'in good ! :) 

I yam wot I yam!

finished builds:
Billings Nordkap 476 / Billings Cux 87 / Billings Mary Ann / Billings AmericA - reissue
Billings Regina - bashed into the Susan A / Andrea Gail 1:20 - semi scratch w/ Billing instructions
M&M Fun Ship - semi scratch build / Gundalow - scratch build / Jeanne D'Arc - Heller
Phylly C & Denny-Zen - the Lobsie twins - bashed & semi scratch dual build

Billing T78 Norden

 

in dry dock:
Billing's Gothenborg 1:100 / Billing's Boulogne Etaples 1:20
Billing's Half Moon 1:40 - some scratch required
Revell U.S.S. United States 1:96 - plastic/ wood modified / Academy Titanic 1:400
Trawler Syborn - semi scratch / Holiday Harbor dual build - semi scratch

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  • 2 weeks later...

Stopped by the Hobby Lobby store today; the model kit area had a sign "All boxed kits 40% off". So I browsed the shelves, mostly cars, way down on the lowest shelf were 5 Tamiya Walker Bulldog kits. Sale price after discount was $13.19.  😲 Picked up another kit, was very tempted to buy 2 but resisted the temptation. So Walker #1 will have a companion tank. 🤔 

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3 hours ago, Jack12477 said:

Stopped by the Hobby Lobby store today; the model kit area had a sign "All boxed kits 40% off". So I browsed the shelves, mostly cars, way down on the lowest shelf were 5 Tamiya Walker Bulldog kits. Sale price after discount was $13.19.  😲 Picked up another kit, was very tempted to buy 2 but resisted the temptation. So Walker #1 will have a companion tank. 🤔 

Do you have "Ollie" stores in NY? They bring in cases of random model kits from time to time and sell at a deep discount. Typically, model car kits that normally sell for $30 and up are selling for $12.99, sometimes less.

A couple of months ago, I bought a brand new 2 cycle string trimmer/edger for $69.99 at Ollies. That's less than half the cost of Home Depot or Lowes.

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10 hours ago, Haliburton said:

Time for a diorama?

It's under consideration!  Big issue is where to display it. The ship models already take up all the display space. I have maybe 30 completed armor vehicles stored in plastic containers because I ran out of space. 

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In anticipation of possibly doing a diorama I did pick up two cliff rock face rubber molds by Woodland Scenics. Incredible detail in these molds. 

 

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IMG_2024-04-18-09-45-57-602.jpg

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That will be sweet!  Definitely go for the diorama if you can.  

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    Hs129B-2 1/48  SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32   IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

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Posted (edited)

For now I'm calling Walker tank #1 complete.  I decided to hold off on weathering and/or camouflage until I decide on how I want to display it and the Walker tank #2 kit build is completed. But both will have to wait a while until after I deal with a medical issue that just cropped up unexpectedly. 

 

Note to Moderators: This build log is NOT FINISHED YET, only part 1 of 2 is finished.  And there is a possibility of a diorama to be added to this build thread.  

 

The Walker tank model #1:

 

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Edited by Jack12477
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Yes  - Tace care  of yourself Jack.

 

OC.

Current builds  


28mm  Battle of Waterloo   attack on La Haye Saint   Diorama.

1/700  HMS Hood   Flyhawk   with  PE, Resin  and Wood Decking.

 

 

 

Completed works.

 

Dragon 1/700 HMS Edinburgh type 42 batch 3 Destroyer plastic.

HMS Warspite Academy 1/350 plastic kit and wem parts.

HMS Trafalgar Airfix 1/350 submarine  plastic.

Black Pearl  1/72  Revell   with  pirate crew.

Revell  1/48  Mosquito  B IV

Eduard  1/48  Spitfire IX

ICM    1/48   Seafire Mk.III   Special Conversion

1/48  Kinetic  Sea Harrier  FRS1

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Posted (edited)

Hey brother, looks like you went aftermarket on the tracks? Excellent choice... (does a lot for the look)

 

Fine job, looks like it was just issued....

 

Take care of yourself my friend, we will still be here when you get back to it...

Edited by Egilman

Current Build: F-86F-30 Sabre by Egilman - Kinetic - 1/32nd scale

In the Garage: East Bound & Down, Building a Smokey & the Bandit Kenworth Rig in 1/25th scale

Completed: M8A1 HST  1930 Packard Boattail Speedster  M1A1 75mm Pack Howitzer  F-4J Phantom II Bell H-13's P-51B/C

Temporary Suspension: USS Gwin DD-433  F-104C Starfighter "Blue Jay Four" 1/32nd Scale

Terminated Build: F-104C Starfighter

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:

"Relish Today, Ketchup Tomorrow"

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3 minutes ago, Egilman said:

Hey brother, looks like you went aftermarket on the tracks? Excellent choice... (does a lot for the look)

 

Nope ! Those the out of box Tamiya tracks, which unlike other kit model tracks don't disintegrate after 5-10 years. 

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