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The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially known as 76-mm Gun Tank M41, was produced by the Cadillac Motor Car Company division of General Motors from 1951 to 1954. Originally built as a light tank replacement for the WWII-era M24 Chaffee, it was initially called the “Little Bulldog”, but the name was changed to honor Gen. Walton Walker who was killed in a road accident in Korea in 1950. There were 5,467 M41s built, and while the United States never used it in combat, it was bloodied in several engagements in both Western and Eastern hemispheres. In the Bay of Pigs “invasion” of Fidel Castro’s Cuba on April 17, 1961, the CIA provided a brigade of anti-Castro exiles with 5 M41 tanks and while they did have early success against Communist T-34/85 tanks, they eventually ran out of ammunition, and all were either destroyed or captured. The Republic of Vietnam was the largest user of the M41 Bulldog. Provided to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in 1964, they were first used in combat in October 1965. Notably used by ARVN forces in the Tet Offensive of early 1968, they also saw combat in many other theatre actions. In February to March 1971, M41s led a cross-border incursion into neighboring Laos called Operation Lam Son 719. The ARVN Bulldogs destroyed NVA (North Vietnam Army) T54 and PT-76 tanks in tank vs tank duels, but the operation was not a success with ARVN forces entering Laos with 62 tanks and 160 M113 APCs and returning to Vietnam with only 25 M41s and 64 M113s. Other nations that used the Bulldog include Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Lebanon, New Zealand, South Africa and West Germany, where the M41 was the Bundeswehr's first post-war tank in 1955. Specifications: Weight 23.49 Tonnes (51,200 pounds or about 23,220 kg) Length 19’1” (5.81m) Width 10’6” (3.19m) Height 8’11” (2.72m) Top speed- 45 mph Range- 110 miles (180 km) Engine- Continental air-cooled, opposed six-cylinder, gasoline powered, with 500 HP Main gun-M32A1 76 mm canon Auxiliary armament-.30 cal coaxial MG and .50 M2 Commander’s MG Reference links of interest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M41_Walker_Bulldog https://mikesresearch.com/2019/03/24/m41-walker-bulldog/ The Kit It’s Tamiya’s venerable 1/35 M41. This kit appeared first, in this form in 1975, with an earlier version released in 1964! I started construction about one year ago and have worked on it sporadically since. It was painted with Humbrol and Model Master enamels, through the old Paasche H. Quite a few products were used for weathering effects including AK and Vallejo muds of various sorts and Vallejo Earth Oxide pigments. Vallejo acrylics were used for the rust effect on the three mufflers, while Flory washes and pastel chalks were also employed. I used diluted oil paint on the fuel fillers. In a few spots, Cyber Top watercolor pencils also came in handy. Uschi’s Trinity Splatter stencils helped weather the paintwork. Resin stowage came from Value Gear and Squadron Dioramix. The resin M2 is an Eduard product. The dried leaves scattered about are from AK as well, in three different types. The crew came from a vendor in China, via Ebay and they are painted with Vallejo acrylics too. Oh, and I also made a pair of "shades" for the tank commander. I also used some Evergreen sheet to make bottoms for the sponson boxes and to fill the holes in the hull’s bottom. I did a fair amount of scratch building on this project, including the three supports for the driver’s opened hatch cover, damage to the headlight guards and the cleaning rod staffs (brass tubing) seen attached to the turret’s rear. I removed the pioneer tools and bracket from the front right fender, (often done by the ARVN tankers) replacing them with “field improvised” parts from brass angle and a strip of thin, sheared sheet-metal. The gun mantlet cover is made of tissue soaked in diluted PVA glue with the cover hold-down made from plastic rod, strips cut from an aluminum can and detailed with Grandt Line nut/bolt heads. The characteristic reinforcing stampings seen on the sponson’s sides were replicated with stretched sprue. The three rolled tarps on the turret's side were also made from PVA-soaked tissue. Tamiya completely disregarded the auxiliary muffler, so I was obliged to make one from an ancient model car muffler, aluminum tubing and electrical wire. The ropes are various sizes of thread soaked in diluted PVA and the two radio aerials are just stretched sprue. Another omission by Tamiya were the two lifting rings seen just beneath the headlights and those were done with copper wire. Balsa provided the wood for the “road barrier” pressed into use between the headlights. I also had to use Evergreen to replace a lost hinge for the cupola’s hatch cover. The driver’s vision blocks were filled with Microscale Krystal Klear, tinted with dark acrylic paint. So, there you have it! Much too much info I’m sure, but maybe there’s some interest in the details. It was a fun project with the biggest headache being that resin M2. I believe it was taken too green from the mold and that thin barrel always wants to curve upwards. It was nicely detailed but not a great fit in the kit’s pintle mount. Britmodeller build thread: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235108596-m41-walker-bulldog-ending-at-last/ Thanks for hanging in this far, and thanks for stopping by to have a look! I appreciate your interest in the Bulldog, and please feel free to leave your comments, good or bad! Lightbox photos: This M41 represents an ARVN tank operating in Saigon's (Ho Chi Minh City today) Cholon sector, circa 1968. These location atmosphere photos hopefully evoke that time and place: Photos by Richard W. Krall:

I've been fascinated by tanks since I was just a little boy. Big, loud and menacing beasts...the exact sort of things that appeal to little boys. When I was elementary school-age, circa the late 1950s, early '60s, our hometown had a National Guard unit with a tank. It was parked beside their building and I loved seeing it as we drove past. I imagine it might've been an M47 or perhaps M48, heck maybe even an old M26. Whatever it was, it was a marvel to me back then! I started building scale models as an adult around 1986 or '87. And since then, I've only built two tank scale models. I enjoyed building both, and actually did enter them in an Austin,Texas model contest (still a "one time" experience for me), luckily placing both tanks in third place in their respective categories. Beginner's luck I call it. My two tanks I hate masking aircraft canopies. It's the part of the process I dread the most; the mere fact that there are no canopies to mask on a tank...well, that is a huge plus in the armor column for me! Lately, I have become somewhat stalled on a Bf-109E build (yeah. I came to the masking stage...) and thought I would take "the road less traveled" for a change. And, now I'm having a ball going down that path! I started Tamiya's ancient M41 Walker Bulldog in 1/35, of course. I've only spent a handful of hours, spread out over a couple weeks, thus far, but I believe I'm getting close to laying on some final paint. I've done a bit of scratch-building, adding some features that Tamiya chose to leave off. I would like to show my progress here however, and thereby gain access to all the great info here at BM. Well, the road wheels are painted and sealed, awaiting some weathering. I also painted the rubber portion of the return rollers. The odd bits and pieces have been added to the front and rear hulls: Most M41 Bulldogs featured a canvas mantlet cover that is bolted to the turret top and sides. I've attempted to replicate this with tissue soaked in CVA. I've seen photos of these covers that show some variation and of course, a lot of wear and tear. I futzed around this for quite a while, making several attempts, finally calling it done (and good enuf!). I tried to replicate the attachment parts with plastic rod and thin strips of aluminum. After they are glued to the tank, I'd like to place a Grandt Line bolt-head on each "tab". Heh, heh, that may be a bridge too far for my meager skills but I'm game to give it a try! I've still got some small details to add around the cut-out for the gunner's sight, and of course some touch-up once the final paint goes on. Here's how the attachment parts look, and a pic with some practice paint on: Tamiya left off the two lifting rings found on the glacis plate. I've routed out a slot for some rings made from flattened copper wire. I hope to set the rings in the slot with some thick CA. The real rings were attached with six huge weld beads so I hope I can get close to that appearance. M41s have two storage boxes mounted on the sponsons but Tamiya failed to add the stiffening ribs stamped into the sides of the boxes. I've tried to replicate that effect by gluing small strips if stretched-sprue to the sides. The vertical ribs on the front boxes were oddly arrayed and that was difficult for me to recreate. I believe they will look okay when finally "tweaked" though. Port side before paint: Starboard too: With some "practice paint": Also seen in the above pic is the auxiliary muffler for the tank generator. Originally, these were mounted over the right-side rear main muffler but excessive heat in that location led to refitting the aux. muffler to the right front fender. I'm building my Bulldog as a tank issued to the Army of Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). ARVN forces were the ones who used the M41 most in combat, seeing some success against soviet PT-76 and T54 tanks of the NVA. I've seen ARVN Bulldogs with aux. mufflers in both locations; there are great diagrams of both mountings in the Squadron Walk Around book on the M41 and I chose the rear, original location to scratch build. I found an old, model car exhaust collector that worked well in replicating the muffler. Some aluminum tubing provided the tail-pipe and plastic stock made the mounts, with furnace tape straps and clamps on the flexible pipe connecting it to the engine deck. Here are some pics of the process: And here's the muffler with some "practice paint": I've been looking at several photos of ARVN Bulldogs for ideas and inspiration. Here are a couple: In the above pic, I see a great idea for speeding up the build...just wrap the M2 in canvas! And a couple pics with the three main pieces assembled for a trial viewing thus far: Hey everyone, thanks for staying with me so far! I hope to have more progress to post soon, and I'm always happy to receive constructive criticism and advice. I am pretty much still a novice armor builder and on my third try. So, with that, adieu for now! Links of interest: https://mikesresearch.com/2019/03/24/m41-walker-bulldog/ https://www.historynet.com/m-41-walker-bulldog-tank/ https://man.fas.org/dod-101/sys/land/m41.htm