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[TAMIYA 1/48] Komatsu G40 Bulldozer


Antoine

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Hi there!

 

As a lot of us, I've started 2020  with a full bag of good resolutions, and among thoses, trying to finish one (or more) build. 

After a quick glance at more than a dozen false starts from the last decade, I've decided to go for a fresh kit.

 

My choice? The unexpected Komatsu G40 from Tamiya, released a few years ago, a very very nice little 1/48 kit, perfect for a little vignette together with an aircraft. And this is exactly what I plan to do, but let's concentrate on the bull only for the moment.

 

Let me take you on a quick visit inside the box.

 

komats18.jpg

 

 

Starting with the sprues. There are two, if I'm not wrong.

:smartass:

 

komats11.jpg

 

komats10.jpg

 

 

Instruction sheet.

 

komats12.jpg

 

komats14.jpg

 

 

Only one camo option.

 

komats15.jpg

 

 

The decals.

All those stencils...

 

komats17.jpg

 

 

A handfull of metalic dry transferts.

 

komats16.jpg

 

 

And... that's all!!!

:penguin:

 

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The build is really straightforward, and take about a single day.

I've decided for three sub-assembly, that is the hull, the dozer blade and the tracks.

 

Here's the hull, nearly finished.

I'll spare the seat for the end, to ease the paint job.

I've got small mods to do with the front lights, too.

But I won't go into extensive modifications or detailling, as I'm poor on documentation.

 

komats20.jpg

 

komats19.jpg

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All the sub-assemblies are put together, and I've added one front light.

So far, so good.

Only little drawback are the sprues attachments to the tracks, they're a bit difficult to clean-up

Ready for the paint!

 

komats22.jpg

 

komats21.jpg

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I've added the missing front light, after a quick mod to figure a broken glass. I'll try to add some wires later.

 

It's primer time, and I choose a rottbraun acrylic-polyurethane from Vallejo.

Perfect to make a difference with the light gray of the sprues, and the final colour of Kure arsenal gray (kind of German grey), as indicated by Tamiya. And beside, I've one bottle in my primer collection!

 

komats23.jpg

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Hi Antoine, good to see you back and building some heavy metal, and fast! I thought that my Sherman build in under four weeks was quick, but this has me beat hands down. It's a great looking little model.

 

John.

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Lovely build. I noticed that the company name on the front grill and on the transfers is missing the S from Komatsu, but the period photographs I can find shows this is correct. I wonder why they did that?

 

Andy

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2 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Hi Antoine, good to see you back and building some heavy metal, and fast! I thought that my Sherman build in under four weeks was quick, but this has me beat hands down. It's a great looking little model.

 

John.

Hi John, Nice to hear from you.

Not so quick, as I started two weeks ago.

 

1 hour ago, Foxbat said:

Lovely build. I noticed that the company name on the front grill and on the transfers is missing the S from Komatsu, but the period photographs I can find shows this is correct. I wonder why they did that?

 

Andy

Noticed that, yes, but... I've no answer so far.

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1 hour ago, Foxbat said:

Lovely build. I noticed that the company name on the front grill and on the transfers is missing the S from Komatsu, but the period photographs I can find shows this is correct. I wonder why they did that?

 

1 minute ago, Antoine said:

Noticed that, yes, but... I've no answer so far.

 

You will probably find it's a cunning way of avoiding any licencing or copyright issues in the same way that Tamiya's Opel Blitz is marketed as a "German 3 ton 4x2 Cargo Truck" and omits any manufacturer's badging.

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49 minutes ago, Richard E said:

 

 

You will probably find it's a cunning way of avoiding any licencing or copyright issues in the same way that Tamiya's Opel Blitz is marketed as a "German 3 ton 4x2 Cargo Truck" and omits any manufacturer's badging.

Not in this case. I found a couple of period photos and Tamiya have matched the original. A bit more digging revealed this excerpt from a previous discussion on Missing Lynx (the link is broken so I can't access the full post): "They have the difference in some character notation, and one of that is word "tsu / tu". ... Anyway, the spelling "Komatu" is correct considering historical fact."

 

So there you go. I can rest easy now and just enjoy Antoine's build :)

 

Andy

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The primer being dry, we now move on to the paint properly.

Tamiya indicate the main colour to be an IJN gray from Kure arsenal, available when the kit was released as a spray, ref. TS-66.

 

spacer.png

 

 

But today, we've also the acrylic version, XF-75.

 

spacer.png

 

IIRC, there's  also a lacquer in Mr colour range, as part of an IJN set.

 

My choice was the acrylic.

The plan was to cover all the rottbraun with gray, but after my first very thin and diluted airbrush passage, I noticed a nice surprising effect, and decided to leave it as it was. For the moment!

 

spacer.png

Edited by Antoine
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Well, most of you lot will think that there's absolutely no change between this picture and the last one...

But I swear, I've highlighted the top, and distributed some shadows here and there at the bottom.

In reality, I must admit that those shadows are a bit too light, so I'll try some smoke tomorrow, or heavily diluted black paint.

 

komats27.jpg

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  • 3 years later...
4 hours ago, Antoine said:

Three years later, back to this one, as I intend to build a small vignette that he'll share with an aircraft. Got to finish it before, it should not take too long.

 

Glad to see this one moving again Antoine.

 

John.

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Hi John, 

Nice to hear from you!

 

The following pics were taken three years ago, but weren't added to the report.

 

I did use my own sicret weapin for the blade, but still, it's not exactly parts like that that I'm used to rust, and I didn't know where to stop...

IIRC, the set is from Neptun, I'd get it from a shop in Taipei more than ten years ago, but I just don't know if it is still available, and if so, where to get it...

 

komats29.jpg

 

 

 

FIrst the primer:

 

komats28.jpg

 

 

Then the spread:

 

komats30.jpg

 

and last, the activator:

 

komats36.jpg

 

I'll see for a bit more weathering when I've the vignette setup.

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What a nice build Antoine.  The dozer will look right at home on a small vignette as you plan. 

 

Keith 😁 

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32 minutes ago, Bullbasket said:

I'd say that you've got that dozer blade spot on. Nice work Antoine.

My thoughts exactly. Very good looking paintwork there - unless you shrank a real one, of course. That is cheating!😄

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