Another Tamiya 1:35 M41 Walker Bulldog

[localjedi]

I need a break from my other current dio project, so I decided to start a new build. This time it's the Tamiya Walker Bulldog kit which dates back to 1973.

It's slightly out of my comfort zone because it's my first post-2nd world war armor build. I got this kit as a X-mas present from a friend of mine, who was a bit embarrassed when he gave it to me because he said that he didn't realize that it wasn't a 2nd world war tank when he bought it. I told him that it doesn't matter and that I like his present a lot. And in fact I really do, although it wasn't exactly on my wish-list. It's a nice little kit and the tank itself is a mean looking killing machine.

Since the kit is pretty old, it does have its flaws and deficiencies which have been mentioned up and down the internet, so I'm not gonna got into them here. I'm not looking for a high level of accuracy in this build. My plan is to have fun with the kit and turn it into a good looking model. That's it. The rule is "If it's no fun, leave it out." So I decided against PE and other aftermarket stuff that might kill my mojo. Currently I'm at this stage:


I closed the ugly holes and gaps at the bottom and the sides of the hull and the fenders with evergreen sheet and putty. Maybe it was the first violation of the fun rule because you won't see much of this work in the end, but I just couldn't stand the thought of not having those holes filled... I just can't help being pedantic.



There are only three things about the kit that I really have a problem with:
1. The two-piece plastic barrel. Who doesn't love these? I tried to find a metal one but didn't succeed yet. So I could really use the help of you more experienced Allied post-war AFV modellers out there. Does anybody know if there is an aftermarket substitute available?


2. The rubber band tracks. I bought a set of AFV Club workable plastic tracks and they look awesome to me. The rubber pads come separately. I find that sexy from a modeller's perspective . There is quite a lot of cleaning-up required on each link but I'm sure it will be worth the effort. One question though: Should I paint the tracks first and THEN glue in the rubber pads or just the other way round? What would you say?


3. The .50 cal machine gun. I've got a spare one from Academy but I'm not sure if that's really any better. The Academy gun looks a bit more detailed but then again I'm surely no expert on American heavy machine guns. Please take a look The olive one is from Tamiya, the tan is the Academy piece:



And that's it for today. I'm looking forward to all your advice and comments. Keep modelling!

[Alkosh]

Barrel Depot made a 76mm barrel for the M41, but it's long OOP. I don't know of any other barrels for it.

[localjedi]

Thanks, Alkosh! I couldn't find an aftermarket barrel, so I decided to stick with the fun rule and just use the kit's barrel. It looks ok to me.

After a few months break from the hobby, my model is almost finished. Here are a few pics of the process:
After a Barkas-style base coat with Revell 08 I used several shades of green and tried color modulation for the first time...

Gloss coat and decals on. The decals are so thick they are still silvering no matter how much Microsol I applied... Oh well, stick to the fun rule...

Then I applied Tamiya extra thin cement on the exhaust covers and roughed them up with a stiff brush so simulate chipped off paint.

And some Mig dark wash...


More pics will follow soon. Happy Christmas to all of you!

[AgentG]

Oh my, that's a nice one....

Good job sir.

G

[localjedi]

Thanks, G!
Winter has finally arrived in Germany. It's cold and snowing outside and I still have a couple of days off from work... Perfect conditions for a modelling day.
So here are some updates. The tank is finished. I tried to go for a light weathering but still make the model look interesting. I also added some stowage.




I'm quite happy with the rusted exhausts done with Tamiya extra thin cement and pigments.



I'm still working on my chipping though...


And my love for tanks and animals can be found on my dioramas. So here I found the perfect little comrade for the Walker Bulldog: Butch, the bulldog.



That's it for now. You like? Cheers!

[Sturm]

Holy shucks! That's a nicely weathered tank, buddy.
I just love the look of American tanks,specially the Bulldog. American armor is bae!
Cute dog, I love dogs.

[localjedi]

Thanks, Sturm! I'm planning a small dio for this build. I'll post updates soon.

[Easymodelling]

Amazing paint job on the dog. And also on the tank. Also nice weathering.

[localjedi]

Thank you, Easymodelling!

I had some time to work on the diorama. I don't want to violate the fun rule for this build, so the dio will be small and simple.
The base is a cheap picture frame, styrofoam and balsawood. For the tarmac I used tar-bitumen roof sheeting. To me it looks very realistic but I haven't seen anybody using it in a dio before. I hope it will last over the next 30 years... But then again I found the tar-bitumen piece in my parents' attic and it's been there for about 15 years now. So I'm pretty positive it won't start to dissolve or anything.
The building in the back is scratch-built from plastic sheet.



That's it for today. Enjoy your Sunday, guys 'n gals!

[InitialProduction1]

Wow that's really coming along. Very nice, the dogs a great idea. Can't what to see this done. We had a bulldog in a park, we use to play "as you know" war on it, haha. Miss them days, again great build.

[localjedi]

Wow that's really coming along. Very nice, the dogs a great idea. Can't what to see this done. We had a bulldog in a park, we use to play "as you know" war on it, haha. Miss them days, again great build.

Thanks, buddy! Yeah, sounds like the good old days.

I made some progress but I didn't feel like taking a lot of pictures (I needed to focus on building). So here's just a quick update:



1. Added some hinges (Aber), a handle (scratch-built from wire),a keyhole and a door step (balsa wood) to the door.
2. Applied Mr. Surfacer to the t-girders to give them a rough structure.
3. Roughed up the sheet iron walls with a lighter and a Dremel.
4. Covered the balsa wood frame with plastic sheet.
5. Added rivets (stretched sprue) to the walls.
6. Glued on the tar-bitumen roof sheeting with white glue.
7. Added some rubble to the ditch.

Made some mistakes here and there, e.g. the rivets are in the wrong places but oh well... Learning is a lifelong process.
I'm having fun with this build and I'll post more updates soon.

[InitialProduction1]

That's freaken awesome, mistakes? You can't make mistakes when it's art. So like I said freaken awesome. Looking forward to your next update.

[localjedi]

Updates, updates, updates:

I primed the whole dio with AK Interactive black surface primer. I made some bad experience with that stuff in the past but decided to give it another chance. I sprayed it straight from the can with a 0.4 needle at about 20-25 psi. It worked this time.

Then I painted the dio with a brush. After that I airbrushed the door and the grey part of the wall, masking the rest with painter's tape (Tesa Krepp), which came out pretty nice. I'm not 100% happy with the yellow line on the road section (brush painted) but oh well... I guess I can live with it.


Then I tried something completely new to me. Since the tank is a Walker Bulldog and there will be a small bulldog figure on the dio too, I thought it might be a good idea to add a cartoon bulldog graffiti. Luckily a friend of mine has a plotter that can cut masking sheet, and he was kind enough to make a custom-made adhesive airbrush stencil for me. Isn't that awesome? Thanks again, Mr. Waterboer!!!


It took some patience and calm hands to apply it to the shed wall. Again, the rest was masked with painter's tape.


I then sprayed a rather thick layer of matt coat over the stencil. This seals all the little holes and crannies between the masking sheet and the wall surface and prevents the paint from running behind the foil. A simple but very important trick.


Next up was Revell 301 semi-gloss white. The paint was pretty thick and I carefully sprayed it in several layers. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Again, this was my first time trying something like this. I like how the graffiti is kind of fuzzy at the top and the bottom. Makes it look more realistic to me.


Will be a nice addition to the diorama.


Anyway, let me know what you guys think of it so far. I appreciate your suggestions and comments.

[InitialProduction1]

Awesome build localjedi, great idea on the stencil, and yeah the over spray makes it look authentic, had a Bull on a training Barracks year's and year's ago and year's lol. Again really nice. Sometimes I think we/I post in the wrong place?

[localjedi]

Awesome build localjedi, great idea on the stencil, and yeah the over spray makes it look authentic, had a Bull on a training Barracks year's and year's ago and year's lol. Again really nice. Sometimes I think we/I post in the wrong place?

Thanks, buddy!
Alright, I've got some updates. This build is almost finished... Yee-haw!

I weathered the whole thing with about all the different washes and pigments that I have...

I added some real dirt (fixed with white glue, water and dish soap), vegetation from Mininatur and a couple more small details...

Oh, and some chipping of course. Yeah, I guess I'm happy with how it looks now.

Next up will be some touch ups on the dio frame, then fixing the tank and the dog on the dio aaaand it's done.
Let me know what you guys think of it. Your constructive feedback is always welcome.

[InitialProduction1]

Hey Pete, really like the building, I swear those tin boxes could really fry your a$$, lol. that is awesome ground work, weathering is right on, and I can almost hear top bitching, someone get knuckles inside, that dog can't live on sunshine, hahaha. Really takes me back, cool build again, buddy.

[localjedi]

I finally finished this build.



I'll upload more pictures in the Land Gallery thread. Cheers!

[Naedrux]

Fantastic work! I love the diorama, the dog is a nice little touch!

[ForTheWatch]

thats such a nice diorama! very cool and realistic looking!

[localjedi]

Thanks a lot, guys! I'm glad you like it.
BTW, here's the link to more pictures and the slideshow: http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... 46&t=16640

[Tiger131]

love it and that bulldog sticky sticker thingy look superb real nice touch

[Stokesy44]

What an absolute beauty. The tank by itself is worth the admission price alone! Home grown dio is just too much. Fantastic stuff.

Loved the use of TET on the exhaust covers, that's a new one on me.

Bravo

[localjedi]

Thanks a lot, Stokesy! The TET was new for me too. I just gave it a try and it worked pretty good for me. I will use that technique in the future again.

[Warren]

For what it may be worth, the dark 50 caliber machine gun in the photo is the more realistic of the two. I served in the US Army for a little over 3 years. I had a short stint with the 4th Armored Division and all our tanks and support units had the 50 caliber. An awesome weapon. It was so powerful that if you could see the target it would hit it, no significant drift. In case you did not know, 50 caliber means that the round has a 1/2 inch diameter.
You do not want to get hit by one.

Warren

[localjedi]

Thanks, Warren. I appreciate your feedback. Both machine guns in the picture are .50 cals. The one in the back might look smaller, but that's just because it's in the back. To me it looked more detailed than the (darker) Tamiya one in the front. But then again, I'm no expert. I ended up using the Academy .50 cal and it looks good to me on the model. Maybe I'll use the Tamiya gun on another tank.
Cheer!