Author Topic: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968  (Read 24477 times)

Offline Old Wombat

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RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« on: March 05, 2014, 10:35:45 AM »
OK, back to my favoured field of Armour!

This build was started on Christmas Island, where I did the basics, & has been my project since finishing the Surefire & getting my modelling spot set up.

It is the Tamiya M41 Walker Bulldog, modified & slightly accuratized. The guns aren't finished, yet, & were placed for the photo's.

Quite a bit of work has actually gone into this (between dealing with the maintenance back-log & getting ready for my daughter's 18th next Monday) including scratch building the turret side bins, fitting the mount for the L7 GPMG, modifying the front guards & scratch building different rear guards, "glazing" the drivers vision blocks, putting some padding on the commanders hatch, moving the gun's travel-lock & the tools, & making a mantlet dust cover from white decal film. I, also, filled all the holes & cavities so common in 1970's era Tamiya motorizable kits.

Here she is, so far:













Hope you're liking what you see.

Comments welcome!

:icon_music:

Guy
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2014, 12:16:55 PM »
I like your way of making improvements to the M41.  Did you fabricate the stowage boxes yourself or did they come from some other source?  Making the mantlet cover from decal material is a new one to me, have you seen the rubbery material mantlet dust cover from AFV Club?  I am told it will fit the Tamiya kit plus the AFV Club kits including the Skybow M41. 
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2014, 12:36:56 PM »
Jeff;

The stowage boxes/bins are scratch built using styrene sheet, angle & little bits of rod. I was unaware of the AFV mantlet cover but I knew my budget on this build is going to be stretched anyway (once I get the crew figures & extra casting, & build the dio base) & it wouldn't have been in the picture, anyway. However, I also knew that my white decal sheet was quite strong & kinda vinyl-like, so I tried that because it was available & wasn't going to be an extra cost, & it worked. The metallic pieces are cut from the thick foil seal from a tin of coffee. All but one of the handles (which I managed to carve from the solid Tamiya block) were removed & replaced with bent wire.

:icon_music:

Guy
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2014, 02:26:15 PM »
Nice work on the boxes Guy.  Your mantlet cover looks convincing enough and you have the additional satisfaction of being able to claim it as something you made and not sourced from a store.  I was a bit surprised that you were able to use the decal material to make the cover and it will hopefully hold up well with a coat of paint. 

After seeing what Denmark did with their M41 tanks in upgrading them with a lot of stowage boxes around the turret and a laser range finder over the gun tube.  I would certainly like to try that on one of my Tamiya kits and give it a new engine deck as well. 
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2014, 02:46:19 PM »
Jeff, as I said, the decal film (for laser printer) is quite thick & vinyl-like, & is doing OK, so far. I've sealed it down with a coat of floor polish which it handled well. I'll probably do a couple more coats of the floor polish (Future not being available in Aus any more, I believe) to protect the film from the paint.

:icon_music:

Guy
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Volkodav

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2014, 05:32:14 PM »
I take it the GPMG /MAG58 is from the Tamiya Pink Panther Land Rover kit? :)

Looking good, can't wait to see this progress.

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #6 on: March 05, 2014, 06:15:15 PM »
I take it the GPMG /MAG58 is from the Tamiya Pink Panther Land Rover kit? :)

Not quite, it's from the even pinker Italeri (retooled?) re-pop of same. ;)

:icon_music:

Guy

PS: I'm pretty sure it's the same kit but I could be sufficiently distanced from reality for that not to actually be a fact. :-\
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Kerick

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2014, 09:32:10 AM »
Very nice work! How much is factual and how much is imaginary on this vehicle? The side stowage boxes look great. (I can't believe they molded the pink panther vehicle in pink!)

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #8 on: March 06, 2014, 10:52:16 AM »
Hi, kerick! Thanks for the comment & here's your answer (kinda)! :thumbsup:

Accuratizing:
Is very minor, mostly filling in the big spaces under the sponsons/boxes over the tracks & the holes meant for switches, etc, for the motorizing gear, & cleaning up a lot of poor joins.  Plus, all but one of the handles (which I managed to carve from the solid Tamiya block) were removed & replaced with bent wire.

Modifications:
The stowage boxes/bins are scratch built using styrene sheet, angle & little bits of rod. I wanted to add the pretty-much universal mantlet cover &, after experimenting with the poly packaging that Tamiya recommends, I knew that my white decal sheet was quite strong & kinda vinyl-like, so I tried that because it was available & wasn't going to be an extra cost, & it worked. The metallic pieces are cut from the thick foil seal from a tin of coffee. I, also, scratch built the mount for the L7, which came from an Italeri "Pink Panther" Land Rover. The front mud guards were cut at an angle, similar to that of later variants of the M41, & the rear guards were removed & replaced with "field mod" guards designed to stop quite so much cr_p getting between the sponsons/guards & the tracks &, given the new profile of the rear guards, to stop mud being thrown up onto the exhaust. Oh, & I moved the tools from the right front guard to the front of the hull, & the travel lock from above the left rear guard to the left rear of the hull.

Scenario:
This tank will, eventually, be part of a Royal Australian Marines in Vietnam diorama & will be accompanied by the Italeri "Pink Panther" Land Rover, modified for RAM service in SEA, & a number of RAM's (in vehicle & on foot). I have the story to go with it pretty well fleshed out.

:icon_music:

Guy
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Claymore

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #9 on: March 06, 2014, 04:35:17 PM »
Awesome work so far Guy. I've always thought the M41 would be a great base for a whiff project. Unfortunately, the only one I had in my aging collection, I gave away. Really looking forward to how this one turns out.  :)
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Offline Buzzbomb

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #10 on: March 06, 2014, 06:35:16 PM »
Yes... that is taking shape.
To whom will said beasty belong to ?


Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #11 on: March 06, 2014, 11:51:45 PM »
Merci, Messieurs Claymore & buzzbomb! :D

Scenario:
This tank will, eventually, be part of a Royal Australian Marines in Vietnam diorama & will be accompanied by the Italeri "Pink Panther" Land Rover, modified for RAM service in SEA, & a number of RAM's (in vehicle & on foot). I have the story to go with it pretty well fleshed out.

Brian, you'll find a lot of my builds will be shoe-horned into the RAM's (Royal Australian Marines) theme from now on, it's become something of a passion/obsession. :-\

:icon_music:

Guy
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Frank3k

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #12 on: March 07, 2014, 12:37:21 AM »
Guy, this is looking great so far. I have the same kit, so I'm following with interest. I 'll probably steal borrow some of your ideas. The Tamiya M41 is a surprisingly nice little kit, despite its age. A great "blank canvas" for whiffing and it's cheap ($12 - $15 in the US).

I like your idea for the mantlet cover. I have some crappy, rubbery ink-jet decal material that should work well for this.

Offline Kerick

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #13 on: March 07, 2014, 02:21:24 AM »
I built one of these OOB a while ago and its a fun kit. Reasonably priced too as Frank3k pointed out. If I were introducing a young person to armor building I would have them start with this kit. Nice results to encourage the builder at minimum investment. IIRC another company makes a more modern kit but at a higher price. I'll stick with this one. NZ used some of these at one time as I recall. I might have to look into the Danish versions or other country's versions.

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #14 on: March 07, 2014, 09:03:01 AM »
Now that beast is ready to kick butt and chew gum and I think it just ran out of gum...

Love all the guns mounted outside the turret. Perfect for keeping those Victor Charlies at a distance.

Brian da Basher

Offline father ennis

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #15 on: March 07, 2014, 02:28:19 PM »
Kerik,hit the nail on the head with this kit. I had one in my stash but when I was taking care of one of my friends children I let the boy have it and we built it that afternoon.  You couldn't have wiped the smile off his face with a baseball bat. His dad told me later that he had it on display in his room at home next to the T-rex I had given him before. It was a very heart warming scene.
I may be old but I'm not dead ... yet anyway ... !!!    And NO I did not know Richard III !!!!!!

Offline Kerick

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #16 on: March 09, 2014, 09:57:16 AM »
Thanks. Best thing we can do is give a youngster something to be proud of.

Offline Kerick

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #17 on: March 09, 2014, 11:17:56 AM »
Here's a German language build article on the Danish M-41 DK 1. The pics tell the story well. It might be useful for further whiff inspiration.
http://www.razyboard.com/system/morethread-daenischer-m41-dk1-heng_long_panzer_forum-1327848-5807038-0.html

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #18 on: March 11, 2014, 09:23:17 PM »
Thank you all, gents. You do me great honour! :icon_alabanza:

Thanks for that link, kerick, but I'm not about to go that crazy on the mod's & detailing! :o

:icon_music:

Guy
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline FAAMAN

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #19 on: March 15, 2014, 05:35:02 PM »
Well done Wombat, great scratching as usual, the RAMs are going to be well equipped!!  8) 8)
"Resistance is useless, prepare to be assembled!"

Offline Kerick

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #20 on: March 16, 2014, 12:03:00 AM »
Now I'm tempted to pick up a kit and try the DK1 mods. Like I need another project!!!

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #21 on: March 16, 2014, 06:02:08 PM »
Now I'm tempted to pick up a kit and try the DK1 mods. Like I need another project!!!

 ;D
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #22 on: March 16, 2014, 07:53:42 PM »
Thank you, Mr FAAMAN, sir! :icon_alabanza:

..... Or should I call you $h!#duckman? :P ;D

Sorry, Neil, couldn't help it. ;)

Again, to all of you, thank you for your comments! :icon_alabanza: :icon_alabanza:

These are the final pic's for the next 6/7 months, as I'm off to my particular version of Happy Land on Thursday & I wont have time to learn basic airbrushing & paint this before I go.

So, here is the beast all tied together with Tamiya grey primer, which should be well & truly dry by the time I get back.



















You may notice the rather rough paint around the driver's vision blocks, this is because I made them with Micro Krystal Klear & 3 or 4 layers of floor polish & I didn't want to leave the liquid mask on for 6/7 months to bond too well with the "glazing". I will fix it up eventually with the old brush method of painting.

Don't know if I'll get a chance to get back before I leave, so; Hope you've enjoyed the show, so far. Catch you as soon as I can on Island.

:icon_music:

Guy
« Last Edit: March 16, 2014, 07:56:29 PM by Old Wombat »
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #23 on: March 17, 2014, 02:03:54 AM »
Guy, do you plan to install a searchlight above the gun tube?  It would be appropriate for that period when your M41 would be in service.  The same searchlight as used on the M48 and M60 would be ideal for your project. 
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline Buzzbomb

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #24 on: March 17, 2014, 06:14:28 AM »
Nothing like a good undercoat to tie it all together... Looks great

Online LemonJello

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #25 on: March 17, 2014, 06:18:57 AM »
This is a work of art-in-progress.  The added bits are seamlessly integrated into the base kit.  Amazing, simply amazing.

Offline FAAMAN

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #26 on: March 17, 2014, 05:24:29 PM »
You always were jealous of me coming first in our intake and getting S-K-Y-H-A-W-Ks (not $h!#duck!) whilst you were left languishing on poor old S-2Gs. ;D ;D

Is this a Navy tank? ;D Or have you just lost your colour definition? ::) I believe you need to green this some fella!! ::)

As usual, superb work you old Screwbird!!  8) 8)
"Resistance is useless, prepare to be assembled!"

Offline Kerick

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #27 on: March 18, 2014, 02:01:32 AM »
Guy, do you plan to install a searchlight above the gun tube?  It would be appropriate for that period when your M41 would be in service.  The same searchlight as used on the M48 and M60 would be ideal for your project.

I second this motion!

Offline father ennis

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #28 on: March 18, 2014, 10:27:19 AM »
Don't know if you are aware of it but you can clean out those vision blocks and add them later if you want. Done it myself so's I know.  Really excellent build here,lad.  Hate to see you gone but the RW has to come first. I can assure you you will be missed, my friend.
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Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #29 on: March 18, 2014, 09:28:14 PM »
Thanks, gents! :icon_alabanza:

As the gentleman, above, has suggested that I fit a searchlight over the barrel... It may well happen (M-48 detail set).... One day.

:icon_music:

Guy

PS: Re: this
You always were jealous of me coming first in our intake and getting S-K-Y-H-A-W-Ks (not $h!#duck!) whilst you were left languishing on poor old S-2Gs. ;D ;D

Is this a Navy tank? ;D Or have you just lost your colour definition? ::) I believe you need to green this some fella!! ::)

In case you've forgotten, dude, I came 2nd by about half a mark & chose to work on real planes (with prop's, & pistons, & stuff). ;)

Marines is almost Navy; but, no, it's not staying grey, it's going to going to be standard US OD.... With weathering & trying some new techniques (like dot filtering?). :)
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #30 on: March 20, 2014, 06:29:25 AM »
I really like how the paint made all those parts cadged from other kits blend right in!

With all those cool guns, I'd sure hate to meet this beast in a dark alley!

Brian da Basher

Offline finsrin

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #31 on: April 02, 2014, 02:45:29 AM »
Those additions really enhance look of M-41. 
1950s tanks (M-41, M-47, M-48) have class to start.  This makes it better :)
« Last Edit: April 02, 2014, 01:52:03 PM by finsrin »

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AS Vietnam 1968
« Reply #32 on: May 31, 2014, 07:57:18 PM »
Just because I've got nothing better to do, right now, I'm going to give you the run-down on why the M41 build occurred (apart from because I had one in the stash).

The theory behind the M41's in RAM's service is that, with National Service & the increased demands on available resources due to their operations in Viet Nam, the RAM's found themselves short on armour in the field but unable to afford to buy anything. They approached the US with an eye to leasing something. The US needed its remaining M48's & their M60's but was in the process of introducing the M551 into service. As the M551 was replacing the M41 in US service, this meant that there were M41's to spare. Slightly modified these entered service with the RAM's as the M41AS Rowell (after Gen. Sydney Rowell, the only army officer to become an honorary Marine), obviously becoming the "Syd" in RAM's vernacular.

Just for fun I'll give you the run-down on what my model & dio will depict.

The diorama it will be placed in will include the Italeri SAS Pink Panther Land Rover, from which the loader's mg came, modified & painted as a RAM's vehicle plus figures in the Land Rover, on/in the M41AS & on foot. The vehicles & troops (maybe with a civilian or two) will be depicted travelling along a road in South Viet Nam.

The write up will include something along the lines of;

M41AS Light Tank
Bravo-3, 2 Troop, B Company, Royal Australian Marines Armoured Regiment depicted on the road near Nui Dat during the Tet Offensive two days prior to being separated from the main force by a spirited Viet Cong attack. Whilst separated from the rest of the RAM's forces Bravo-3 received a hit to the turret from an RPG rocket. A partial penetration of the armour knocked out the turret & wounded the gunner (Lance-Corporal Thomas Lieberstadt), loader (Marine Jeremy Davenport) & commander (Sergeant John Richter). The driver (Corporal Clarence "Clarry" Cranfield) was unharmed. As Corporal Cranfield attempted to extricate his tank from the ambush a second RPG knocked out the right track. Corporal Cranfield then got out of the driver's compartment & into the turret, where he used the .50 calibre machine gun to knock out the enemy RPG position. During the next 25 minutes Corporal Cranfield engaged in an almost constant battle with Viet Cong troops moving in on the tank. Alternating between firing the .50 calibre heavy machine gun, at the commander's cupola, & the 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Gun, field-mounted next to the loader's hatch, & administering first aid to his crewmates, Cranfield was forced in one instance to resort to using his side-arm to shoot enemy personnel from the hull of the tank. After 25 minutes troops of D Company, 2 RAMR, reached Bravo-3 & extracted the wounded men from the vehicle, by this time Corporal Cranfield had, himself, been wounded twice, once in the left arm & once in the face. Luckily both wounds were minor. Unable to hold the ground D Company destroyed Bravo-3 in situ, with a satchel charge, & withdrew to the main RAM force, so an accurate body-count is unavailable. However, experienced Marines amongst the relieving troops estimate that Corporal Cranfield may have killed up to 20 Viet Cong & may have wounded up to 3 times as many. For these actions Corporal Clarence Cranfield was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

PS: The designation has changed slightly from M41AM (Australian Marines) to M41AS (Australian Service), it just seemed more right to me & had been my initial working designation (until I forgot it :-\ ).

:)
« Last Edit: May 31, 2014, 08:06:35 PM by Old Wombat »
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline FAAMAN

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #33 on: June 01, 2014, 06:57:09 AM »
 :)
"Resistance is useless, prepare to be assembled!"

Offline Volkodav

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #34 on: June 01, 2014, 12:42:48 PM »
A VC in any other conflict

Offline Rickshaw

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #35 on: June 01, 2014, 12:49:25 PM »
Only a DSM?  Yes, thats about right for the stuffed up Vietnam era awards system.  I've read citations which would, in other conflicts have earnt a VC.  The award of medals in Vietnam is still a bugbear amongst veterans.  Cranfield deserved a VC, I'd suggest from this account.   8)

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #36 on: June 01, 2014, 11:03:32 PM »
I'm pretty sure he was just glad to get out of it alive! ;)
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Silver Fox

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #37 on: June 01, 2014, 11:11:05 PM »
I would suggest, with all due respect, that the LAST thing the poor Corporal would wish to see is a bloody VC! Seems he has seen his fair share recently

Besides, where would he keep the little pajama-clad blighter?? :)

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #38 on: October 07, 2014, 07:11:54 AM »
Well, "there was movement at the station for the word had got around..."

The RAM M41AS is sitting on the dining table waiting expectantly because (Ta-dah!) yours-truly has broken out the airbrush equipment!

I'll be trying to fit in a crash-course on operating it today & will try to get the basic paint work done on this before the weekend, when I intend to take it to the SAPMA Expo as a WIP.
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline FAAMAN

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #39 on: October 07, 2014, 12:08:38 PM »
Wot airbrush do ya have, jus' take your time with it and you'll even amaze yourself with the results!! :D :D
"Resistance is useless, prepare to be assembled!"

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #40 on: October 29, 2014, 02:45:22 PM »
Well, it's been a cruddy 6 weeks on the modelling front - I've barely been here at all because I've been using what teeny-weeny little time I've had to build.

This has got OD paint on it & decals, that's it.

I haven't taken any photo's & my camera's packed away 'coz I fly back to CI too-early tomorrow.

Sorry! :icon_crap:

PS: Neil, I've got a Badger & an Iwata Neo - I used the Neo.
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Blackbat242

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #41 on: July 04, 2015, 01:27:56 PM »
OK, Old Wombat - now you've done it!

Let me introduce myself - I am a former USMC Sgt (aviation, I fixed avionics on A-6Es & F/A-18s in the 1980s), and I have 6 different Alt-History Aussie military programs going (they vary by start year, diverging point, and whether other nations are also diverging [I've got 2 friends that tend to run the UK, US, Canada, or a completely alternate Peru/central SA nation]).
Their start-dates are: 1935 (solo), 1945 (group with the US and UK), 1950 (solo), 1954 (group with UK & Canada and a little US), 1962 (solo), and 1980 (group with the UK, Incafed [Incan Federation}and some US).

That said, the 1950 & 1954 Alt-Australia buys the M41 (and a few M42s) just after the Korean War, and the 1962 has some picked up as Oz gets involved in Vietnam - very much like your plan. The 1945 may well have Australian M24s just in time for Korea and M41s built with the 90mm gun from ~1956 on.

As for "spare M41s", the US Army handed over M41s to the ARVN fairly early on (the first ARVN M41 units saw combat in 1965), and around 200 were eventually transferred - so you should be able to get as many "in-country transfers" as you want.

Offline Rickshaw

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #42 on: July 04, 2015, 06:44:39 PM »
Blackbat242, you might therefore be interested in the Australian Army's acquisition of the M41as1, the M551as1 and an alternative history of the Great Southern Land...

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #43 on: July 04, 2015, 11:58:47 PM »
Holy thread revival, Blackbat! :icon_surprised:


My Alt History begins its divergence in 1790 & has been moderately described up to 1915, so far - I really must get back to it soon. ::)


Link to the thread: http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=3682.0
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #44 on: July 16, 2018, 09:55:27 AM »
Crikey, it's been a long time since I posted on this build! :o

After a l-o-n-g hiatus & then sitting in my modelling space on the dining table for about 4 months, now, next to the Matilda I was building 6 months ago when I started entering a mojo-failure phase (I started coming out of it a week ago - YAY! ;D ), there is movement happening on this.

Nothing to photograph, yet. I've just painted the Fruilmodel tracks (which I built in early March), put some weathering on it (OK, a lot), almost finished the crew (not the ones I had almost finished FOUR YEARS ago - which I only found yesterday in a box of Vietnam era figures for the diorama this is going in), & sorted some stowage to busy it up a bit with, which I'm about half-way through doing.

Hopefully I'll have some photo's up in the next week or so. :smiley:


Many thanks to Volkodav, who reignited my motivation to build ... anything ... by starting a conversation on converting a M41 for Australian use post-WW2. :icon_alabanza:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline FAAMAN

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #45 on: July 16, 2018, 06:04:12 PM »
I know what you mean by Mojo-fail, my Mojo fell off a few months ago just after I was told by PM on another forum in a nice friendly way I was a "crap modeller  :smiley: ".
For some reason it's knocked me for a loop  ::) ::)
Get into it Wombat, your skills are in desperate need of a good shake  ;) ;) ;) ;)
"Resistance is useless, prepare to be assembled!"

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #46 on: July 16, 2018, 06:56:00 PM »
Thanks, mate! :smiley:


My feelings on the matter of criticism are as follows;

1) I build for myself. If I like it that's what matters, if others like it that's a bonus, if they don't ... Meh! Who cares?

2) A true critic will highlight the good, explain the bad & provide suggestions for improvement. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they haven't quite got the point but they criticise with the intention of helping the recipient improve.

3) Only the weak attack the person & their opinion is worthless.
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #47 on: July 17, 2018, 06:06:07 AM »
I like your approach to the hobby, Mr Wombat.

The late, great Al Superczynski said "Build what you want the way you want to and above all have fun!"

Sound advice.

Brian da Basher

Offline Kerick

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #48 on: July 17, 2018, 08:16:16 AM »
Glad to see this build back in action!

Offline Dr. YoKai

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #49 on: July 17, 2018, 11:34:11 PM »
What he said. I get mojo-fade from time to time, and will go for weeks just sifting through the parts boxes. Glad you're pulling out of it.

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #50 on: July 25, 2018, 12:01:56 AM »
With a tiny bit of luck this should be finished by Sunday. :smiley:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #51 on: July 25, 2018, 08:13:13 PM »
Photo's a bit earlier than planned! :icon_surprised:

Note: The photo's aren't quite true to the actual colours & the flash activated automatically, so the dust & dirt are a bit brighter than in real life. 8)

I still have to give her a shot of Dull-Cote, too, but, otherwise, she's all done! :D


Here she is, the M41AS Vietnam 1968:












OK, let's see if anyone (especially Aussies, Brit's, Kiwis, South Africans, Indians, West Indians or Pakistanis) can guess what this is!




As usual, I'm open to all constructive criticism. :smiley:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Volkodav

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #52 on: July 25, 2018, 09:32:23 PM »
Coolness!

Now lets see if it inspires me to finish mine...……. Light Horse Regiment though.

Online LemonJello

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #53 on: July 25, 2018, 09:39:47 PM »
Really nice!  There's a lot of potential with that base kit to do all sorts of cool light armor.

-Is the bag in question a complete cricket set?

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #54 on: July 26, 2018, 04:42:44 AM »
Thank you, gentlemen! :icon_alabanza:

-Is the bag in question a complete cricket set?

And the winner is LemonJello! :smiley:

Yep! I wanted something a US/Vietnamese tank wouldn't be carrying & found a couple of images of 1960's leather cricket bags on the interweb, which I scratch built from Aves Apoxy Sculpt & 1mm Tamiya tape. ;)
« Last Edit: July 26, 2018, 04:44:55 AM by Old Wombat »
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Online LemonJello

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #55 on: July 26, 2018, 04:46:00 AM »
-Is the bag in question a complete cricket set?

And the winner is LemonJello! :smiley:

Yep! I wanted something a US/Vietnamese tank wouldn't be carrying & found a couple of images of 1960's leather cricket bags on the interweb, which I scratch built from Aves Apoxy Sculpt & 1mm Tamiya tape. ;)

Not too shabby for an American. 

Its the little details like this that make a model, in my relatively humble opinion.

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #56 on: July 26, 2018, 05:31:33 AM »
Now that's one mean machine!

Love the stowage!

Brian da Basher

Offline Buzzbomb

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #57 on: July 26, 2018, 07:38:56 AM »
Well that is a treat. Well done.
It looks very convincing on all levels.

To my eye the only 1% tweak is tying gear down. Hate to lose the cricket gear getting swept off by the first low branch driven under.
Be back to the Fence picket and taped tennis ball before you know it. (Did we tape Tennis balls to get swing in the early 70's.cannot remember .. NO sandpaper responses please  :)) )

Although, we did tape up scrunched up OC33 Message forms for COMCEN cricket during the early 80's

Offline elmayerle

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #58 on: July 26, 2018, 11:53:28 AM »
Beautiful job!!  I love it!

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #59 on: July 26, 2018, 07:01:46 PM »
Thank you, gents! :icon_alabanza:

Brian, I looked at that & decided I wasn't quite in the mood; I'd done some straps to hold on the cots & ropes/cables to tie up the spare tracks & thought I might just put off the rest until later & call it "Done" for now. The tweaking can come later, when I've (nearly) finished the Matilda, as I'll probable have to scratch a few tie-downs, too.
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline kitnut617

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #60 on: July 26, 2018, 09:26:04 PM »
Excellent work Guy, not really into armour but I can see a well done job when I see one    :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #61 on: July 27, 2018, 04:58:04 AM »
Thanks, Robert! :smiley:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline FAAMAN

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #62 on: July 27, 2018, 06:48:16 PM »
Excellent work as always Wombat, us mere mortals can only drool at your build in rapt amazement  :-* :-*
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Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #63 on: July 27, 2018, 09:58:42 PM »
Excellent work as always Wombat, us mere mortals can only drool at your build in rapt amazement  :-* :-*

Yeah, right! ;D

Thanks, for the compliment, though, Bro! :smiley:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #64 on: July 28, 2018, 01:42:51 AM »
@Guy,

Great looking M41. 

As for the tie-down straps, have you tried the material that comes with the Trumpeter Stryker kits? 
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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #65 on: July 28, 2018, 07:03:06 AM »
 :smiley:
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #66 on: July 28, 2018, 05:41:57 PM »
Thanks, Greg! :smiley:

@Guy,

Great looking M41. 

As for the tie-down straps, have you tried the material that comes with the Trumpeter Stryker kits?

Thanks, Jeffry! :smiley:

No, but I've got a lot of it from the HMBLT build, however I think the lengths may be a little short for at least some of what I want to do. ;)
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #67 on: August 04, 2018, 12:49:44 AM »
It's difficult to realise that one of these was a "heavy" tank of its era, yet barely more than 10 years later the other was a "light" tank.







This last image is the most accurate to the real colours (on my monitor).

Thanks for watching! :smiley:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline tankmodeler

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #68 on: August 04, 2018, 02:15:06 AM »
Mind you, the Matilda still weighed more than the Bulldog.

Not much more, but a couple of tons.  ;D

Offline Frank3k

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #69 on: August 04, 2018, 03:48:00 AM »
The M41 came out great! The Tamiya kit is nice; are those the original rubber band tracks? They look very good.

Offline Volkodav

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #70 on: August 04, 2018, 08:07:34 PM »
My cousin is a Vietnam veteran and told me that the VC/NVA got the shock of their lives when they made the mistake of assuming the smaller (in appearance and profile than most US types they were experienced with) RAAC Centurion was a light tank. 

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #71 on: August 04, 2018, 10:26:49 PM »
Thank you, gentlemen!

The M41 came out great! The Tamiya kit is nice; are those the original rubber band tracks? They look very good.

Frank, the M41 tracks are Fruilmodel individual cast metal, while the Matilda tracks are Bronco individual link 2-part styrene.

"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Camthalion

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #72 on: August 05, 2018, 06:19:27 AM »
nice one

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: RAM's M41AM Vietnam 1968
« Reply #73 on: August 05, 2018, 10:13:01 PM »
Thanks, mate! :smiley:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."