M41A2D (105) in Belgian service, somewhere on the Rhine 2000ad

[ChalkLine]

If you want info on US equipment this is the site to go to:
http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/index.html

Click on the images below the stat boxes and it will take you to another page with an extremely in depth article replete with images from technical manuals on the vehicle.

Looking at the M60 engine it appears each bank of cylinders had a turbo and the exhaust goes upwards. The rear vents are labelled 'transmission rear access doors' so I don't think they're an exhaust but rather an intake that sucks air past the transmission.

[Old Wombat]

This is very helpful as I’ve taken a saw to the old Tamiya Bulldog kits in my stash last night. I think Brazil did the same thing with some of their M41s IIRC. I said kits as I lengthed the hull by one road wheel making six on each side which leaves me with a four wheeler I don’t know what to do with right now.

Racing tank!

I can't find them right now but Claymore did a couple or three excellent racing tanks!

[Kerick]

This is very helpful as I’ve taken a saw to the old Tamiya Bulldog kits in my stash last night. I think Brazil did the same thing with some of their M41s IIRC. I said kits as I lengthed the hull by one road wheel making six on each side which leaves me with a four wheeler I don’t know what to do with right now.

Racing tank!

I can't find them right now but Claymore did a couple or three excellent racing tanks!

Now that’s one I would have never thought of! I need some big giant exhaust pipes sticking up in the air!

[ChalkLine]

Finally.
The new donk is the German FFG M41 Repower Package which means that looking from the front a single exhaust pipe would go onto the right rear fender. Annoying, because the APU exhaust exits on the mid left of the engine deck just behind the turret.
As a bonus parts are interchangeable with the Warrior ICV.
Yes, this dribble is important to me, why do you ask? :)

[Kerick]

That’s interesting. They really shoe horned that into the existing space.

[ChalkLine]

That’s interesting. They really shoe horned that into the existing space.

Yeah, there's no 'woops I dropped the spanner' room there now for sure

[apophenia]

...The new donk is the German FFG M41 Repower Package ...

Thanks for the details on the FFG re-engining scheme. And it makes historical sense for FFG to be pitching to the Danes ... I mean because of the precedents, not for any Danish irredentism towards Flensburg 

Still, I was surprised by the M41 DK1 connection. I had always assumed that this was a domestic plan to rebuild ex-Bundeswehr M41s for export sale.

[ChalkLine]

Because of all the madness and uncertainty over the last few months I really didn't think clearly on this. The Danes of course already had the premium M41DK upgrade, arguably better as a light tank although not as heavily gunned as the Brazilian version, so it's back to Belgian again :)

This allows me to use the lights of an Panhard AML 3D file I have because I don't like the M41 lights for aesthetic reasons. I still want the applique armour to look like the plates on the Jaguar 2 but I need a punch to make the washers on the bolts.

Still negotiating a modelling bench here but I may have to move again. Thus is the life of a pensioner :)

I'm thinking my next M41 will be a Tank Hunter like that which Kerick is doing but more like the Kanonenjagdpanzer with a flush-faced glacis and the German 105mm thermal sleeve barrel I have, it'll be cool to compare them if I ever finish the first one.

[Kerick]

The Brazilians reengined their M41s and ended up with some sort of grills hanging off the back but facing upward. IIRC they also bored out the 76mm gun barrels to 90mm. I wonder what the ammo looks like.
Try Tichy Train Group for all sorts of nuts and bolts of different sizes. The only problem is they list them as train gauge sizes so you might have to order a couple different sizes to see what fits best.
Bring on your version! I was considering using a 105mm gun but settled on the 90mm instead. It seemed to fit the wartime rush to get something out the door in the timeframe I was imagining. Plus improvements in ammunition were beginning to make smaller guns more effective.

[Kerick]

Any news about this project?

[ChalkLine]

I sort of have to negotiate space for modelling where I am and we haven't come to an agreement yet, every time it's come close something has come up. They're totally against the 3D printer though on account of the chemicals.
I got a cheap cake decorating turntable at the store, eleven bucks. It spins a bit quick but I'll bodge in some sort of friction brake and clips for holding the model down :)
I also bought some Voyager Model 1mm² PE mesh and it's perfect for turret bustles, I really recommend it. I want to make a sort of formwork for the turret bustle out of wood and bend the 1mm steel wire around it so I can flip it over and do the other side to ensure that it's even. The thing is with the funky asymmetrical turret this seems to be the only way to approach it.
Still no idea on what shape or how to make the mantlet for the 105mm gun.

[Kerick]

Nice find on the PE mesh. I’m looking forward to seeing your progress as soon as it happens.

[ChalkLine]

Sick to death of this notification.

[Mig Eater]

I guess its time to upgrade to a proper CAD program

[ChalkLine]

I guess its time to upgrade to a proper CAD program

I'm too cheap :)
Blender is hard for me, when I was learning CAD back in the 90s I learned a certain way and I find youtube videos painful in most cases. More story time than a class. And this is how a lot of the Blender tutes are.

[Mig Eater]

Blender uses 3D surface modding which is different from the solid modeling done with CAD. Autodesk Fusion is a more traditional CAD program and might be easier for you to lean, there is a "personal use" version you can download for free.

[robunos]

Tried the above linky, doesn't work, i get trapped in a doom loop of reentering my details repeatedly . . .
To reduce the size of your mesh, download and install Microsoft 3D Builder. Use it to open your file, then click on the tick to import your file.
Once imported, select 'EDIT' at the top. and then 'simplify'. Use the slider to reduce the number of faces, then click on the tick / 'reduce faces' to actually make the reduction, then save the new version.

EDIT: Cancel the first part of this post, I've managed to download it and get it going. Will report back in due course . . .

cheers,
Robin.

[Kerick]

That personnel use Fusion looks very interesting. I hope my computer isn’t too old to support it.

[ChalkLine]

Blender uses 3D surface modding which is different from the solid modeling done with CAD. Autodesk Fusion is a more traditional CAD program and might be easier for you to lean, there is a "personal use" version you can download for free.

Yep, I did this on a FV721 Fox I picked up for a few bucks, didn't seem to make any difference to the detail at all and I'm pretty sure it was a War Thunder rip so it has a lot of detail.

[ChalkLine]

So I've been doodling with the solid Simba I got off 3D cults. The guy said it was 'ready for printing' but it was full of voids and missing planes. Anyway, I wanted the GKM turret so with a lot of editing using 3DBuilder & TinkerCAD I hollowed it, made penetrations so I can put in the vision blocks and now I'm about to make a turret floor. There should be a turret basket so I have to look at doing that as well but I think that should be a separate piece. I can't find an image of the inside of the turret hatch so far, that's to be done for a while.

There's a lot of turret detail to be added, I'm not sure if I should add it to the turret or just do it as separate parts which would probably make painting easier.

Of course after all this I'll print it and find it's too big for the top of the turret :)

[Kerick]

Not that I know anything about 3D printing but that image looks pretty busy. I’m not sure how the search light and its guard would work out. I’m sure you have a plan for that.
Looks pretty interesting!

[ChalkLine]

Not that I know anything about 3D printing but that image looks pretty busy. I’m not sure how the search light and its guard would work out. I’m sure you have a plan for that.
Looks pretty interesting!

All that was made by the original designer though, I just hollowed it out. I will be making the interior though.
I got a bit of a shock when I couldn't cut that glacis applique plate right, I'm very good at measuring as it was my job before I studied history. I'm going to see the optometrist soon and see if I can do something about the parallax. Until then I'll probably make stuff for printing because I don't trust myself not to waste materials.