The older Dragon plastics work well as they are really soft and melt easy.

I've saved a lot of those sprues for welding.

Mike, yep it is nice to build an old fashioned model, kind of like detox, not that I ever did that! 

Weld beads ARE fun to do!  I’ve done small ones in the past, but never had the opportunity to do a real long one.  I have found that using stretched sprue pre-shaped to the weld cross section combined with a “hot” liquid glue like Tamiya works a treat.  Selecting sprues made of soft plastic also helps make forming the beads easier.

Good to see some progress on this build continue.

Those Academy accessory sets are not going out of style any time soon. I'm still slowly parting out the one I have for builds. Even if there are much better molds and heck, shapeways ftw, there will always be uses for the older sets. Especially when you want to give I've to an older kit.

Nice save on that tow hook. Looks like you were working on some custom weld there and you shouldn't give up on those. They really are fun once you get the hang of it lol.

Thanks Gamera, and happy belated birthday!  

I decided that the kit 50 cal had too much wrong with it, so I swapped it out with one from an Academy equipment set.

It's 1990s quality, but it'll do.  We sure are spoiled by modern kit technology - I have a couple of Tasca's exquisite 50 cals, but they were too good to use on a "fun" build.  I did save the kit's pedestal mount, as it was okay.

While cleaning my room the other day, the duster flicked something onto the carpet, which turned out to be the front tow hook that pinged off while I was trying to straighten it out on the hull.

Who says the Carpet Monster never gives up its prey!  Actually, it was the Monster That Lives In The Shelves that gave it up.  It consumed a stainless steel landing gear part that was never found - even when I completely emptied the room to have it recarpeted!

I had started the task of making a new tow hook and mount, but gleefully tore the mount off the hull and scraped off the welds so that the original part could be glued back on.

She's coming along great! Good demostration that you don't need to spend a pile of money to dress up a classic kit. 

Be partient with the mantlet cover. Plan it out and measure 3 times. I used a fast food napkin for mine and it looks okay. 

Just take your time with that bugger and it will be alright.

Thanks guys!  Making the periscopes was one of the rare occasions where I planned the execution and executed the plan.  I was going to use plain blocks of sheet plastic, but I wanted to try this out.  Usually, my plans go pear shaped midway and I have to fall back on Plan B or punt.  To me, scratchbuilding is an exercise in trying to find the least difficult way to make something, but it usually ends up like watching a "Roadrunner" epsode.  I think that is why I identify with Wily E. Coyote.  But this time, the Coyote caught that darned bird!

Anyway, it's all fun.  Next up is the gun mantlet cover!

Your vision blocks look a heck of a lot better than mine do. I just literally put styrene blocks in mine lol!

I've got the AFV club kit and it looks a ton better as far as details go. But this Tamiya kit will always have a place in my display. I've put a lot of work into it and I'm proud of it. :D

With this level of commitment into this kit, you'll probably feel the same way when you're done.

The missing vision blocks for the driver's station were made from bits of strip plastic, cut and arranged to make for painless assembly.

The Chopper tool, unlike the Grabhandler, is very useful and I use it often.  It really is a time saver when cutting multiples of a specific length.  I noticed the manufacturer has an upgraded version, which I plan to acquire.

Here are the periscopes set in place.

...aaaand some braces add a little insurance against them falling in during painting.  Note the one on the right was too big, but I was lazy and just glued it in at an angle.

Here is where the project is at.

I only realized now that this model needs to be finished before the end of September - I'd better hurry it up!

Thank you GreySnake!  I’m just having fun, which is what Tamiya models should be about.  My second Tamiya kit was the old M60A1.  I remember using clear tape to make the searchlight “glass”.

I have an idea for making the M41’s vision blocks, so hopefully I‘ll get to them tonite!

I replaced the kit grab handles with some 0.5mm brass wire.  I used the tool in the photo, the "Grabhandler".

Okay, confession time.  This expensive tool is not really worth it.  I seem to ALWAYS need to bend wire at the "in-between" sizes the tool has.  The M41 is no exception, as the closest I could get was slightly too wide.  So I had to drill slightly offset holes to fit the wire replacements.  A clever home made jig would have produced grab handles of the exact size needed.  Take notes, save money, and be creative.

Here are the wire handles just jammed in place with no cleanup.  I'll need to patch the slight depressions molded to the turret to conceal my dirty work, plus make some welds.

That's all I was able to do over the weekend, but I plan on making the missing driver's vision blocks this week.

No problem at all.

Thank you for that.   Can't wait to try it

Weld beads are pretty easy to do. Just like real welding, the more you do the better you get at it and the better your welds look.

The method examples you've seen demonstrated in this thread were just a stretched sprue and glue. There are many different methods, of course, but this peticular one I find is easier to control.

Starting with stretched sprue, like that you would do for an antenna in most Tamiya instructions, you cut the sprue to the desired length to confirm to the shape you wish to "weld" and attach it with liquid cement such as Tamiya's Extra Thin Cement. 

The glue softens the thin sprues of plastic and may require a couple heavy applications to make the sprue pliable. Just wait a few minutes and start poking at the softened sprue with a toothpick or similar shaped tool. Much like sculpting you'll end up pushing the bead into shape. 

If it's too soft give it a little more time before shaping your weld. Not soft enough, add more cement.

I suggest a practice piece first, but this kit is just absolutely perfect for practicing weld beads in this, or any other manner.

Below I have a 1/35 Dragon Su-85M that was missing some welds. It didn't take much effort to add them after all the practice the M-41 gave me lol.

This technique isn't too hard to master. It gets a little tricky on smaller scales, but is totally do-able. 

Please tell me how you did those weld beads.   They look awesome. 

Thanks Rob, that makes a lot of sense. I still think it's a weird vehicle though. 

RBaer

I always wondered about that thing. As in: Why?

 

They've done some very bargain basement conversions, like the M60 hull with an M48 turret brought up to M60A3 standards. It's like why not just get old M60A1s to upgrade or just get M60A3 tanks, we're literally dropping them in the ocean.

RBaer

I always wondered about that thing. As in: Why?

 

I don't get it either, doesn't seem to offer that big an advantage over the standard M41 or M18.

RBaer, um... maybe the M41 didn’t offer air conditioning as part of the options package?

Gamera, heh heh.  The Devil makes me do it!  

Ahhhhh, I was looking around at M41 kits and now I want to buy this thing. It's so weird I have to love it.  

Those wacky Taiwanese took a M42 Duster (AA varient off the M41) and slapped a M18 Hellcat turret on it... 

Thanks Real G- your fault!!! 

The tracks hold together and don’t come apart.  You will be good if you are careful not to mash off the pins during assembly.  They pass the shakey test, but I wouldn’t try subjecting them to a lot of pulling.  Solvent paints and thinners might weaken the pins.

Quick tracks! They look good too. How are they standing up to handling?

I think this was the easiest indie link set I have ever done. I still don’t like the soft plastic shoes, but hopefully they won’t cause paint compatibility problems.  My friend will be weathering the model and he uses mostly pigments, so maybe I worry for nothing.

I'm a fan of AFVC tracks and I think I need a set of these for my M-41.

They look perfect.

Totally agree Gamera!  Compared to the SdKfz.7/1's, where the track pad secured the links together, the M41's track links just breezed together.  And the fact that they came loose was a huge time saver as well.  There was a bit of flash here and there, but not a biggie to deal with.

So here are some pics from last night's work:

The tracks fit the kit sprockets!

A dozen extra tracks are provided.

Aaaaand fit to the running gear is similarly perfect.  Hooray!

Good to hear! The snap tracks are as you said super easy to assemble. The sandwich types are really easy to get a little too much cement on and in the wrong places. 

OK the tracks definitely snap together.  I tried a few links to see how it would go, and before I knew it, I had two full runs of track!  The links are loose in the bag, and once you develop a rhythm, assembly goes pretty fast.  Pics tomorrow!