I’m basing this on a couple of tiny old pics in a book, described as a Cadillac-Gage turret on an M41 hull, aimed at customers with M41 fleets wanting to modernize at reasonable cost. Apparently there were no takers but I liked the look of it. I have next to no info other than that and a couple of poor pics, but I thought “why not?”. And since I had a set of tracks that I believe are for the Bradley family that just happened to fit the M41 sprockets perfectly, I got busy. First was the hull, using a Tamiya M41 that cost all of $5, still in the wrapper. I cut off the kit fenders and made some from card, added cut-down M48 tool boxes and cut-down M47 mufflers, additional armor on the glacis and then put it aside, wondering how I was going to approach the turret.
Before I started the turret:
IMG_4257 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
IMG_4258 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
Googling “Cadillac-Gage” led me to the V-150 with different turrets and guns, so a few minutes on the internet had a Hobby Boss kit coming. Upon arrival, I found the turret to be a two-man type, pretty small, but I decided to use it as an example, scaling it up and keeping the general shape as I did. So far I have the shell and mantlet made up, roof yet to do. I’ll probably use a TC’s cupola and loader’s hatch from something in the spares box, easy enough to do, while trying to keep it similar to what’s in the Hobby Boss kit.
Turret as of today:
IMG_4282 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
IMG_4283 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
I think I found my “happy place”, a what-if that’s not really a what-if,
Edit: I just found a pic of this thing in Thai Army colors, origin unclear, but probably a StingRay turret on an old M41 hull, given the two different paint schemes. At least I have a better pic of the front of the turret.
This looks like something straight out of WoT Blitz. I like it! Is this a display/demonstration vehicle or an actual combat vehicle?
Looking forward to seeing this evolve Russ, your mods / scratchbuilds are always top notch.
This is an interesting project. I’m looking forward to the final result.
You ARE entering this in the Best Tank that Never Was Pt3 campaign, right? Just askin’…
That’s it! Armorama to the rescue again.
Edit: Of course now I can see the gun and mantlet are centered in the turret front, unlike the little turret I “copied”. I guess I need to fix that.
Fix started… I filled the mantlet cutout and have it blended in, measured for centerline and made a template (masking tape) to locate the new cutout. I’ll let it all set up for a day or so before I start cutting.
IMG_4284 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
Even though I’ve fudged a bit on the hull, I want to do the turret as close to the real thing as I can, now that it turns out there was a “real thing”.
I’m going to continue this in the “Best That Never Was” Campaign, even though I’ve taken some liberties with the hull.
Just a small Tamiya inaccuracy to correct: The framework that supports the engine covers has only two mounting points on the lower rear armor plate. Tamiya misinterpreted the stowing clamp for the crowbar as a third one and molded that in the center. Instead, that clamp belongs lower and offset to the right, as can be seen in the third of Frenchy’s pictures.
(And AFV Club copied this mistake.)
I can fix that, thanks.
This is good work Russel; keep at it!