I got a Tamiya M41 Walker Bulldog the other day and thought it would be good for making a good diorama with a PBR I got the same day. The kit comes with U.S. figures and decals, but I want to make it an ARVN tank. Would I need to add anything extra to it, like a gun shield cover, or anything else? What would an ARVN tank crew look like? Most importantly, what would the exterior markings be like? Since the U.S. issued them to the ARVN troops, would they still have U.S. markings? I have no clue, and finding information on ARVN tanks on the net is next to nil. I have tried it and haven't found any real photos, or text answering my questions. I am a beginner at building tanks; this is going to be my first actually. I could really use some help.

I am certainly no expert on the Vietnam War, but I do know that US aircraft given to the South Vietnamese forces had little changes made to their markings. The white star in the blue circle was retained and red and yellow stripes were substituted for red and blue. I would think that ARVN tanks would retain the white star as well. I would also speculate that the ARVN tank crew would be pretty uniform and cleanly dressed. American GIs always complained that ARVN units looked immaculate becaus they never did any dirty work. Of course, this isn't totally true.

Nic

Brad,
I have Sq/Sig Armor in Vietnam. There are a couple of b/w pics of ARVN M-41. As far as I can tell there were no markings except for a light colored rectangle with a number in it located in the center of the lower front of the tank. There are also 2 color side view drawings that show the tank painted OD.
HTH
Chuck

Do you have a link to these pics, or maybe could scan them, post them, or send them to me at [email protected]

I gots the same Tamiya M41 (unless they made a new kit).
ARVN M41s IIRC are OD as well. Pictures in Hunnicutt's "Sheridan" book shows many pics of the M41 in ARVN service (albiet in black and white - but you could guess that the basic color was OD). I think most - if not all - of ARVN M41s are A3s. Some have covers for the mantlet. Others have none. One has a searchlight on the mantlet. IIRC, the Tamiya kit has no auxilliary muffler. The Tamiya kit is really AFAIK a 'late production' turret (because of the 'weld' pattern and general appearance of the turret) while the hull is for the basic M41 (i.e. early production). The front and back fenders of the Tamiya kit are square - for ARVN M41s, these are tapered. Some - not all IIRC - ARVN M41s have a gunshield for the .50-cal. (actually, there were two kinds of gunshields - one looked a bit bigger) The Tamiya kit IIRC has none of that. The position of the .50-cal in the Tamiya kit is for the early production. If you want to make it into an ARVN, you have to reposition the .50-cal stand to the front right of the commander's cupola.
The Tamiya kit, built OOB, is a nice, cute little tank. But it needs a lot of modifications to make it into an accurate kit. Assuming you want to build another M41, Skybox and AFV Club makes M41A3. I also have the AFV Club M41A3 and it has a gun shield for the .50-cal. If you want, I can scan the instruction sheet of the AFV Club M41A3 and maybe you could do the appropriate modifications on your Tamiya M41.
Re:ARVN crew, I dunno if there are ARVN tank crew available. Closest you can do is get an American or Korean tank crew (the latter better). If American tank crew, get the heads of some Vietcong figures which are also available. These are normally made by DML.
Re:Exterior markings, from Hunnicutt's book, there were no US markings on the ARVN M41s.
Whatever you do, and since your a beginner, I suggest just build your M41 OOB. That way, you'll have more fun. It's not that I'm discouraging you from doing scratchbuilding, etc., but from my experience, most beginners get turned-off when people say "That kit is inaccurate" or "You'll need a lot of work." If you're the type who wants a challenge, then I guess it's ok to make your first armor kit a super-projekt. But if you just want the kit built-up nicely, do an OOB and some modifications. :-)
Tip: the Tamiya M41 turret handles on the sides are fragile. I suggest drilling holes where you put these handles (you could see them on the sides - they're circles) and use some stiff wire instead. More realistic and more durable, too. :-)
BTW, if you got 'turned-off' by my post on the ARVN M41 (I'm sorry if I did so - I honestly didn't mean to), you could do a nice modification by adding a rack at the rear deck of the M41 and putting around 4 fuel drums. That was a common feature (so Hunnicutt's book says) in some US Army units in order to extend the range of the M41.
Most of all - HAVE FUN! :-)

EDIT #3 (!) - my AFV Club M41A3 also has ARVN decals. If you're interested, I can make a lo-res scan of it and email it to you.

Thanks for the info guys. I just happened to stumble onto that model you were referring to GI http://www.jbwholesalers.com.au/reviews/afvclub/afv35041.htm I'm going to take your advice and build this out of the kit and not modify it. There was a Patton down where I got these and I think it'd look better for what I got in mind anyway. So what about the Korean War? I've heard conflicting stories about them being used there and some saying they weren't. What's the low down?

What do you mean by the Korean War? The Patton or the M41 Bulldog? The M41 Bulldog was too late for the Korean War IIRC - though that war influenced (I think) it's design.

Sorry, referring to the Bulldog. I had heard people say that it saw a little combat towards the end of the war, but others said it absolutely saw no combat during it.

Okay. Here's a short history of the M41:

1945 - Requirement for a new light tank for the US military starts
1946 - Prototype tank designated T37
1949 - Wooden mock-up of the T37 constructed
- Phase II of development saw the equiping of the 76mm T91 gun, redesignating the tank into the T41
1951 - Cadillac Motor Car Division begins production of the T41E1
1953 - T41E1 and T41E2 were standardized as M41 and M41A1 respectively
- Originally named Little Bulldog, it was named after Lt. Walker who died in the Korean War
early 1970s - most M41s were replaced by the Sheridan

According to Hunnicutt, the M41 was never used by American troops in combat. M41s in Vietnam that saw combat were ARVN M41A3s which were bought to replace the M24.