This detail set is designed to upgrade the suspension on the Tamiya M41 Walker Bulldog or the M42 Duster. At first look, this set consists of two identical sprues of 49 pieces each in an olive green plastic. The detail is very fine, typical of AFV Club. Additionally there are five olive green resin parts that are designed to adapt the set onto the Tamiya M41 or M42. These include the final drive covers that hide the old motorization holes in the Tamiya hull.


Some of the benefits to these suspension parts are the lightening holes in the idler wheel and drive sprockets. This set also replaces all road wheel and road wheel arms, support rollers and mounts as well as the shock absorbers and track adjusting links.


Removal of the kit suspension is necessary to prepare the Tamiya hulls. Since the M41 hull is basically smooth, flat surfaces, removal and clean up will be relatively easy. Assembly of the wheels and sprockets is straightforward and easy. A little attention needs to be paid to the #1 road wheel arms and the right side compensating idler wheel. There is a small tab on the #1 road wheel arms that needs to be removed, a different one for each side. There is also a small resin circular part that needs to be added to the right compensating idler wheel mount. This is tricky to see on the instructions, which are printed on the back of the box.


Painting instructions are limited to “Tire Black” when pointing to the rubber portions of the road wheels and support rollers. This should not be a problem in that the running gear will be painted the same color as the rest of the hull.

Unfortunately, the set does not include tracks. A nice set of single link tracks would be appreciated by many modelers, including those who want them for an M2/M3 Bradley. So for those unable to find the out of production Academy set (#1353), the kit tracks will be the only option.


This detail set is recommended for those of you who want to do a real nice M41 using the Tamiya kit. With Eduard photo etch and a Barrel Depot aluminum barrel, a real contest winner can be had. But with a new M41 Walker Bulldog rumored to be coming, the $17 price tag of this set is probably half the price of the whole kit, once it arrives.