introduction

The M1941 tent stove is a heating stove designed for use in any one of a variety of military tents; from the command post to hospital sectional to squad to the General Purpose Small, Medium, and Large tents. The tent stove could be used with wood or coal or, with an oil burner attachment, with diesel fuel, light fuel oil, or gasoline. The conversion from one type of use to another was quickly and easily accomplished by removing the burner element and adding the grate.

The M-1941 stove is made of steel with a heat output rating of 35,000 BTU. It is approximately 17.25 inches in height (43.8 cm) (without pipes), 16 inches in diameter (40.6 cm) and weighs approximately 54 pounds (24.5 Kg).

Contents

Plus Model’s M-1941 Stove consists of resin parts, photo-etch, and wire. All parts are in a sealed plastic bag which is further protected in a small bubble wrap bag packaged in Plus Model’s standard box. A small sheet contains the instructions on one side and the traditional warnings on the other.

The set consists of 11 resin pieces that include the stove body (two halves, lid, and burner as one piece), two fuel cans, one axe, one carburetor and tube, one general purpose chest, a chopping block/log, and four stove pipes. There is one photo-etch fret consisting of the ‘door’ for the base of the stove and latches for that door and the top’s lid. Also included is one short length of black wire to replicate the rubber hose that goes from the fuel can adapter to the carburetor.

The Review

The resin pieces are very well cast. The only flash I could find was inside the handles of the fuel cans, under the pipe of the carburetor and at the head of the axe; all of which will be easy to clean up. All pour-plugs are on the bottom of the resin pieces which will certainly make removal and cleanup easy with a razor-saw. The only exception is the axe; the small plug is attached where the wood of the handle comes through the axe head.

Stove Body:
The body is very well cast and dimensionally correct; it scales out near perfectly. Everything on this piece looks really nice, especially the molded-in burner; they gave this a very convincing bit of depth. The only thing missing is the location for the carburetor’s tube. This is not that great as in a 1:1 stove, the burner pot rotates and most will turn that tube against the side of the opening for added support.

Photo-Etch:
These simple parts will look respectable once installed. The door will need to be rounded to match the curve of the stove’s body, but that can be done by running a 1/4 – inch dowel over its back for a few a passes.

Carburetor:
Another nicely cast piece! It’s resemblance to the 1:1’s I used is very good! Again, just a little flash under the tube. You will need two lines for the carb; one to go to the fuel can and one as an overflow line. The overflow line was laid out so that the end was outside of the tent (removing possible fuel overflow from the heat source). The line provided by Plus Model measures out to 75 scale inches or 30 cm; enough for one line only.

Stove Pipes:
There are two types included; the top pipe (#2) with a thinned opening and three base-pipes (#1). The pipes I recall were ‘rolled’ sheet metal that had to have the edges put together; this created a noticeable seam so you’ll need to scribe that in. One note though; do not cut off all of the pour-plug as that is also the connector to the stove and other pipes. The pipes scale out to the correct diameter but are short 2-scale inches. A full stove pipe set should consist of six pipes (24 inches long) for a total of 144 inches or 365 cm. Plus Model only includes four pipes (which would be needed for the larger tents). A length of styrene or aluminum tubing could be used to get the full length (4 inches or 10 cm).

General Purpose Chest:
I was really surprised at how well the latch and handles were presented in resin. There is depth and dimension to these. Excellent! There are faint “scribes” showing the wood slats so I would therefore paint this with heavily thinned paint to allow those to show through. This chest is included for the fuel can to rest on and to be above the level of the carb (flow). In the 80’s and 90’s when we used these stoves, we had metal “tripods” to hold the fuel can at an angle so that the adapter tube’s vent holes would stay above the fuel allowing for better flow.

Fuel Cans:
There is no lever on the can lids that allow the adapter to form a compression seal. The adapter consisted of a modified fuel can lid with a lever to compress the rubber seal against the threads in the fuel can. Additionally, there was a two-part vented tube which allowed the fuel to flow and openings at the end to prevent an air vacuum. Because the adapter is internal, the only real “fix” is to add that lever with a scrap piece of sprue or photo-etch.

Axe:
It’s an axe. Not too much there. A little flash between the pour-block and axe head.

Chopping Block:
I think they did a pretty good job rendering the log in resin. The bark definition is pretty nice. I think the only thing that will need to be done is give it a little light texturing with some 80 or 100 grit sandpaper. The only other thing I’d consider is using a real piece of wood…

Painting:
The picture included shows a bit of a rust brown stove and pipes. The coloring of the stoves I used were an overall blackish color, including the base and pipes. There was some shine to the exterior of them from use. I would be inclined to spray the base and pipes in a semi-gloss black mixed with some flat black. The carb base, knobs, and connectors were an aluminum color while the top was black (like a data plate).

Conclusion

This is a very nice rendition of the M-1941 stove. It can certainly be used for settings from WWII through at least the 1990’s and in many locales. Though it is missing a couple details, potentially a couple of stove pipes and enough fuel line, the fixes are well within the realm of basic modeling. This really is a nice diorama accessory.