This is a review of the Tamiya 1/35 Walker Bulldog Kit#3555-700

This is the first of many military/naval reviews and it is a really sweet kit. This is the late 40s Walker Bulldog. This is my first larger scale tank and only the 5th or so tank I’ve ever worked on. It’s one of those things you mean to try but never get around to it. Glad I chose this one to start with.

The M41 was developed as a counter to stronger Russian tanks. Between the end of the second World War and the lack of development funding, the tank was delayed all the way to 1951. Named after General Walton Walker (after he was killed at a demonstration), it was a competent vehicle and saw battle in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Vietnam War, and was shipped to a dozen or so countries for support.

The tank weighed 23.49 tons and was welded steel. It carried a 76mm M32A1 cannon, a .30cal M1919, and a .50cal Browning. The engine was a 500hp, 6-cyl made by Cadillac and it could run up to 72.4km/h (45mph). Not something to outrun!

I painted the tank in Tamiya Olive Drab and added as much detail as I could. I do not have the paint skills for a “weathered” look, but I think the “new” look works good. I also do not like painting/working with crew/soldiers, so I left them out of the kit. I think that the vehicles look real enough, but I’ve yet to see a “person” look real at this scale.

Only downside to this kit I could find had to do with the wheels in the tread setup. They are supposed to “roll” so the tread can roll, but they want to slip off the posts without using a bit of glue. There are also two tread posts that have to be glued on and without using super glue or stronger, the tread will easily pull away from the sides because of the stress of the elastic tread. Some stupid design flaw (see fig. right). I fixed it using super glue gel and 12+hrs.

I can say this is a wonderful kit and is not only plentiful, but inexpensive ($20). I’d say the best part of this kit are the treads as they are made of a very solid rubber and look super real. It also has a nice set of decals for multiple looks. A must buy in my book.

9.25 – Excellent