M41 Gorilla

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wibblywobbly
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M41 Gorilla

Post by wibblywobbly »

I held back on putting up this build as I wasn't totally confident that my massacre of a Bulldog lower hull was going to work, or whether the upper hull was going to work out ok. It looks as though it will all go together ok, so here we go..an M41 Gorilla.

http://www.primeportal.net/artillery/da ... 155mm_hmc/

Image

The Bulldog hull is rwd, the Gorilla is fwd. I couldn't just reverse the lower hull as the suspension arms would point the wrong way. I had two choices. Slice off each side and swap them over, or slice off the front and back and swap those, I opted for the second one as that was easier. If you look at the way the Gorilla ones are mounted, the rear two will still be wrong, but at least it will work on the model.
IMG_20170514_103350.jpg
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I then had to re-attach them, and make them both square and rock solid, and fill in all of the gaps.
IMG_20170514_162847.jpg
Once I had done this I knew the length that I needed for the upper hull. This was a pain to do as the Gorilla is narrower than the HL Bulldog so I had to use blueprints as a guide, but stretch the design across the new hull dimensions.
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So far it's turning out ok, still much glueing, filling and sanding to do, as well as a lot of printing and designing, but its getting there.
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c.rainford73
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Re: M41 Gorilla

Post by c.rainford73 »

Very cool machine Mr Wibbly
Tanks alot.... :wave:
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BarryC
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Re: M41 Gorilla

Post by BarryC »

You've got a very unique build in work and doing a great job! :thumbup: :thumbup:
The finished piece will be quite the talk of the town.

I had never even seen or heard of this machine until now. :clap:

Barry
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Cruiser133
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Re: M41 Gorilla

Post by Cruiser133 »

I love these unusual builds, great work and I admire your drive to do something different!
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Re: M41 Gorilla

Post by RobW »

Very impressive. Would it have been possible to chop two sets of road wheels & reverse that section? I'm interested in the hull bracing too - any pics before you glue/fit the upper hull?
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wibblywobbly
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Re: M41 Gorilla

Post by wibblywobbly »

Yup, I didn't notice that about the opposing suspension units, I was too busy looking at the fwd problem. If I was doing this again I would chop out two roadwheels and turn that section around. I would really need a bandsaw to do that and keep everything square, but it would definitely be the way to get it right. Then of course I would have been able to narrow the hull by 9mm (max in view of the gearbox/motors width. However seeing as I don't have a bandsaw...

Did the 10 hour print of the two halves of the gun deck, they turned out quite nicely, but they do show up how oversize this is on the width. The same problem exists with the Bulldog, hull too wide, same with tracks. In reality the Gorilla has narrow Sherman style tracks, but these won't fit the Bulldog so Bulldog tracks it is.

No bracing in the lower as yet. I will hot glue a 3mm base plate in to mount electrics. That usually works. :thumbup:

Pics are a bit blurry...will try harder next time... :(
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lmcq11
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Re: M41 Gorilla

Post by lmcq11 »

Hi,
With extreme patience, it is technically possible to disassemble the track links, cut out a few millimetres in the middle of each link, glue the two halves back together with epoxy, put back the pin and cut to the right lengtt. This allows for the hull to have the proper width.

I started the process 5 years ago on my M41...
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c.rainford73
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Re: M41 Gorilla

Post by c.rainford73 »

Hi Mr Wibbly following along with great interest. I too was unaware of this machine until you decided to build one. A credit to your determination with these builds keep up the great work
Tanks alot.... :wave:
RobW
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Re: M41 Gorilla

Post by RobW »

Thanks. A mitre block might do it and use box styrene to rejoin the sections; not easy but would increase the tolerances. It's a shame there aren't any inline worm drive gear boxes as that would be ideal for narrow hulls.

Good luck, looks excellent so far.
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wibblywobbly
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Re: M41 Gorilla

Post by wibblywobbly »

lmcq11 wrote:Hi,
With extreme patience, it is technically possible to disassemble the track links, cut out a few millimetres in the middle of each link, glue the two halves back together with epoxy, put back the pin and cut to the right lengtt. This allows for the hull to have the proper width.

I started the process 5 years ago on my M41...
I have metal tracks... :/
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