M41 Etched Brass Detail Set

AFV Club Set No. AG35008
1:35 Scale
Review by Terry Ashley

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There are two etched frets, one 8.5cm (3 5/16”) x 6cm (2 3/8”) and the other 8cm (3 1/4”) x 4.5cm (1 3/4”). One has preformed front and rear fender extensions in the early ‘square’ style which will allow you to backdate you M41 to and early production A1. The small fender supports are also included for the extensions as are the inside faces to produce nice looking early fenders.

The second fret includes the headlight guards and additional details for the later fenders as they come in the kit. For the turret you get the two ‘jerry can’ holders on the sides of the rear storage box, the attachments for the mantlet canvas cover (not in the M41 kit though) and the tool straps for the rear of the rear storage box.

On the down side, like the M41 kit this set has a mixture of early and late details. The fenders as mentioned are for the early production vehicles but the head light guards are for the later vehicles, the light arrangement is also different on the early version from that of the kit, so if you wish to build an early M41A1 this is one alteration you will need to make.
It is best to check your references to see what style of light guards go with the light layout, the Hunnicutt “Sheridan” book and US army manual show this in detail.

Packaging:
Now normally I wouldn’t comment to any degree on the packaging of an update set or kit as you basically know how different manufacturers package their items.

This set though provided an interesting challenge to actually get to the etched sheets. The two etched frets are sandwiched between two cardboard ‘flaps’ 20cm (8”) x 11cm (4 3/8”) in size which are glued together. Inside the cardboard the etched frets are then inside plastic sleeves which are in turn taped on each side to the cardboard backing, they certainly didn’t want these babies to get away.

The challenge is to get the etched frets from between the glued cardboard flaps without damaging them. You have to prise (or cut) the two ‘flaps’ apart and then using a sharp knife cut away the tape and sleeves holding the frets in place.

The packaging will look impressive hanging in a hobby shop and I guess this is what it all about, to attract attention

Conclusion:
A useful update set with some nice extras, the preformed fenders are certainly helpful as this would have been a tricky job as they also have raised ribs across the fenders. As mentioned a bit of extra work is needed on the kit to make an early version M41A1 but leaving aside the fenders the other bits will help enhance the kit.

Page Created 2 October 2002