Heng Long 1/16 Scale "M41 Walker Bulldog"
Introduction
The M41 Gun Tank, commonly called the Walker Bulldog by its developers and crews, was a Korean War-era American light tank. Mounting a powerful 76mm gun, the agile Walker Bulldog honors General Walton Walker, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, who was killed in a jeep accident in Korea.
My Personal Averaged Score for this tank: 82 out of 100
Heng Long's Walker Bulldog is one its most beginner-friendly "Ready To Run" RTR tanks, and also one of its least accurate to scale. Read below to discover how I arrived at this averaged score, and let me know your own impressions of and experiences with this tank!
As a visual companion to this written review, our Overview and Build Summary Video can be found *here*
Functions:
Featuring the latest TK6.0 MFCB (Multi-Function Control Board), the Bulldog is full of features:
1) Proportional acceleration, steering, turret traverse, and gun elevation/depression
2) Programmable radio settings for the amount of recoil, the sensitivity in turns, the overall sensitivity in acceleration, etc
3) Smoke (On/Off)
4) Volume (five settings including Off)
5) Four different Sound Sets. Each Sound Set contains a unique engine start sound, idle sound, accelerating sound, traverse sound, elevate sound, machine gun, cannon, and shutdown sound.
6) Track Recoil (Three settings from low, medium, and high) -- Low or Medium are the most realistic.
7) Fires a 6mm plastic BB
8) Fires an invisible IR signal to be used as part of Heng Long's Infrared Battle System to disable other tanks during simulated combat between up to 20 tanks at the same time
Scale Fidelity:
Heng Long's Bulldog is a passable representation of the real Walker Bulldog, but it is well known among Heng Long fans and scale enthusiasts as being out of proportion. Its width is the most visually out of proportion, although some modelers online have remedied this with modeling skills while some others have opted to ignore the flaws and adopted the model as a fun-to-run tank on its own merit.
What's In the Box:
As an RTR or "Ready To Run" RC model, everything is included in the box except six AA batteries for the radio transmitter. In areas where shipping liquids is restricted, the glycerin used for the "smoke effect" is absent, but can be found locally at hardware or convenience stores that sell glycerin oil.
The radio, tank, cosmetic accessory parts, tank battery, tank battery charger, and plastic BBs, don't require any "assembly", other than installing the aforementioned "cosmetic accessory parts". A nicely printed manual is also included with clear diagrams for locating the cosmetic accessory parts, programming/adjusting the radio's settings, and bevy of warnings. The charger and battery are not shown here because they are being used off camera.
Initial Two Minute Function Test:
Because the tank itself is functionally complete and it doesn't require the cosmetic accessory parts to run, I recommend testing your tank's basic functions immediately after unboxing the tank, before you install the cosmetic accessory parts. If there happens to be any problems, it is better to report them to Motion RC for warranty support before the tank has any cosmetic parts attached to it.
To conduct this initial two minute test, insert six AA batteries in the radio and turn it on. Plug in the tank's included 2s battery and slide the tank's switch to On. The radio and tank are already "bound" to each other via 2.4Ghz signal, so simply press the Key button on the radio and your tank will activate. Move all the tank's controls in every direction to evaluate their function. Refer to the Manual for all controls. Note that the turret and cannon barrel will produce a "clacking" sound when they reach their maximum travel points. This sound is normal and is a warning for you to stop moving it in that direction. Importantly, DO NOT run the tank more than two minutes for this initial test, since it arrives with only a storage charge.
Once satisfied that your tank is operating normally, plug the battery into the included wall charger. While it's charging, turn your attention to the installation of the "cosmetic accessory parts", covered in the Details section, below. Installing the cosmetic parts onto the exterior results in this:
Exterior Quality:
The Bulldog is primarily composed of ABS plastic, and is painted evenly with a matte olive drab. The exhausts are painted metallic silver, and the plastic tracks on my Upgrade version is molded in very dark gray that looks almost black.
Details:
Several sprues of plastic parts are provided for the modeler to install on the tank. These all plug into pre-drilled holes, and are nearly "snap fit". A few of the parts were loose, so I bonded them with ABS glue. But otherwise, I prefer to keep the parts unglued so they're easy to remove or replace if needed in the future. This installation process can be completed in 30-60 minutes depending on your pace. The many handles along the turret side faces and the machine gun on its AA mount are some of the details that enhance the Bulldog's appearance.The lights look great, also:
Decals:
Apply the Bulldog's decals, as desired, on a cleaned and dried surface, using the instruction manual's clear diagrams. These are simple adhesive vinyl decals. They are NOT water slide decals. After applying them, you may want to seal them in with a clear coat. I didn't, and the decals continue to hold well to the surface. I chose to not install some of the extra decals which were not historically accurate.
By the time you're done detailing your tank with the parts sprues and decals, your tank's battery should be fully charged and you're ready for your first full run!
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