The
kit is composed of six grey plastic moldings, the two hull halves,
the soft plastic tracks and a large PE fret. The details quality is
really good. The kit has the periscopes and the brush guards both
in plastic and as PE parts (!) and the periscopes have also their
little hatch (!!). There is also a metallic towing wire.
Another peculiarity of this kit is that it gives us a lot of useful
spare parts. There is the option between two transmission covers (cast
pointed and bolted); there are also two spare rear plates (one is
suitable for the Lima or the PCF production M4A1 and for the Baldwin
production M4. The other one is for the M4A4), an option between M34
and M34A1 mount, M4A1 fenders and other smaller parts.
The tank proposed has the correct features of an early-mid ALCO tanks
(see the antenna bracket) if built with the pistol port/appliqué
armor turret and the bolted transmission cover. The mid production
tanks had the rounded cast cover, easily available reworking the cast
pointed supplied by the kit. For a late production tank with the kit
cast pointed cover no pistol port turret is needed. The Pullman Standard
hull was identical, but had a different antenna bracket type.
See
here.
The kit can also easily be converted in a PSC tank.
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At
first glance, I thought this was the definitive M4 Sherman kit, but
when I begun to check it (I found it dimensionally correct) I had
to admit it wasn’t. Being still a superb kit, it hasn’t
the deep wading provided like an option. The engine deck part of the
device is molded on the upper hull.
This is not the real problem. The problem is that the device proposed
in the kit doesn’t match the photographic evidence of the original
I’ve found. The engine deck molded box is small (it should overlap
the splash guards around the air intake) and the rear PE device is
both small and wrong: the lower part should be rounded and comprising
the engine access doors (compare with the photo).
If you like the deep wading device, you have to get a look at the
Heller kit, after markets items or use plasticard and scratch build
it.
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I
choose to reconvert it to a normal tank, an easy job.
• The engine deck deep wading box was carefully erased. A 7.0
x 14.0 mm rectangular base for the engine air intake cover was made
with 0.25 mm plastic.
• On the engine deck rear there are two little holes to fill
with a drop of cyanoacrylate glue. They are the placeholders for the
17 pdr gunlock on the Firefly Mk I.
• Two reservoir caps were taken from an UM spare engine deck
and glued at the sides of the cover and I made the splash guard with
1.0 x 0.50 mm plastic rod, following the photos you can see here.
•
I’ve added some surplus parts provided by the kit (the engine
air intake cover and the exhausts, not needed on a tank equipped with
the deep wading kit), since they are very well done.
• The missing hinges were added with four 0.25 mm plastic little
pieces and two thin stretched sprue segment.
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After
having corrected the deck, I could start working on the details:
• The bow lifting points are thin and I made new ones with metallic
wire.
• The hull appliqué armors surfaces are rounded and a
bit thin (0.20 mm) and don’t look realistic. I made new ones
with 0.50 mm plastic adding also the thick welding with glue. You
can find the right dimensions of these plates here.
• The bow appliqué armors also look thin. I shimmed them
with 0.25 mm plastic on the back side. The huge welding seams were
also added.
• The siren is present on the mould but not in the instructions.
It is of the first type mounted on the left fender. A later type with
its guard was scratch built.
• The structure on the inner side of the fenders was made with
0.25 m plastic.
• The turret appliqué armor looks right, but when compared
to pictures, it hasn’t the right shape. I corrected the rear
side (which must be vertical) and the upper side (should be straight).
See the same references above.
• The idler pins on the track tension systems are too short
and the joints are weak, being the idler interlock hole not deep enough.
New stronger ones were made to line up the idlers to the wheels line.
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Wheels
and tracks
• The bogies are well done, but the wheels (which are of the
stamped type and well done) are molded on them and all in the same
position. No option for an open spoke set is provided. This could
be a problem; anyway aftermarket sets are available as well as extra
sets in the Trumpeter or Heller kits.
No other steps apart the kit instructions were needed, no other problems
were found. For one of the two I bought I choose to have the cast-in
turret armors (see photos), so:
• I erased the pistol port.
• The cast-in armor was added with 0.50 mm plastic.
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Decals
Markings
for three vehicles are provided. One, photographed on the landing
beach, correctly had the deep wading trunks:
•
70th TB C-2 “CANNON BALL” in Normandy: it was an ALCO
tank and the markings are correct; according to the preview the tank
had the supports for the multiple rockets launcher (missing in the
kit). In both photos I’ve seen the transmission cover was not
visible. The Dragon instructions gives this vehicle a cast transmission
cover. However the serial 3066192 was the 208th tank of the 2nd batch
and was be produced in April 1943. If I’m right it's highly
possible it had a bolted transmission cover. For sure it had the pistol
port (it had the appliqué armor on the right side and they
are aligned) and the glacis horn. See here
too or here.
The bumper codes 1A70? and C-2 are missing.
The
other two versions didn’t have the wading set:
• 4th AD 37th TB HQ “TONTO” in Normandy: the only
photo I’ve found show it with the open spokes wheels, the serial
is not visible but anyway the antenna bracket looks to be the type
used by Pullman Standard. The serial 3025405 proposed in the decal
set (and also in other sources) lies outside the range of known Pullman
Standard serials (3036xxx and 3039xxx batches). I don’t know
its individual number, anyway “T” names belonged to the
HQ section and its tank commander, Capt. William Dwight, was the 37th
TB S-3 or operations officer. Tonto had the cast transmission cover
(in the photo it seems to be rounded, not pointed) and the pistol
port; no glacis horn is visible so possibly it was on the fender.
The bumper codes 4?37? and HQ-__ are missing.
• 756th TB C-14 in Italy: I’ve only seen one photo of
this tank (it is quite known and easy to find) where it appears without
the serial number, but showing the sloped rear upper plate for an
ALCO or a Pullman tank, which is correct for this kit. No hull appliqué
armor is needed for sure, the turret one is not visible due its position.
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| Conclusion
In my
opinion, although it has the deep wading set incorrect and the fixed
wheels set, I think it is still a very good kit needing very few detailing
jobs after having corrected the deck. Of course, to solve the kit's
problem everybody can choose other options, like using an engine deck
from another M4/M4A1 kit or use a correct deep wading set (as already
said). If the wading trunks had been provided as an option to a normal
deck it would be the best M4 actually on the market, being really
very detailed.
Preview
sample purchased by the author.
This
model can be purchased from
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