Something a little different coming from Dragon, too bad about the DS track.

This is a pretty cool subject! The DS track doesn't bother me on the Sherman since it is a live track. Plus I'm a lazy modeler so the DS track is much faster and easier. I don't like the DS track when they put with a Panzer III or IV however since they need to have some sag between return rollers!

This is a very welcome release, but there are some problems with the illustrated tank. Dragon appears to have based the turret on a late FL-10 turret with the coaming for the canvas dust cover (minus the canvas itself). However, the Egyptians purchased early turrets which had a simple, L-section rubber gasket that was bolted to the top front edge of the lower turret half, and left free to slide against the face of the upper half (it didn't work too well, which is why the canvas version was substituted on later vehicles).

Also, while many Sherman AMX conversions were built on M4A4 hulls, they were rebuilt with diesel engines and M4A2 engine deck parts and exhausts. Dragon's illustration shows a standard M4A4 deck. The necessary M4A2 parts are actually already included as "not for use" in Dragon's M4A4 kit, but the turret would be a nuisance to fix.

I don't know what they've done with the turret ring, but the AMX-13's smaller turret ring meant that an adapter was needed for the Sherman's 69-inch turret opening. This adapter ring had large, slot-headed screws around the edge every six inches, approximately, and I hope Dragon includes this detail, as it would be be a hassle to have to add them.

I am not posting this to bash a new kit, but in the hopes that someone with a connection to Dragon (like Pawel, for instance), could get word to them while it's still in the CAD stage and fixable. A quick Google search for "Egyptian Sherman Latrun Museum" will get them plenty of reference photos.

So....a face-off between an Egyptian Sherman and an Isherman?

Lets hope Dragon heeds Gerald's advice and this does not turn out like their BL kits.

The Egyptians used conventional Shermans too, which they got from the British. Unfortunately, these appear to have been the less common M4A4.

They had a mixed bag of M4A2 and M4A4 tanks, but all the M4A4's were rebuilt with M4A2 twin diesel engines (nobody but the British liked the original Chrysler multibank engine, which was five straight-six automobile engines clustered around the drive shaft).

Egyptian modeler and historian Vasko Barbic did a series of great articles on Middle East armor for Military Modelling Magazine (and one or two for Tamiya Magazine) back in the late 1980's, including build articles for Egyptian M4A4/A2 and Sherman-AMX tanks. He had access to Egyptian Army vehicle bone yards, and had first hand reference for Egytpian and Israeli vehicles.

http://data4.primeportal.net/tanks/anon_idf/m4_w_amx-13_75mm/images/m4_w_amx-13_75mm_03_of_48.jpg

H.P.

The two piece gun travel lock on the front of the hull is also not represented in the CAD image.