I am currently working on the Academy M4A3 Sherman with T-34 Calliope and I need a barrel. The kit barrel is horrendous and I got an Aber barrel, but apparently it is for Asuka and Tamiya and won't work, even if I modify the mantlet.
Anybody know what barrel would work on the kit I am building? The only one I can find when searching Academy M4A3 is the 105 mm gun, and I need the 75mm.

I didn't realize the Academy 75mm gun mantlet was that different from the Tamiya and Asuka ones. The diameter of where the tube enters the mantlet shouldn't vary that much with what the Academy mantlet offers -- do you actually have an Aber barrel on hand to match with the Academy mantlet? I can't imagine Academy's mantlet is that inaccurate...

I do have a barrel and it is quite a bit larger than the mantlet. It won't even fit between the two "ears that protrude from the front.

There are several brands of 75mm aluminium and resin barrels out there for M4's. I have the RB Models version to use on my as-yet-unbuilt 2 USMC M4A2s and Dragon Sherman V. By eye it seem to be OK: it isn't brand-specific and it's also inexpensive. I have had and sold on the Legend and ToRo barrel and mantlet sets. The usual brand-specific variations in barrels are to accommodate different diameters and depths of the mounting pin/spigot. As noted above, the barrel diameter and the internal diameter of the "ears" on the M43A1 mantlet should vary only fractionally. RB also do some nice brass 0.30" and 0.50" barrels (although the Orange Hobby 0.50" is better) and the Eureka M4 tow cable set comes with a pair of resin 0.30" barrels. These days I get my RB Models and Eureka products from Jadar Hobby in Warsaw.

Thinking about it, that kit is actually a re-box of the old Italeri kit and not an Academy original. Academy's own M4's are OK - not the best but not the worst - but Italeri M4's are all over the place with accuracy so perhaps I'm not surprised there might be a mantlet problem. I would suggest replacing the whole mantlet with a matching set like Legend, but there's no guarantee that would fit either. And then you're talking about a complete new turret ....... I imagine any brand of barrel will fit between the ears with a bit of filing inside the ears, which are almost certainly not scale thickness anyway.

Thanks for the replies.
If I were to force this barrel into the mantlet it would distort it badly, and if I were to bore out the mantlet to accommodate the diameter of the barrel,it would be paper thin.

Italeri kits were notorious for skinny gun barrels and anemic tools. The Academy 75mm M3 barrels are also too skinny. The one in the M3 Lee/Grant tapers too much. The RB mantle and barrel fits as does the old Jordi Rubio barrel.

All that said, why not cut off the ears, put in the barrel and then put the thinned down ears back in place?

I learned that doing an ancient Monogram Sherman as there the gun barrel even for the slightly larger scale is too fat.

Hi Brett,

Not sure if this set (DEF Model 35055) will fit your bill. Take a look at the demo images.

http://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?item_no=DEF-DM35055

Paul