I am trying but have been unsuccessful so far to find out what the rules are to Sherman road wheels.

I have several Sherman kits in my stash now with the pressed style road wheels with hollow backs. This lack of detail is noticeable enough to make me want to fix it. All these kits come with different sets of road wheels, the pressed style with hollow back and the open spoke wheels that have detail on both sides.

Were the open spoke phased out after a while, or were they used all along the sherman production line? Would your see openspoke on m4a3 and later? How about British variants (firefly and achilles)?

I don't mind replacing the road wheels with after market ones, but now I have 3 or 4 kits all needing replacement. I have a few sherman reference books, but none seem to address this issue.
Thanks!

Jamie

Hi Jamie,

No expert on wheels but generally you will find the spoked wheels on the earlier tanks and the pressed wheels on later versions. Never say never with Shermans there are pics of spoked wheels used as replacements with pressed ones and tanks later in the war with spoked wheels.

If you want to use the ones with hollow backs, just use them in a muddy setting and fill the backs with milliput or mud, alternatively there are lots of AM ones, Formations are very good.

My advice would be to get some reference pictures of a particular tank you want to build (IWM site is a good starting point), and work from there. Pick a time period/theatre of war N Africa/Italy/NWE and research you're vehicle, that will probably give yu the best satiffaction. If you want a generic tank of a particular unit then in some respects the choice is yours.

Some of the experts will pick up this thread and probably give you better advice. Main thing is to have fun.

Al

Al's advice is golden. For the three types you mentioned here are some general rules of thumb:

M4A3 (later big hatch hulls): most likely the "pressed spoke" wheels, some the dished wheels
Firefly VC (based on M4A4): most often pictured with the "pressed spoke" wheels
Achilles (based on the M10): most often pictured with the "pressed spoke" wheels

For the three types you indicate, the open spoked wheels would have been oddities for sure.

I could not agree more with the last sentence. The pressed wheels are much more common on late war Shermans, with the spoked wheels showing up in pictures on both 75 and 76 mm tanks often enough to be called less common but not rare. This includes the M4A2's that went to the Soviets. One source said that all the Jumbo's were made with the spoked wheels because these could withstand the added weight better. So, go ahead and use the spoked wheels. If you have more than one set of wheels, lots of time and a good saw, cut the pressed wheels in half, do the same with a spare set and make wheels that way. I did it once a long time ago. As mentioned, there are several suppliers that make replacement wheels which is a bit easier on the cutting hand.

Thanks guys, just the information I was looking for!

I'll try mudding some up, operating on others just to say I have tried, and then look into the AM route.

In the meantime, looks like I have lots of open spoke road wheels for the spare parts bin.

Thanks again!!!

Jamie

Another idea: If you have an excess of pressed wheels with the hollow back then you can cut them in half and glue them back to back. It's a pain to be sure but if you have the time, patience and inclination then it is a solution. I suggest cutting near an edge rather than in the midlle though.
CHeers
Al

It is fairly common to see different types of road wheels on the same Sherman. As they were repaired and returned to action, and a large number of "knocked out" Shermans were refitted and returned to active duty, the mechanics used whatever parts were at hand, meaning that several types of wheel might be used.

John

Hey Jamie,
You should try this technique:

a) Take some 2 part epoxy putty like Milliput and knead equal parts of it into a ball
b) Let the Milliput start to set up and harden.
c) Take one of your one sided pressed wheels and moisten it with water.
d) Put the Milliput onto a flat surface and press the wheel down hard into the putty
e) Carefully pry the wheel from the putty, try it again if the impression is not complete or good enough
f) Let the putty dry hard and you have a negative mold of the wheel face
g) Fill in the backs of your wheels with more putty and use the mold to detail them

Remember to keep the wheels moist when you mold the putty so it doesn't stick to them.
While not 100% perfect, it's a lot simpler than Al B's technique of cutting wheels in half.
When done, you van use AlanL's method of mudding up to hide any imperfections.
Cheers

jjumbo