Hello to everyone after such a long time

Finally after a long year of nothing, I came around finishing the models that were left unfinished in various stages.

First one is 1/35 Super Pershing

For the base kit I used Tamiya's M26 kit, added friul tracks plus the Accurate Armour T26E4 Conversion Kit also done some scratchbuilding for some parts.
And voila!



I have already constructed a gallery page on my blog for this model.
Ignore the writing since my blog is written in Turkish, it is some historical info about Super Pershing, nothing big. Maybe someday I will have some more time to translate the entries into English too.

Follow the link below to the blog post that includes the gallery.

1/35 Super Pershing

Next models are AFV Club M18 Hellcat and Tamiya King Tiger

Nice build! For other Super Pershing builders, be aware that the "2" and "A" markings on the tank were applied post war and should be left off if you wish to depict a combat-era tank.

You are absolutely right!
I have read that in a memoir and saw couple post war pics.
There is not a decent single clear war picture of this tank after the additional armor applied, that is the reason of the confusion.
Actually, my aim was to built a post war Super Pershing.
I have applied heavy rusting and water damage to the hull and turret.

It was a fun build

Late Note:
Just realized after all that time looking at the photos, I have forgotten to remove the 50 cal.
That wasn't my original plan at all. Tried it to see how it looks on it out of curiosity on the day before the shoot but forgot to remove...
Who leaves a loaded 50 cal. on a tank after war.

Sweet build you've got there! Came out well, thanks for sharing.

Cheers -
Tim

Very nice Pershing you got there mate. Just a question about the tank itself, is an M26E4 a Super Pershing, or was the super pershing a modified M26E4?

I'm just a little confused because I have a little Trumpeter M26E4 that has the longer gun, but it doesn't have the extra armor.

Dean: this single T26E4 was one of two pilot models for the M26E4 series. It was a pre-production prototype that the Army brass decided to get into combat to see how it fared. It's twin was kept stateside. The Super Pershing actually began life as the T26E1 prototype. It was used as the donor chassis when Ordnance decided to fit out the T26E4.

Originally a contract for 500 M26E4s was made. Only fifty were completed before it was cancelled. The production model differed from the T26E4 "Super Pershing" in that the external recuperator springs were eliminated and the turret counterweight was smaller. The Super Pershing's armor was a field mod done by the 3rd AD's maintenance unit.

The Trumpeter and impending Hobby Boss kit's are peculiar because nominally, they are T26E4s but don't share the actual "Super Pershing" features -- which is of course, what everyone wants to model -- not some 1946 tank that got cancelled.

I just chose to buy the E4 because I thought it looked neat with the huge barrel and because a friend of mine had a bad experience with the combination of individual suspension arms and link and length tracks of all the other Pershing and Patton kits offered by Trumpeter. (the Trumpeter M26E4 comes with rubber band tracks)

Roy is exactly right on the spot with the info.

In my opinion this line of pershings that are canceled were just unlucky and deserved little more chance.

Also, it might be because of the early war tank warfare doctrine of US Army that hold the manufacturing of these tanks until almost the end of the war.
I might be wrong on the exact person but I think that was Patton's influence that affected this doctrine. Again I am not 100 percent if it was him but is idea was tanks are not supposed to fight directly with enemy tanks. That way, there were no need to have a heavier tank than Shermans.

Well, they rather not quickly came to realization that they need heavier stuff after first tigers and panthers then king tiger were butchering US tanker and moving thru tank columns rather quickly.

But again as much as I love Pershings they were too late to make stance and prove themselves in the battle though I think they are proven very useful against heavy german tanks in the late stages of the war.

After the war Pershings gracefully became the middle model between Shermans and M46 IMO.

Sad...

Orkun, I think what you are saying about Patton's involvement in the Pershing's very late introduction to the war is correct. If I'm not mistaken, he did beleive that tanks should only fight tanks, and that the Sherman was adequate to defeat the Panthers and King Tigers. Yeah, right.

It was a shame that the Pershing wasn't able to prove its worth in WW2, but it did have a hand in capturing Cologne:

Pershing vs Panther in Cologne

Dean;
That is very sad footage, reality of war to the face right out of a bore of tank.

You are probably right with Patton's idea, I might have got it reverse
I really like Patton as a general but everyone has their cons.

When I was in Germany last july for a business trip, I stayed in Cologne for two days in my own time so I can find that part of the square where the whole thing happened. Square changed a lot since then but I am pretty sure either I have found exact spot or got very close to it.

hello orkun
nice super pershing heres a picture of my one i made a over a year ago.............

neil....

nice one Neil!
For some reason I just love this tank

Sad it may be, but just think about what would have happened if the Germans had won the war.

It wasn't Patton who was involved in the delay of the M26, or responsible for the flawed US Army doctrine of the Tank Destroyer Branch. It was Leslie Mcnair who pushed the flawed doctrine and the debate between Ordinance, Army Ground Forces and the field forces. Check out the Osprey book on the M26 by Steve Zaloga. It was a major mistake that could have had the Pershing in combat for the Bulge at least. Mcnair was the one who believed that Tanks should be used for exploitation and tank destroyers should engage other tanks.

I have that the Accurate Armor kit and 4 Pershings waiting to go some day. I know the Accurate Armor kit is for the Tamiya kit but do you think it may work on Dragons kit?

Tom

Tom: It's not that overwhelming to do the DML one. Look at my Super Pershing that I completed a while back
http://www.track-link.net/blogs/17

The mods I did you could replicate with a donor DML kit for sure.

Nice builds Orkun, Niel and Roy very cool!!!! I just had a couple questions on the turret are those tubes for the recoil pistons? If so were they armored well enough too at least withstand small arms fire? And what was the caliber is that beast of a gun? Sorry too ask soo much but this one really caught my eye.....

Thanks Alex

That's a scarier thought than the war itself probably.

Alex they were armored but not involved in recoil. They helped balance the weight of the extra long barrel so that the current elevation gearing would still work. In a sense they counter balanced the barrel. The gun was a 90mm but had a much longer shell casing holding mor propellant for a higher muzzle velocity.

Tom

Thanks Roy I had seen your kit before great work by the way. I'll test fit the parts to to the Dragon hull. If I have too I have a Tamiya M26 to use as well.

I grabbed the Trumpeter M26A4 as well I was planning a Diorama with an M26A4 and a regular M26 with a small turret Panther and a King Tiger in a WW2 1946 type scene in 1/72.

Tom

Thank you Thomas very much! . So pretty much the tank was a up gunned and up armored M26. It would have been pretty scary too see these things in action with King Tigers, Tigers and Panthers earlier than when they were deployed....

Cheers Alex