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Armor/AFV: Allied - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Allied forces during World War II.
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Cyber Hobby M4A4 orange box
oldbean
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Virginia, United States
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Posted: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 - 01:42 PM UTC
Has anyone gotten the Orange Box M4A4 Sherman from Cyber Hobby yet? Just wondering if the kit is any good (i.e. major problems)?

Jesse
c5flies
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Posted: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 - 01:50 PM UTC
We'll have a review of this kit in the near future, if you can wait for that. Otherwise, I'm sure others will chime in with their impressions of it.
oldbean
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Posted: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 - 02:52 PM UTC
I'm out of town right now and they have one at the LHS. Just wondering if I should pick it up.
rfeehan
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Joined: July 20, 2003
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Posted: Thursday, April 30, 2009 - 07:46 AM UTC
I know you posted this yesterday anyway I have two of the kits. What I can tell you is this. It is the corrected DML M4A4 hull from the firefly kits, turret sprue from the new M4, corrected suspension sprues and there are DS T48 tracks. Also in the box are a set of US tankers. Great value for the money if you plan to build an Sherman V (M4A4) without resorting to a lot of resin add ons. You still need some parts but the basic tank is all there. My one disappointment is the tracks. I wish they had used a pattern more common to Commonwealth tanks but this can be corrected easily.

Hope this helps you make a decision.

Rob
oldbean
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Posted: Thursday, April 30, 2009 - 09:03 AM UTC
Thanks for the info Rob. Heading out to pck it up tonight before I leave for home.

Jesse
jowady
Joined: June 12, 2006
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Posted: Thursday, April 30, 2009 - 01:16 PM UTC
I'm curious about the tracks, are they new 83 link tracks (the number needed, I believe for M4A4s) or are the standard 79 link, which would be too short?

John
rfeehan
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Posted: Thursday, April 30, 2009 - 01:22 PM UTC
They are the lengthened ones. I placed them next to the tracks from my M4 and while I didn't count the number of links they are longer so it appears Dragon lengthened them.
jowady
Joined: June 12, 2006
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Posted: Thursday, April 30, 2009 - 02:09 PM UTC

Quoted Text

They are the lengthened ones. I placed them next to the tracks from my M4 and while I didn't count the number of links they are longer so it appears Dragon lengthened them.


Well that settles it, I have another Sherman to buy.

John
oldbean
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Virginia, United States
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Posted: Saturday, May 02, 2009 - 06:38 AM UTC
I took a chance and bought it. Good kit! Lots of extras parts, good detail and the worlds smallest instruction sheet (But then again, TRUE modelers don't need the instruction sheet ) Over all, very happy with the kit and if you see one on the shelf, grab it. Great deal for $29.95.

Jesse
GeraldOwens
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Posted: Saturday, May 02, 2009 - 07:19 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Has anyone gotten the Orange Box M4A4 Sherman from Cyber Hobby yet? Just wondering if the kit is any good (i.e. major problems)?

Jesse

Looks good. As mentioned, the turret and suspension parts are the new moldings from the other recent Dragon Shermans. Only serious niggle would be the weld beads on the upper hull, which are still depicted as recessed instead of raised, as on the newer Sherman kits. Can be corrected without a lot of fuss using putty or styrene rod or sprue.
rfeehan
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Posted: Monday, May 04, 2009 - 04:16 AM UTC
Oops sorry meant to mention the tiny instruction sheet. Personally I think I am going to scan mine and enlarge it. Then again its a Dragon Sherman so if you have built a couple you can probably build it without instructions too.

ericadeane
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Posted: Monday, May 04, 2009 - 06:01 AM UTC
Rob: while T62s were more common on the M4A4s, T48s weren't that rare one the M4A4s as to make a Shermanaholic say "wow!"'

That being said, the updated parts sounds cool!

UM83CANES
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Posted: Monday, May 04, 2009 - 07:22 AM UTC
Can anyone tell me if this kit includes markings for the1st Chinese Provisional Tank Group? I believe DML provided Chinese markings for their M4A4 in 1/72 scale and I’m curious if this kit in 1/35 has them as well.

Thanks,
Noah
rfeehan
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Posted: Monday, May 04, 2009 - 08:04 AM UTC
Roy I agree but all my pet projects (Canadian Shermans) didn't have T48s so I will replace the tracks on mine and save the T48s for other Shermans.

As to the decals. No there are only markings for 1 tank with the kit and I believe they were for a M4A4 in Burma (don't quote me on that I can't remember and am at work so I can't check right now).

GeraldOwens
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Posted: Monday, May 04, 2009 - 07:22 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Can anyone tell me if this kit includes markings for the1st Chinese Provisional Tank Group? I believe DML provided Chinese markings for their M4A4 in 1/72 scale and I’m curious if this kit in 1/35 has them as well.

Thanks,
Noah

It includes markings for the provisional tank group in Burma, but depicts the initial markings seen when they still had US crews. The more fanciful tiger markings for the mantlet were apparently added after they were turned over to the Nationalist Chinese crews.
UM83CANES
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Posted: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 - 02:06 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Can anyone tell me if this kit includes markings for the1st Chinese Provisional Tank Group? I believe DML provided Chinese markings for their M4A4 in 1/72 scale and I’m curious if this kit in 1/35 has them as well.

Thanks,
Noah

It includes markings for the provisional tank group in Burma, but depicts the initial markings seen when they still had US crews. The more fanciful tiger markings for the mantlet were apparently added after they were turned over to the Nationalist Chinese crews.


Thanks for the info Gerald
SteveG
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Joined: July 09, 2004
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Posted: Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 06:57 PM UTC
Panda plastics makes a very nice set of link-to-link Commonwealth pattern tracks. Here's the link

http://shermantracks.com/catalog/t48.html

I used a set on my Italeri M4A1 - very nice.
ALBOWIE
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New South Wales, Australia
Joined: February 28, 2006
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Posted: Friday, July 17, 2009 - 12:05 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Panda plastics makes a very nice set of link-to-link Commonwealth pattern tracks. Here's the link

http://shermantracks.com/catalog/t48.html

I used a set on my Italeri M4A1 - very nice.


The set of tracks you link are just the standard T48 as included in the kit. They aren't commonwealth pattern as such. The only C'wealth pattern are WE-210 "Double I" which were made to a UK design (WE 210 was the drawing number).
http://shermantracks.com/catalog/we210.html
The T62 aka UK Steel Chevron were a Chrysler design and almost universally seen on M4A4's (T54 and 48 were occasionally seen also).
http://shermantracks.com/catalog/t62.html
As the C'wealth were the largest user of M4A4 they got tagged as the UK Steel Chevron by modellers somewhere back in the mists of time when we only had the italeri M4A1 76, Nichimo M4A1ish, revell 1/40th Sherman (God knows what it was- sort of a composite M4A3 from memory) and the really old Tamiya M4A3E8 in 32ndish scale.
Cheers
Al
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