Hi all I have in my stash the Italeri M4 Sherman kit No. 6389 the USMC version with trunks I gather that there are some faults as its a re hash of all their other shermans . Basically I would like to know the most important things to correct., so it looks right.
Many thanks
Charlie

Hey Charles,
Not much but here's a start:

HyperScale Italeri M4A2 review

Internet Modeler Italeri M4A2 review

Missing-Lynx Italeri M4A2 review

Will look around for more reviews.
Cheers

jjumbo

It's an M4A3 with an optional M4A2 engine deck, but without the M4A2 lower tail plate or exhausts. Their absence would be disguised by the installation of the wading gear, presumably. In fact, all but one of the Marine tank battalions switched over to the M4A3 for the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns, so you can just leave the engine deck as is. A wading trunk base part for either engine deck type is included, so you can build the wading gear with either deck. Both the M4A2 and A3 engine deck grills have too few bars shown, so Italeri could mold them with gaps in between, but there is no real fix for that, unless you install the wading trunk and conceal it.
For many years, Italeri's kit was the only one with the correctly sized loader's hatch, until Dragon released their M4A3 Sherman howitzer tank with the HVSS suspension last year. Italeri's turret shell will require a patch of thickened armor added on the right front where the casting was revised. The opening for the gun mount is slightly too wide, and the bolted flange on the right side of the gun rotor insert should be removed, as this was deleted on late war production tanks. Remove the flange and shim the opening with strip styrene to solve the problem.
The hull will need to have the weld beads built up (they shouldn't be recessed). Use putty or stretched sprue. At least some of the periscopes should be removed and replaced with open ones, as the kit is molded with all periscopes closed and removed, so the tank is blind. Verlinden sells a little resin set called Sherman Update Set, and it has a nice selection of periscopes, antenna mounts, and things. An aftermarket photoetch set will greatly improve the appearance of the headlight and periscope guards.
Steve Zaloga has written a terrific book, "Modelling the US Army M4 (75mm) Sherman Medium Tank", published by Osprey, and it walks you through the corrections to the older kits with plenty of photos. Very good value for money, and it's available discounted through Amazon. There is also a companion volume on modeling the 76 mm variants, so be sure to order the right one.

Hi guys many thanks Iam afraid Iam not a Sherman expert, There seems to be a lot of variation.
Best wishes
Charlie