Need some help about Sherman Kangaroo



Hi , I need some help about M4A3 , because I got this kit second hand. I found that major part of turret is missing. My lacking of recast skill made me planed to modify it in Kangaroo type.

Anybody have a suggestion , Is it possible to made M4A3 in Kangaroo type and if it possible what I need to added or removed from this kit.

Thank you :-)

I could be wrong, but the picture shown is the RAM Kangaroo not the Sherman. I don't beleive the Sherman had the hull cupola turret on the front left side.

But yes, they did use Sherman Kangaroos, you would have scratch build or find a Sherman Kangaroo interior. and redo the turret ring.

Well, I'm actually afraid you're out of luck looking to use a late M4A3 as a Kangaroo.

To start with the Commonwealth recieved very few M4A3s and these were not used in combat.

Next, unless you have specific information on post-war usage, the Sherman Kangaroo was based around earlier versions of those Sherman's recieved by the Brits whch had their turrets removed and were used in Italy in 1945. The sort of variants a Sherman Kangaroo could have been based on are things like the M4, M4A1, M4A2 and M4A4 (Shermans I, II, III and V, respectively). All of these would have been earlier 57 degree hull versions and not the 45 degree version in your photo.

It appears that the Sherman Kangaroos in Italy were built on Sherman III (M4A2) hulls.

Post War Canada created new Kangaroos from surplus M4A2 76w hulls that had HVSS suspensions.

So, I'm afraid your M4A3 hull can't be used for an historically accurate Sherman Kangaroo.

If you wanted to create a "what if" to represent what an American Kangaroo _might_ have lookied like, then the modifications to the kit are pretty much up to you. The standard modifiation to make a Kangaroo was to pull out all of the interior details that were not required to drive the tank (i.e. turret, turret motors & electrical stuff, ammo bins, spares & tools etc.) and then move the radio into the right side sponson next to the MG gunner. Whether the Americans would have done exactly that is open to your interpretation.

In the case of the hull you have, that would mean adding the transmission and drive train, the driver's and bow gunners stations (seats, controls, MG, ammo boxes) and the engine compartment firewall and then detailing the empty space to suit yourself. In reality they were left quite bare & spartan.

Good luck.

Paul

What part of the turret did you need - someone may have a spare part floating around.

Anyway, the pic is definitely a Ram Kangaroo rather than a Sherman.

Thank you for very usefull information. Finally ,I plan to build this kit in "what-if" issue.

Best regards,
kit556

If you ever do want to build a Ram Kangaroo, Commander Models makes a nice resin conversion kit, but you'll need a Lee or Grant lower hull to build it. https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/1236579_10202099067295882_186081706_n.jpg?oh=fc45e72f06408cfbfc7fb436687339f5&oe=543AFE24
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/1231223_10202141206069325_2068949620_n.jpg?oh=ea0ef09202689945f2e692d718c53657&oe=5452442D&__gda__=1413594359_d947e4341cc1393a95b84be9c6a04f51

Zoomdawg,

Welcome to Armorama. Good to see another Canuck!

One thing to note when posting is when the post you are replying to was created, which is shown in the upper right corner of each post. Given that the last post prior to yours was in June of 2012, this is generally considered to be a dead thread. It's OK to resurrect these threads if you have something really relevant to add, but normally we let sleeping dogs lie and start a new thread to discuss the new information.

With regards to the Commander Models Ram, it's a Mk I and all Kangaroos were made from mid and later batch Mk IIs. the differences, from a Kangaroo perspective are not terribly significant, other than the engine air cleaner differences, but there are a number of detail changes that make using the Formations OP or Badger hull a much better place to start than the Commanders kit.

It should also be noted that for anyone looking to make a Ram I from the Commanders kit, that the hull interior and turret basket details are correct for a Mk II and not for a Mk I. The mantlet and breech appear to be correct for the Mk I.

Paul