The guy said he used an Italeri M4A3. Can you still get one? Squadron has the M4A1. Not the A3 though

~Chip

:-)

hey chip,
tamiya's frontline breakthrough is an M4a3.
comes with some nice figures too.
cheers
joe

The only M4A3 through Italeri is their US Marines M4 Sherman kit # 6389. It is really an M4A3 if you keep off the side armor and wading gear.

I built this kit. I bought it on squadron for 11.99, as good detail as tamiya,maybe even more,for 20.00 less,and it came with snorkels! Just imagine how good a thing like that can be in your bitz box! The only thing,is that you have to have other decals if you wish to build it snorkel-less.

EDIT: GAWD THAT THINGS GOTTA BE HARD TO GET IN TO!!!

Italeri actually issued variations of this kit three times. The first time was around 1988. They mis-labled the box as the M4A2 "Jumbo" and it was kit number 253. It did not last very long on the shelves, probably due to the mis-labeling. It was basically their M4A1 76mm kit with a welded A3 upper hull instead of the A1's cast hull. The A3 hull was also included in their M36B1 Jackson kit (#250). I bought the "Jumbo" and Jackson while stationed in Germany around 1988-89. I kept the Jackson and gave Nate (aka Porkchop) the Jumbo way back when (Nate, have we known each other that long?!).

The second appearance of this kit was as the M4A3 Sherman Calliope in 1995. It added a new 75mm turret and rocket launcher system. It was kit number 288. I bought one when I was at school at Ft. Leavenworth in 1996. The launcher was poor, but the kit became the better M4A3 VVSS on the market (superior to the older Tamiya kit).

The latest appearance is the one Ken mentions. The newer USMC M4 Sherman is the 1988 A3 hull and the 1995 75mm turret with some new side armor, wading trunks and A2 engine deck. I bought one earlier this year. So if you count this kit, yes, technically you can still get an Italeri M4A3.

DML made three variants of the M4A3: late WW2 M4A3 76mm HVSS; Korean War M4A3E8; and the USMC M4A3 HVSS POA-CWS-H5.

Tamiya makes the variants of the M4A3 as well: M4A3 75mm (late); newer M4A3 75mm; and an M4A3 105mm. Also an ancient M4A3E8 as well.

Heck! I bought the kit just for the wading kit if nothing else. Think about it, can you buy a wading kit for less, or build it for less?...........sorry, but I can't.
Plus, you get the Sherm'!!!!!

Tread.

Heyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!! Rob chimed in!!!!

Great to hear from you Rob!

Tread.

BTW, got any of those 'old' Calliope' kits hanging around??

Thanks for the added input there Rob. I knew Italeri had done some other Sherman kit versions, but without knowing for sure, I could not post more for fear of getting it wrong.
That's what happened to us few that dropped out of the model scene years ago, we lost so much valuable info.

If your looking for a M4A3 late or wet version then currently Italeri is your only choice. The Tamiya kit of the M4A3 is an early or dry version. Your other option is to get the old out of production Tamiya kit on E-bay.
Eric

Quote: "The Tamiya kit of the M4A3 is an early or dry version. Your other option is to get the old out of production Tamiya kit on E-bay. "

Not quite. The Tamiya M4 (A-nothing) is an early (actually mid-production) dry-stowage tank. Both the old-issue Tamiya M4A3 and the upgraded (extra figures, a few details and accessories) M4A3 "Armored Breakout" kits are both wet-stowage 75mm tanks.The "Assault Support" version is the same basic M4A3 kit with new figures and accessories added, plus a 105mm howitzer turret.

Dragon/DML also made a couple M4A3 76mm (Wet) with HVSS. One was the "Easy 8' and the other was marketed with Korean War markings. The only differences were the tracks and markings.

Is this the one I want?
~Chip :-)

I mentioned these in my above post. There are other differences between the "Rice's Red Devils" M4A3E8 and the M4A3(76)W HVSS like side skirts and hull and turret applique armor.



Yes, it is.

Thanks guys!

-Chip :-)