I know this is an old kit but I got it for cheap on ebay can I build a nice tank out of the box or do I have a lot of work ahead of me which I do not mind

wow very cool this is my first Sherman

Frank its a nice model ..not its not as accurate as what Tasca has to offer but if you want a nice simple build this will work fine ..i have a few of these myself and they go together sweet ,,but ..yes there is one of those .. replace the tracks ..they suck ,,AFV Clubs will fit but you need to widen the drive sprocket by .5 mm for them to fit perfectly or Fruilmodel ones ..cost alot more but as always ..worth it .
OH one of the good things about the AFV Club ones ..quite a few choices of track type too .

Phill

Frank,the Italeri M4A1 can be built into a nice model,its an option that Tasca/Asuka DON'T offer at the moment,and despite its age it is still fairly accurate.There are a couple of issues to look out for and the most obvious of these can be seen in ProBuilt's build.....
The first and last road wheels have been pulled up by the tension of the tracks (especially if rubberband type are used) Shermans used 'live' track so no sag but the Italeri bogies need the wheel arms fixed securely in place to avoid the floating appearance.
Secondly there is a pronounced 'step' in the kit supplied barrel which shouldn't be there.Again this can be seen in ProBuilts model,at the rear of the barrel towards the mantlet.I think this is because the Italeri kit was based on a museum example with a replacement barrel,the 'mistake' was carried over
But this old kit with a bit of love and care can be built up into a fine looking replica,throw a few aftermarket bits (track,barrel,tools) at it and you're good to go) I have an old Military Modelling article by the master Steve Zaloga where he did an italeri M4A1 (76)W in an Operation Cobra setting,try their website or google....
Good Luck!!

Good points Steve! I have built the kit and these are all true. You might go as far as just getting a replacement barrel too.

Those tracks are REALLY stiff but look perfect for the tank so a tough choice there.


I'm sure yours will turn out just fine Frank.





Jeff

now I'm nearer my references the Zaloga Military Modelling article is from 2002 vol32 no.7,he replaces the VVSS suspension,tracks and the turret,adds casting texture and scratches the missing exhaust deflector.
If you haven't got his Modeling US Armor of World War 2 I would seriously consider getting it,along with Ampersands Son of Sherman vol 1 for some serious geeky thrills!!

I have this kit as a shelf queen (95% done!). Indeed it can be built as a nice model. Here is what I did to it:

- Replaced the gun barrel with a turned aluminum item.
- Replaced all the road wheels (and I think the idler too!) with AM resin wheels.
- Replaced all the tools with AM items (from Chesapeake IIRC).
- Textured all of the cast surfaces with MEK and a stiff brush.

You can really go whole hog on this kit and replace the transmission cover, upper hull and turret too if you wanted (and the hatches as well!), but by and large it isn't strictly neccessary. I replaced the road wheels because the open spoked versions were not common on this specific model, replaced with pressed spoked versions instead.

The only things I still need to to with this kit is dullcote, weather, and get the tracks sorted. Actually that is on the short-list, as soon as funds become available to do so.

Damon.

Great Italeri M4A1 tweaks article

http://www.usarmymodels.com/MANUFACTURERS/Italeri/italeri225.html

One of my favorite kits. I didn't even have to replace the barrel - just fixed it.

https://gallery.kitmaker.net/showphoto.php/photo/121749/ppuser/6373

love this kit, for such an oldie that is. Everything I was going to mention, bogies, barrel, modelling the us army article etc. has been mentioned already. Um, remember to thin down the headlight guards with a file? you can avoid the frustration of photo etch and still get a good looking guard that way. Let us know how it goes!
Eric.

I also love this kit when finished it looks really good and the only trouble I had was the tracks.

Bob