Academy offers a variation of the M4A3 with the T34 rocket launcher system. Here is a look at the kit.

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Thanks!

Thank you for the great review!

i like those duck bill tracks. I did the Italeri version.

Darren, somehow I missed this. Thank you for getting it up. James and David, thanks for the comments.

Interesting mix of existing Academy sprues and Italeri parts. The weld "trenches" on the upper hull are a shame, and they really ought to revisit the tooling to sort them out. I still don't understand why Academy has been reworking their kits lately to add big holes in the hull floor that weren't in the original kits - is it some kind of artefact of motorised toys? It really puts me off...

Folks,
Looking for an M4A3 back in early October, I stumbled on this kit at my LHS. Taking a chance that it had some new moldings, I bought it at a discount. I was pleasantly surprised at what was in the box. It has a combination of moldings from other Academy Sherman's as well as some new parts. The only Italeri parts are the M34 rocket launchers. Ive built the suspension, hull and turret/w gun mount so far. It goes together quite easily, and the suspension is nicely detailed with the early and late return roller options. There are also early and late split and vision block commander's options. the loaders hatch has separate springs. Drawbacks are the small gap between the front fenders and hull underside, but those are easy to fill with strip styrene. There is also a large gap between the glacis armor and the bolt strip on the transmission cover. I saw another review where the builder filled it with putty, but I chose to use Evergreen strip. So far, that's the only real difficulty I've encountered. The beauty of this kit is the number of extra details included, such as separate fuel caps, choice of etch or styrene brush guards for the lights and periscopes, extra casting marks and bolt heads, and other details including a slide molded .50 cal. with open receiver. for the value, its a great kit, and a lot cheaper than Dragon's M4A3 (I paid $44 US for mine). There are some warts, such 's as the weld beads, but overall it's a good value, and considering the dearth of available quality M4A3's, it's a timely release.
VR, Russ

"considering the dearth of available quality M4A3's"

@ Russ Bucy: Have you seen the Tasca/Asuka M4A3 kits? Or the new M4A3 HVSS by Tamiya? The Academy versions pale in comparison

Currently the Tasca Sherman kits have been OOP ever since Asuka bought the company and the latter has yet to rerealese the parts for that variant under their branding, whilst I think he was referring to the VVSS suspension end tank, which the upcoming Tamiya kit would be inappropriate for, so I have to agree there are a lack of good kits of this particular model of the Sherman as of now.

ASUKA/TASCA kits can be found on ebay and other sites for roughly the same $60.00 range that they've always been priced, even when they were sold before the ASUKA take-over. As a matter of fact, ASUKA is slowly re-releasing some of their kits, along with a new US M4, Normandy, 1944 version, which is being marketed by such hobby-houses as Lucky Models, etc. EDUARD is marketing a very nice ASUKA/TASCA M4A1 as a "Profi-Pack"-type of kit. A bit pricey, but you should take into consideration that EDUARD is including extra parts in this kit...

I searched online at the time I wrote this review. This was the only M4A3 75mm wet stowage kit available that could be had for under $40 US. I think that is what Russ was stating. I just picked up the new Asuka M4. Molding is superior, but it doesn't include casting numbers on some parts, and no spare bolt heads. I can go to this Academy kit to source those from the extra accessory sprue.

"Have you seen the Tasca/Asuka M4A3 kits? Or the new M4A3 HVSS by Tamiya? The Academy versions pale in comparison"

-yes, I have seen them, and agree they are very nice. Unfortunately, as Russamotto was saying, They are OOP and difficult to find. There isn't enough wrong with this new kit that can't be fixed to represent a good M4A3 (W) 75mm with VVSS suspension, and currently it's the only kit under $50 in production available.
VR, Russ

Russ,
Nice review, if I'm not to late I'm hoping that you go with the T-34 up top just for variety! Besides, you know how this works, if you do then as soon as the paint is dry Asuka will announce that they have one coming out next week with an introductory price of $40.00!!
Cheers
Rick

Just to clear up a misunderstanding, Tasca changed only its name to Asuka back in 2013, perhaps management switched hands but there wasn't a company named Asuka ready to purchase the rights to the Tasca brand name.

Case in point, the brand names Tasca(タスカ) and Asuka(アスカ) are only off by one character.

In box you will find parts from 4 different Academy Sherman's + Italeri rocket launcher and one small PE set. Excellent cheap model. Nice work from Academy!!