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REVIEW
Sherman M4A3E8
CMOT
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ARMORAMA
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England - South West, United Kingdom
Joined: May 14, 2006
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Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 12:53 AM UTC
Tamiya''s newest Sherman, the M4A3E8 with all new tooling gets built up and painted in this review.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
russamotto
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Utah, United States
Joined: December 14, 2007
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Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 02:22 AM UTC
Thanks for the build-up, Rick. Mine just arrived and I really like how it is set up. All the added detail on the hull is really very impressive.
exer
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Dublin, Ireland
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Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 02:50 AM UTC
Good review Rick. I like the text added to the pics and the comparison shot with the old upper hull. First build review of this I've seen too.
Grenadar
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Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 10:39 AM UTC
Good news and bad news - with Tamiya you can get the tracks off and reinstall them, because right now they are on backwards if they still match the pictures. Thanks for the incredible review, anyway, because it's going to be very helpful when I build mine! :-)
Randy
clovis899
#155
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Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 12:09 PM UTC

Good catch Randy! Yes, it was an easy fix, the hull top lifts off easily and the flexible tracks are at the very least, forgiving.

Cheers,
Rick
multibank17pdr
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France
Joined: February 06, 2010
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Armorama: 119 posts
Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 04:16 PM UTC
Many Thanks Rick for this great build-up... Bravo also for the very informing pictures (I like your before/after approach for each sub assemblies).
I am still waiting for this kit to arrive but you've paved the way ! And confirmed my hopes about the easy way this easy8 will come I am a Tasca/Asuka lover since their first Firefly Vc but most of the time I can't find time but for a Tamiya week end project !!
We can also imagine that Tamiya may update their ageing M4A3 75 mm and 105 mm kits quickly, because they still deserve to be enlightened by a lot of those M4A3E8 's parts. And it will save us money avoiding kits
-mix&matches ). Once again, thanks for sharing !!
JPTRR
Staff MemberManaging Editor
RAILROAD MODELING
#051
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Tennessee, United States
Joined: December 21, 2002
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Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 07:58 PM UTC
The old M4A3E8 - my first tank model! I think that for nostalgia and to have a good model of it, I will buy this model. Your HIGHs far outweigh the LOWs.
Biggles2
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Quebec, Canada
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Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 08:20 PM UTC
I don't expect any turret interior parts, but is there at least a gun breach, and detailed mount? Or just a big empty space to party around in? I also notice the MRSP is $53 USD - this seems to be incredibly low, as most kits are now in the $70 plus range.
ericadeane
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Michigan, United States
Joined: October 28, 2002
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Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 08:43 PM UTC
I recall seeing this at some online retailers at about USD35!
rfbaer
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Texas, United States
Joined: June 12, 2007
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Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 09:05 PM UTC
Based on what I saw when I just cracked the box on the one I currently have, I'll be buying more, and probably selling the Asuka/Tamiya kit I also have.
I picked mine up from LuckyHobby for $38 shipped, very reasonable.
clovis899
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California, United States
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Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 10:13 PM UTC
Hello all,
Yes, the MSRP is correct from the Tamiya USA website. It may well be more in Canada, but like Roy and Russell noted online sellers have much better prices. I like the Lucky Model price (a lot!) but Sprue Brothers (the only online shop I checked) had it at 43 USD, so deals are out there.
To answer the question, no there is no hint of a breech at all. The other thing I would have liked would have been a stand for a half figure in the loaders hatch like they have done on older kits. I know it is easy to add but nonetheless I like the ease of having it provided.

Cheers,
Rick
Shermania
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California, United States
Joined: January 30, 2013
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Posted: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - 10:15 PM UTC
Rick, I noticed your tracks are nice and snug and was wondering if you removed a link or two or if the adjustment on the idler was sufficient to get the right fit? I'm about 40% done with mine and will be getting into the tracks soon so it'd be nice to know, TIA
clovis899
#155
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California, United States
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Posted: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 - 02:24 AM UTC
Pedro,
I didn't need to do anything to the track, I didn't mess with the idler, left it just like the instructions laid out. Tamiya has it set at the perfect length and tension right out of the box. Enjoy the rest of your build, it's a good one!
Cheers,
Rick
rfbaer
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Texas, United States
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Posted: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 - 03:09 AM UTC
That's good to know about the idler.
And I've got a couple of the old Italeri Shermans in the pile that can cough up the breech-end of the guns easily enough.
Biggles2
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Quebec, Canada
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Posted: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 - 05:04 AM UTC
That will be something for the AM guys to sell us!
Shermania
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California, United States
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Posted: Wednesday, December 30, 2015 - 01:11 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Pedro,
I didn't need to do anything to the track, I didn't mess with the idler, left it just like the instructions laid out. Tamiya has it set at the perfect length and tension right out of the box. Enjoy the rest of your build, it's a good one!
Cheers,
Rick



Great to know! Thanks a bunch Rick! I'm so impressed with the kit tracks that I will be using them on my build. I threw some add on armor on mine to resemble the 3rd Army's tanks. So that is taking some time to research, scratch, modify to tamiya's kit, and detail properly with welds and such. Otherwise I'd probably be done building by now, the kit goes that well together it's really a snap to build.
qcarr1
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Vermont, United States
Joined: March 16, 2015
KitMaker: 67 posts
Armorama: 67 posts
Posted: Thursday, December 31, 2015 - 01:10 AM UTC

Quoted Text

I don't expect any turret interior parts, but is there at least a gun breach, and detailed mount? Or just a big empty space to party around in? I also notice the MRSP is $53 USD - this seems to be incredibly low, as most kits are now in the $70 plus range.



Hi Biggles,

I paid $35.79 (plus shipping) for mine at Scalehobbyist.com. Definitely hard to believe the price is so low for such a nice kit, but it's true! Happy New Year!
Biggles2
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Quebec, Canada
Joined: January 01, 2004
KitMaker: 7,600 posts
Armorama: 6,110 posts
Posted: Thursday, December 31, 2015 - 04:49 AM UTC
The direction the $CDN is going, it'll probably cost $60+ locally.
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