Tamiya''s newest Sherman, the M4A3E8 with all new tooling gets built up and painted in this review.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

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.

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.

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

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

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 !!

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.

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.

I recall seeing this at some online retailers at about USD35!

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.

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

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

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

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.

That will be something for the AM guys to sell us!

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.

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!

The direction the $CDN is going, it'll probably cost $60+ locally.