Hello everyone.

I'm trying to find a definitive answer on how many track links were there per side on a standard M4 Sherman and 'long' M4A4 (Firefly or Sherman V)?

The reason is that I have an Asuka Sherman Firefly and I want to get a set of Bronco workable tracks but am not sure if there are enough links provided in one set for the longer Firefly or if there are only enough for the standard M4 Sherman?

I've researched a bit and it seems the answer is anywhere from 83 to 88 links per side for a Firefly while for the standard length M4 it seems to be 78 to 82ish?


Thanks!

According to the Son of Sherman Vol 1 book:

HVSS Suspension
Standard hull (T6, M4 M4A1, M4A3, M4A3E2, M10 M36, M7 and M2)- 79 per side
Long hull (M4A4 and M4A6) - 83 per side

Gary

Thank you!

Be careful.

It is entirely possible that the ACTUAL number of links on the prototype vehicle and the number of links required in a specific After Market set MAY not be the same. The A/M links would have to be PRECISELY to scale and the slightest variance +/- could result in the count being different.

I built some tracks using the actual count from the TM on several Cold War US SP Artillery vehicles and the brand of A/M I was using was evidently JUST slightly oversized and the completed track was about 5-6 links too long.

Your method is a good one to make sure you're PROBABLY OK with the number needed, but if you have a "rubber band" track that came with the kit and it provides the right length to properly fit the vehicle, use that as a LENGTH (and not necessarily a "count") guide in building your track.

Hi Tom. Thank you for that very good advice. I appreciate the benefit of your experience.

The AM set that I have ordered has 192 links in total, which works out to 96 links available per side. So I'm hoping that even if the number of links don't tally up with how many are on the kit's rubber band tracks, at least there should be enough extra links to still have enough?

Thank you once again for taking the time to post that advice!

I will second what Tom says above. With models, it is usually "however many it takes", as opposed to the same number as the actual vehicle. Rarely will the number be even close to what the actual vehicle took/takes.

The actual number of links also being variable due to wear on the various components. Link counts can vary by a couple each side for most tanks depending on the state of the parts.

Then there is the effect of the track tensioning device (whatever it is for each vehicle) which is meant to account for the wear, to a degree, and then you take out a link and readjust.

"Use as many as required" is the best advice, noting that it's more important, for Shermans, to not have much sag at all in the top run of track. If you use the right number and the track sags more than about a scale inch between return rollers (.029" in 1/35), then take out a link or adjust the idler to reduce that slack.

Paul

Hi Paul,

Thank you very much for your advice...I'm really learning a lot here! It's good, in a way, that there is no set number of links in real life too. Makes any discrepancies with a model much less inaccurate. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

An "accurate" track goes all the way around with the correct amount of track sag/slack.
If the "correct" number of links doesn't reach all the way around it is definitely "inaccurate", the same goes for too much sag/slack
/ Robin

Getting back to the original question, the Bronco sets should have more than enough for even the M4A4 long hull, with some left over.

Thanks Tom! That's good news! And thank you to everybody who has added their advice and knowledge!