Thanks

It needs a lot of TLC to be presentable. The road wheels are the hollow type, rare but not unknown on 1944 M4A1's. The idler is also hollow spoked, and that was pretty much unknown, having been replaced by the stamped spoke style idler wheel. The tracks are vinyl, and the black vinyl Italeri used in the 1970's was very stiff indeed, tending to float above the return rollers and skids on the top run. The stiff tracks also lifted the front and rear road wheels off the ground, unless you solidly glued the joints in the moveable suspension (Italeri may have changed the formula of the vinyl since then). Track skids are a bit thick, and lack any bolt detail.

The hull and turret castings are utterly smooth, so a subtle cast texture needs to be added. The gun barrel has a step in it which was not present on the real thing, so it must be sanded smooth or replaced. Periscopes are molded shut, which means the tank is blind, unless you replace at least some of them. Windows in the commander's cupola are solid green styrene, as are the headlights. The periscope guards are chunky, best replaced with aftermarket items. Likewise, the periscope and siren guards are thick styrene.

I guess Sean is talking about this one, Gerald



H.P.

It has a lot of faults.
https://vodnik.net/pages/m1-comparison/m1comp1.htm
Look for the new generation kits from Dragon, Meng, or Rye Field model.

What time period are you looking to build?