Hey guys, I'm kitbashing two tamiya kits and an Italeri kit to make an early crocodile sherman at Normandy. What markings did the tanks carry? Any help is much apreciated, and pics are even better!

ALLIGATOR?? or crocodile, never heard of sherman alligator, if its crocodile then...

www.wwiivehicles.com/html/usa/m4_sherman.html

not much i could find out there on sherman crocs. its all those bleedin' chuchill crocs. haha i'm sure you could as ShermiesRule he knows about shermans.

i'm still looking for some info, i'm not gonna give up

I think you meant Sherman Crocodiles. As far as I know they didnt arrive in Mainland Europe until November of 1944 and they were deployed with the US 9th Army. So an "early" Croc is not really possible. Only four (4) were deployed operationaly as the E4-5 Flame thrower unit had been widely issued instead of the trailer towing Sherman Crocs. All four tanks were part of the HQ coy 739th tank battalion. Markings appear to be very minimal. A single cirlce star combo on the turret roof . Shipping stencils on the front and sides and that seems to be it from what I can see. Using the Tamiya Early M4 is your best bet in a conversion with the trailer unit from the Churchill Croc kit. I hope this helps
Cheers,
Bryan

Maybe that wasn't the right name, I was thinking of the one with the wading intakes in back, the big ones included in the Itarleri Marine M-4?

so are you talking about the alligator or crocidile, your last post suddenly got me confused

The crocodile was a flamethrower set up. The alligator was not even a Sherman. It was an LVT(a)1 with the M3 Stuart turret.

Niether, I'm talking about the version with wading gear on the back.

OK so now we're getting somewhere. You just want to know about a Sherman with wading gear. It would be nice to know what kits and combos you're using because certain types were used at different time and hence different markings.

Uh, yeah, I think

Correct me if I missed something, but I think this critter in neither an alligator or a crocodile. OK.

Now, I can see the wading stacks coming off an Italeri "Marine Sheman" kit, but parts of what TWO Tamiya kits are being used for a D-Day tank? Seems to me you could settle for improving the Tamiya M4 and perhaps adding some wading stacks. I can't think of any other combos that would work...

I am using the marine sherman wading gear, Tamiya grant/Lee bogies and wheels, and the Tamiy m-4 early.

OK, I fixed the topic title to make it less confusing.

I believe the road wheels on the Grant/Lee kit are considered inaccurate. They represent 6-spoked road wheels which apparently did not exist. While using the M3 bogies is OK, I'd consider using the road wheels from the Tamiya M4 early or USMC M4 for your Normandy Sherman.

Thanks rob, I'll be sure to use the normal kits road wheels.

If it is US Army, then olive drab will do.

Well I know that much :-) , I was actually wondering about markings, like where to put the star(s), and what special markings there would be.

Well you can probably put a star on the turret and another on the fatest part of the sides. There would probably we some stuff on the side , I've seen it both stenciled and hand written, with data about weight, dimensions and other pertinent info for loading in a ship hold. Also you will probably see a ship assignment like LST101.

As for the kitbashing, you do realize that the wading stacks from the Marine Sherman do not fit the M4 Early. The adaptors for the intake fit either an M4A3 (not yet in use during DDay) or an M4A2 (used by US forces in the Pacific or British forces on DDay) but do not fit the M4 or M4A1. That also leads to the exhuast stack which will not fit the M4 or M4A1. If you are up to it you simply need some plastic strips to box off the M4/M4A1 intake vent and fit the stack on the scratch built box. The exhaast stack you will need to use some plastic sheets to extend it to snuggle it up and seal off the rear.

Now we're getting somewhere!

There was nothing too fancy about D-Day tank markings. Lots of them did, however, have shipping stencils and/or handwritten cargo markings in chalk. Archer makes D-Day shipping markings for Shermans: http://www.archertransfers.com/AR35006W.html

Missing Links has some interesting D-Day Shermans with colorful markings in the gallery.

Here's a recent one: http://www.missing-lynx.com/gallery/usa/ddaysherman_cheehongahn.html

And another by Steve Zaloga: http://www.missing-lynx.com/gallery/usa/m4a1_zaloga.htm

Those might help give you a few ideas. You might also want to try a Sicily invasion Sherman (based on your choices of M3 bogies, it's ideal), Check out Squadron's Sherman in Action for some nice pics and color plates.

I look forward to seeing your model. Good luck!