Got this kit yesterday. It looks pretty good, much more clearly defined than my old Bandai M4A3(76)W or my even older Aurora M4A3E8.

Once I finish up the 1/48 scale Tiger I, I will give this kit a shot.

My LHS started getting in a bunch of 1/48 stuff but surprisingly there are never any Shermans. Sees that Tigers don't sell so well in the smaller scale while the OD always sells out. Wonder why?

I'm not sure. I've seen onesie twosie of all the kits. The local hobby shop gives 20% off so when I saw the kit listed at $21, I figured I should grab it. The items I see a lot of are the accessory sets. Too bad I am not a diorama person.

Hi there i've seen these kits too , it's not my scale but
for what i saw when i was looking into the box seems great, also the decalset are great and sometimes different from the 1 on 35 models, ( should be otherwise). But for those who like to build models on scale 1:48 have lots of fun with these.Greetz Eric

$21(and discount) is a very good price indeed - the only ones i've seen over here are around the €25 mark, which puts them around $30 a pop. There again, the Tamiya Bradley is retailing at over sixty bucks...

With these prices i'm not dipping my toe in the water, however buying from HK from me becomes very attractive indeed - Sherman at $14.99 makes it worth my while...

On the same subject Rob, how are the Academy 1/48th armor kits? ...Jim

Steer clear of them, and the Zhengdefu (sp)/Kit Tech products. They're motorized "toys" with "one size fits all" chassis and poor rubber band tracks. Propaganda Kompany do make wheel and track sets for some but that only partialy solves their problems.

I like mine, the turret is a vast improvement on the old Bandai one, which goes badly wrong below the mantlet.

And they've sorted out the bogie arm problem which is such a nuisance on the 1/35th one. Judging by the picture, the M4A1 (not that)Early is another nice one. The M10 looks a little empty inside, but that may just be a prototype model (I hope)

I just picked up the Hetzer yesterday, it looks much better than my Bandai Hetzer.

Military Modeling magazine did an article on the new 1/48 Tamiya Sherman, and the only negative I can see from that is they still haven't filled in the sponsons which is a curious ommisson as they (Tamiya) have to know by now from the 1/35th kits that modelers hate this about their Sherman kits.

Only reason I haven't grabbed one of these is none of the LHSs around here have any and if i am ordering stuff I have tended to order things I need in 35th. One guy brought a couple to a meeting a couple of months back but I never did ask him where he got them.

Let us know what you think of the Sherman I am curious to hear what someone I know thinks of the kit.

Sure, I'll shoot you a message when I start cutting on it. I just picked up the Lionroar PE set with metal barrel. I like these 1/48 scale LR sets. They include headlight guards, barrel and some small bits and pieces. Nothing crazy like Aber and Eduard are prone to do.

I have built one of the batch I pre-ordered. The kit is very easy to put together, the toughest fit issue being the transmission housing to front plate joint. You may need to relieve the screw holes in the lower hull a bit to get the upper hull to position up tight against the tranny housing. This could be my error in adding the tranny to the lower hull without checking the fit to the upper hull at the same time.

The fix is easy, just file the forward side of the screw holes a bit at a time and try - it took me about five minutes to make the adjustment. I will add the transmission housing to the lower hull on my next one with the upper hull screwed temproarily in place to see if that will produce a spot on fit.

Other than that, the kit falls together.

You also may want to make a one-piece plate out of .030" styrene rectangle to fill the sponsons and bridge the lower hull. That will make it easier to fit and cure any tendency of the hull sides to warp inward. Remember to remove the exhaust duct area at the rear, cut back the front edge a bit at the tranny attachment point and drill a couple oversize clearance holles for the lower hull attachement posts. Big improvement in the finished appearance of the kit.

Konrad

Konrad, thanks for the insight. I received my LionRoar PE set. A very simple set that includes the barrel, headlight/taillight guards, mesh detail and .50 cal detail.

I'll probably build this kit and the Hetzer at the same time. Both look like they will fall together.

Managed to get the hull of my Sherman together without any problems at the front. Just needed a bit of care and attention.

I wonder why Tamiya left out the commander's base from the turret, but moulded the pin for it? There are bases for the driver and hull gunner, though the instructions tell you not to use them. Not that it stopped me. I also bought the jerrican set which includes some packs and other bits and pieces of stowage.

Some new tank crew figures would be nice, the old Bandai ones scale at about 5' 4" / 1.63m

Actually, 5' 4" is not an unrealistic height for a boy reaching maturity in the 1930's - nutrition was not all it could be in the depression. Tankers often were deliberately selected for their more modest stature, too. Actually, many 1/48 figures are statistically too tall for the period, at 6' and over (the Jaguar tank loader set has one giant who is at least 6' 3").

I have the new Tamiya German infantry and tankers set, and they look like they average 5' 9" with at least one figure who looks closer to 5' 3." These are more historically correct numbers.

Konrad

For those with problems over the lower hull and sponsons, Tiger Model Designs are bringing out replacements. I'll be posting them as a news story in the next few days...Jim

Thought you all might like to see a built up - I have added a shot to the Gallery - see

74440

Konrad

Maybe this time I will get the linking thing - apologies to all.

Konrad

One more try, and I will stop.

Konrad

Eureka!

The kit is the new 1/48 offering, with lots of scratchbuilt extras, inlcuding brushguards, sand shield flanges, grab handels, bogie bolt detail and more. Markings are per the manual, circa 1943.

Konrad

WOW! Usually one can see that it is 1/48 or 1/72 because of the soft details and many times oversized, simplified detail. However in this case I dare to say that I can't recognize that as being 1/48. Fantastic build

Nice Sherman Konrad. I got one at AMPS to build and give to my old man whos into Linoel trains. Be nice to build something OTB for a change.

Jim, but belated, but here's a few pic's of the Academy Challenger






Stay well clear...

Cheers
Henk

Thanks all for the compliments.

I should metion that my M4 features a detailed exhaust outlet, including mufflers and grenade screen, courtesy of 'upskirt' images of a real Sherman generously provided by Henk -

Many tanks for those :-) !

Konrad