Guys
Here's a couple of nearly done shermans for you to cast your eyes over and tell me what you think of them.












Pete

Those are fantastic Peter! Can you tell me which manufacturers did these shermans originate from?

The camo on the second tank looks like they were hand painted? Any plans to weather these babies?

also ive always wondered about this on the shermans but were the actual tools on the sherman in WWII painted exactly to fit the contours of the camo?

Is that top one the new Dragon M4A3(76) and the bottom one the Academy M4A2?

Both look great. Get some weathering and they're going to be winners!

Guys
The M4A3 76w is the Italeri M4a1 turret on their M4A3 hull and the other is indeed the Academy M4A2
As for the tools I'm unsure about them being painted to match the camo, I was planning on painting the handles in wood colour anyway.


Pete

I am contemplating getting the Academy's M4A2. How did you find that model during construction? Any complaints?

Shermies are always welcome, Stormbringer.

Two fixes that I might recommend:

1) replace the .50MG on the M4A3 76mm. Italeri's is not up to par with most of the other manufacturers (Academy, Tamiya)

2) the shell ejection port of the 75mm turret should be smoothed into the casting of the turret wall as seen here:
http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/m4a1chino_20.jpg

It might be more complex to attempt this correction but I thought I'd pass it along.

Im guessing this wont be easy to do on the M4A2 seeing as its already painted. Its quite a negligible alteration so its really how much of a perfectionist you are.

I will certainly take note of that when i build it though to sand it down.

Pete,
Will you be adding tow cables?
HAve you drilled the rain drain holes near the fuel caps?
I like the camo on the M-4A2. (++) (++)

Nice looking Shermans Pete, Jeremy The colour of the tools is usually wood handles. But if the crew is too lazy to take the tools off they will paint the camo over the top.

Two very crisp and clean builds. Great job. I prefer the one without the camo. But...hey...both look great though.

Good work

The only thing i didn't like about the Academy M4A2 is the wading trunks, they were a bit of a pain to build. The camo on this one is hand painted.

Pete

If possible, do explain why you found it a pain.

Too many bits and pieces?

Jeremy, you are quite correct. The wading trunks were in too many parts and I found them difficult to build, possibly because I'm a ham fisted individual.

Pete

I may be the odd one out here but i do enjoy fixing a large piece made out of many small pieces. The only thing i hate doing with small pieces is assembling the tracks on a tank as they can hardly be seen once assembled.

Ok im sold, im getting this kit the next time the LHS is within range.

Hey Peter! Both looking great...
So the configuration on the 76mm M4A3 is basically what you would find in the Heller kit; a repackaged Italeri with M4A3 hull and T23 turret from the M4A1(76) I think...
As for what Roy said re the pistol port, well I have actually rectified this retrospectively in the past by colouring Milliput with pastel chalks (this was just with OD I'll warn you) then applying as normal...
Cheers and all
Brad