Hi all,

Firstly, I'd like to say thanks to all who supplied the valuable info and comments that enabled me to finish this beast. I have taken abit of artistic liecence with this kit, so please keep that in mind.

Well, here it is:







thanks for looking.
Jurgen.

Hi Jurgen,

Loved your work here, esp the texture of the body. and it goes well with the dio.

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers!

The groundwork /base is eye catching... you might want to dust the tracks a little... other than that, good work!

very nice..the weathering and the base too. the tracks are beautiful..looks like steel to me. probably the red water jug has a story to tell. good work and thanks for sharing.

beautiful Model !!!

i love this Dio-base and the way you did the M-51 on it.

awesome !

I'm always partial to IDF subjects, but this one is really nice. I'd only change two things:
If the jerry cans are black,and meant to be portrayed that dusty, everything else around them would be too. Usually in photographs they're blacker. The other thing is the tie down ropes. They're almost big enough around to fast rope on.
Overall though, a very good build.

Hi Jurgen! Beautiful subject and a wonderful job all the way around. Something to be proud of. Is that the Dragon M51 ISherman kit?

looks great Jurgen, I do agree with the rope, it's not something said to be critical, but it's more of an eye catcher that draws away from, rahter than enhances the the tank itself. Maybe some thinner stuff will draw people's eyes back to the tank! Well done...

I do agree about the base being really eye catching and to blend the kit in by weathering the tracks a little more to make it more believable that its actually going over the base...especially the side of the tracks and the respective wheel and drive sprocket.

Very nicely done kit overall.

Gday Victoria!
Love this subject! I'm focused on WWII Shermans, so to see what the Israelis did to theirs is interesting indeed! The base is so simple but very effective...
Was the M4A1 (sorry!) counter-weighted to handle that gun?!
Cheers
Brad

Hi Brad,
yep, the bustle was completely redone to act as a counterweight to the 105mm. The IDF Shermans are a nice subject for themselves. If you ever run outta ideas for WWII Shemans (???) give the IDF a try
Andreas

the bustle was filled with concrete initially but then there were a million other modifications done druing the time they used them up until the 1990's

very nice, my all time favourite Sherman

well built and displayed

cheers

keith

Looks very nice Jurgen. Just a few comments:
1. On that steep a slope, that Cummins diesel should really be belching out the black smoke!
2. The base looks great, but I see a little too much daylight beneath the tracks in a couple of places. Doesn't quite convey the impression of forty tons of weight, which is about what a combat-stowed M51 should mass.
3. The stowage is well done and well placed, and it looks like it has something attaching it all to the tank. Good job. I might do a bit less of it; there were only five crewmen inside and the time in the field was typically short. IDF tankers don't seem to acquire quite as much extra kit as US tankers in WW2, for example.

Minor nitpicks, and understand they reflect my personal tastes and not major errors. A most splendid effort overall, I assure you.

Very,very nice,Jurgen. Excellant presentation by the base.Maybe a little too much track-ground gap in spots but I wouldn't sweat it. Can't have too much dust on IDF running gear either. Not sure about red paint on tow points. One claim was it was for training only. Another claim was it was done to make them more findable in low-vis sandstorms and such. More knowledgable people could help more on this. Still OK with me.
Cheers for a great build!
Rick

Awesome dio. Great job!

Last post before today was March 19, 2006 an almost 3 year

Why didn't we upgun the Sherman? No need to, postwar. Improved HVAP ammo ensured that T34s in Korea were easily knocked out by Shermies. In WW2, well...read Steve Zaloga's new book Armored Tunderbolt for an excellent analysis. The French only did the M50/M51 projects at the behest of Israel, not on their own account. And the IDF did it out of desperation, as the infant Israel was largely shut out of the international arms market in the first decade of it's existence. If you can't by modern hardware, you buy obsolete/scrap tanks and do what you can with them.
Greg