Hey all,

I am in NO way a Shermaholic, hence my question:

Who makes a really GOOD Sherman, OOTB??? Opinions will be highly regarded. I really do like the lines/figure/concept of the Sherman. What company makes the best Sherman that can be built out of the box, with NO AM stuff to "make it (next to) perfect?

I would humbly request the company name and kit number.

Many thanks in advance!!

Mike (++) (++)

DML 6188 M4A2 76W Soviet Lend Lease

Out of the box, that's the current leader of the pack, IMHO.

Here's a review:

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/dragon/dr6188.htm

There are several others that require a minimal of work to make them gems, too. Reply back of the Russian one doesn't work for you.

Roy,

When that one first came out I was all about the "oohs and ahhs." I'm glad that your opinion follows my original thoughts. I would prefer US, but......that is NOT set in concrete. I just want to get a good one that doesn't require a lot of "finesse." Basically, I want a Shermie in my limited "collection."

MANY thanks!!!!!!!!

Mike (++) (++)

I'm quite partial to the new M4A1 76 from DML. Like all Sherman kits regardless of manufacturer it is not without error. DML still forgot that Idler wheels do not have hollow backs and added the wrong fenders. They supply three types in the kit but none are correct. These are small and trivial issues and this IMHO is the new Leader of the pack. All 3 of their latest Shermans are good kits but all three are let down in minor ways by such trivial little errors and Ommissions.

Other good Shermans (but requiring a little work) are:

Tamiya M4 Early - requires early bogies, New Roadwheels and Idler if you want pressed wheels. The spoked are great. sponsons and minor reshaping of the drivers hoods. Somehow Tamiya got an M4A4 glacis on their M4.

Tamiya M4A3 & A3 105. Great kits let dow by silly errors which should have been corrected on re release. Roadheels and Idlers are hollow backed. Sponsons need filling. Raise the weld seams. Add cast in cheek armour to the turret right front.

DML M4A1 Early (Mid) A nice kit and oncwe the Holy Grail of Shermandom. It's turret is not so nice being a modification of the Firefly turret (You can still see the loaders hatch outline) and it still has a misplaced Mantlet position. The rest of the kit is very good but would benifit from the addition of the Tamiya M4 turret.

Academy M4A2 75 Marines (or Mariens depending on box top). A really good M4A2 late Dry hulled Sherman. This is their best and does NOT carry over the hull rear plate angle problem of the M4A2 76 mm. I can't vouch for the wading gear but as a basic gun tank it is almost perfect as a kit. Just add the cast cheek armour and its spot on.

DML Vc Firefly - In its third incarnation but still has minor flaws. Turret mantlet and gun mount are too high in turret face, hollow idler, minor (and I do mean minor) shape concerns with drivers hoods and antenna mount on hull. If they redid the turret (apparently happening) added new idlers and roadwheels they would have a real winner (4th time lucky?)

DML M4A2/Sherman III. Only rumour so far (regarding details) but two long awaited versions of the Sherman; a welded hoods and cast hoods M4A2 mid. These will apparently benefit from the newer Shermans in that they will get the errors of Idlers etc fixed and have an all new Low Bustle early 75mm turret. We will have to see.

Beware though if you embark on building a Sherman - Can you stop at one?

Cheers
Al

Al, is that the Soviet one???? Or a different one? I'm a newbie to Shermies..

Mike (++) (++)

Google them up, Mike.

The M4A1 is the cast hull. All other Shemans have welded hull or a combination of cast front and welded rear -- and were called "hybrid" or "composite" hulls.

A great start for sorting out the Sherman confusion is this one: http://www.usarmymodels.com/ARTICLES/articles.html

Go to the "Sherman Corner" and check out Roy's nice breakdown of the variants, then look at the articles on the M4, the M4A1 and the M4A3, assuming you want to build an American tank in Europe, those are the ones to concentrate on. (Of course, the Marines used the M4A2 in the Pacific, but it was the 75mm version, not the 76mm version referred to in Roy's first reply.)

Good luck! And make sure you see Roy's article on the variants! http://www.usarmymodels.com/ARTICLES/Sherman%20Corner/shermanvariants.html

Be warned! One Shermie is enough to create an addiction :-) :-)

If you want an easy Sherman build, but with some minor flaws, try the Tamiya ones and the M4A2 by DML. They're not that overwhelming compared to the other release by DML (indy Sherman tracks are a pain for me )

Gday Mike
I reckon for a space on the shelf titled "This is a Sherman tank" you can't go past the M4 Early from Tamiya...It actually represents a mid production though, which is what I'd focus on... Definite fixers for it are:
Needing to raise the weldseams across the hull from below surface to just above...
Fill the hollow sponsons above each track with sheet styrene or similar...
Maybe use the earlier style spoked road wheels as there is no issue with having hollowed rears with no detail...
There you go... Cram the stowage extras on the rear or glacis if you want, and voila. Sherman.
Cheers
Brad

Think outside the box, try one of Tamiya's 1/48 scale M4 or M4A1 Shermans. You could build it in a weekend.

Ah Rob, you always have to push that "funny scale" stuff... :-)

If you are just going to build a sherman for your collection, want it to pretty mcuh be US, and not be too hard to do (not a lot of little fiddly pieces or parts to mess with) then I recomend the Tamiya M4A3 105mm. It has a good representation, you can ignore its few flaws, and it has rubber band tracks instead of the 10,000 piece DML tracks. Tamiya kits may not be quite as detailed out of the box, but they are by far the best engineered for a quick/easy build. And I am a DML and Trumpeter supporter! :-)

Mike

For a Sherman without indy links go for a Tamiya or Academy There really is no "perfect" Sherman kit out there yet

Gentlemen,

THANK YOU SO much for the responses. I'm rather overwhelmed, 1) by the responses, and 2) the kit recommendations.

What I gather is:

DML 6188 M4A2 76W Soviet Lend Lease
DML M4A1 76
DML M4A2
Tamiya M4 Early
Tamiya M4A3 105mm

Robin, 1/48 is too small for my failing eyes and shaky hands And it would take MANY weekends with my work and school schedule.....heck, any of them will take me MUCH time. With that, I've seen some of the 1/48 during the kit builds at the LHS, and they ARE really neat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chad, I would prefer the kit WITHOUT indy's. Rubber-band is fine by me.

I merely/just want to build a Shermie. No bells, no whistles, just a good kit that will be FUN to build and won't stress me. 'Nuff stressors right now...

Bob, I checked out the link.............VERY helpful. Thank you!!

So...........I'll look for a Tamiya 'cause of the rubberbands. Is this correct???? I have time....this is not a rush for me.

Again, gents, THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Sincerely!!
Mike (++) (++)

I built the m4a3 as my second armour and it went along VERY well, my brother built the 76mm and i the 105mm, which is basicly the same kit almost. Lots of little extras such as ammo boxes and k rations.

Frank

If accuracy is not an issue then my fav is the Tamiya M4 Early. The fit is great and it is more versatile for making dozers and waders and other funnies.

Plus it comes with rubberband tracks.

The Italeri/Testors M4A1 76mm is another fun one but those rubberband tracks suck.

Tamiya or Academy M4A2 for Buildability. The Academy M4A2 Marines has it in terms of accuracy and completeness.

If you want rubber bands and buildability the following are all highly recommended

Tamiya M4A3 75, M4A3 105, M4
Academy M4A2 Marines (for something a bit more unique)
Cheers
Al

no ones mentioned anything about Italeri's Shermans ,i built thier Sherman M32 recovery vehicle ,overall ,i thought it went together very well ,i found good referance on rigging the jib ,made my own cables (material from a art store) ,and added a set of DML aftermarket indy tracks to it . and ive got thier M4A1 sitting on a shelf ,and was hoping to pick up another M32 ,taking the recovery parts and placing it on a Tamiya M4A3.(then taking the Tamiya turret and putting it on the Italeri M32 ,giving me a second M4A1.personaly ,ive never seen a problem with Italeri's WWII armor ,but ive never taken a ruler ,or checked the angles .thier vinyl tracks are abit heavy ,but nothing a set of DML indy tracks ,cant take care of.
joe

Joe is looking for an OOB easy build. The Italeri kits are less accurate and need some TLC to become quite good. However, if you really want OOB, these are not the best way to go right now.

Paul

Honestly, the Italeri M4A1 had been my favorite Sherman tank model for quite a long time. Problem is that the way Italeri is pricing their Shermans, Dragon Shermans are about the same price and vastly superior with many extras. Now that Dragon has an M4A1(76) out, it may become my favorite Sherman.

The Tamiya M4/M4A1 in 1/48 scale are not that small and do not have a large number of parts.