Dear friends,

I am new to Sherman tanks, I've been an ardent fan of German armour- the nearest O.D thing I ever built were GIs and paratroopers (inspired by you know what.....band of brothers).

Which version of shermans took part in battle of bulge? (say tamiya kits...easier to build than dragon...I was exhausted by last dragon kit...)

I know both Tamiya and Dragon feature boxed set for bulge.....but I am thinking of building a composite hull (those sexy rounded hull) Sherman...not the squarish ones....so which variant is that, and seen in bulge?

Pls advice. Tanks

Music

http://mmcalc.tripod.com/Shermans/ETO_Composites.html
Not sure but that looks like it might be the Ardennes.
DML have released a slightly upgraded version of their composite hull firefly, they are releasing a new tool version later this year. An easier way to go might be to pick up a Tamiya M4 and a resin composite upper hull. Tank Workshop make one, I'm sure other resin companies do too. Verlinden do one but with mistakes so unless you're getting it cheap, stay away.

The M4 composite is not the same as the M4A1 cast hull. The cast hull M4A1 was round all the way around. The M4 composite was only round for the first 1/3. Rather than cast a single entire round hull it was more efficient to cast just the front 1/3 and attach it to a welded rear.

No one really answered your questions....

Regarding Tamiya Sherman kits, any would do, as the M4, M4A3, and M4A3 105 all saw action there. So you can't go wrong with any of them. From Dragon, you could use the M4A3 76w Battle of the Bulge kit, the new M4A3E8 that's JUST now coming out, the Expo Albin Ircyk one, the M4A1 early, the M4A1 Operation Cobra one. Also, the Italeri M4 Marines (which is actually an M4A3 just like the Tamiya) or the M4A1 w/76 gun, their old kit, which is still quite nice. They also do a sort of cobbled together combo now of an M4A3 76w, but I'd go with the Dragon "Battle of Bulge" one instead.

These are the main ones you're likely to find in photos of the time period as well as on your hobby shop shelves.

Oh, the rounded hull types are anything with A1 at the end, ie M4A1. The A1 denoted the rounded, cast hull. So, from above, an early one with 75mm gun would be the Dragon M4a1 early, and then for later, 76mm gun versions, the "Cobra" one above or the Italeri one. Tamiya doesn't make any with that hull.

Then there is the composite hull, available as a Firefly kit 9037 (Dragon), but the new one doesn't have an extra turret, only the firefly turret, so you'd have to get a turret from someplace else. The composite hull, as outlined by someone else, featured the cast front identical to the M4a1 76, but then had the squared off back of the regular m4.

hope to help.

Rob

Hi guys,

Thanks for helping me correct the term "composite hull"....



Rob, thanks for listing all that variants of Shermans in Ardennes. Yep, I just acquired one "Operation cobra" variant....3 Armor Div at Belgium

a) Can that sherman be combined with "paratroopers in Bastogne" figures? I heard 101 chaps were trapped in Bastogne with some 40 tanks from 10 armor Div...

b) Is it correct to give white wash instead, I felt that the OD and brown camou on the dragon instruction sheet is not as "sexy".....

Many thanks.

The 9 th Armd Div delayed the Germans long enough for the 101st to dig in to defend Basyogne so you may want to go that way. I am unsure of the type of Sherman they were using but that shouldn't be hard to find.
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/documents/eto-ob/9AD-ETO.htm

As an aside, the full range of the NWE sherman family were in use during the BoB with Brits on the nortern flanks using M4A2, M4A4, M4 , M4A1 Fireflies (M4 and M4A4 based). A great (and very common) photo of a Coldstream Guards Hybrid Firefly exists but is often miscaptioned as 23 Armd Bde.
Cheers
AL

The onset of the Ardennes offensive didn't have snow on the ground. So you'd be hard pressed to see whitewash on any combatants' vehicles. However, I believe it started snowing near Dec 20 (don't have my references in front of me).

Whatever you depict, try to find a good photo for reference. The Bulge is well covered

Tamyias 105 has a full crew and troopers in great coats, its ideal for a bulge dio.