Introduction

This is the first of what I believe will be several Sherman Interior kits from Resicast. Kit No 53.1213 for the M4A4 Sherman Mk V 75mm gun tank is designed for the Tasca M4A4 kit. It is not suitable for the Dragon M4A4. The kit was mastered by Resicast (aka Graham Sellar).

There will be some who say “Interiors, why bother”, and those who say, “Thank you, great stuff” and I fall into the latter category. I love vehicles with interiors, it’s simple; the more detail, the more building and the more fun and they tend to draw peoples gaze into a vehicle. There is also a great satisfaction in simply knowing it’s there, weird as that may seem to some.

Ok, on with the review:

The Set

The set comes in the Resicast standard professional looking box. On the top is a partial picture of the built interior set, whilst on the front side are 3 additional pictures showing different parts of the build.

As well as including the full interior and turret basket, Resicast also include a complete resin Turret and 75mm gun with breach and tube to replace the Tasca part completely.

The kit contains 170 resin parts and 20 etched parts. Cast in a light grey resin, all the parts are highly detailed, the casting is excellent and all appeared free from damage. Clean up of the parts should be minimal. Graham has perfected his casting techniques so that only the absolutely necessary pour plugs and stubs remain on the kit parts and most if not all should be easy to remove.

Also contained in the box is a 28 page instruction booklet which is laid out in a logical fashion, with a complete list of identified parts, good clear photo diagrams with each part being clearly numbered and corresponding to the identified picture image. I really like the Resicast instructions, it’s good to know that part T29 is a Cradle Bracket for the left hand side and not just a mystery part you place where shown.

Page 1 shows the complete built parts, product detail and acknowledgements to Carol Darcy and Adrian Barrell. Page 2 has the parts listing and page 3 the PE parts listing for those parts needed for the turret basket and turret interior. Page 4 has a basic layout diagram. Pages 5 through 21 contain the build instructions whilst the remaining pages are given over to cut out diagrams of the vehicle, alternative stowage arrangements for some items, half a dozen black and white pictures of the actual interior stowage and layout diagrams for the turret interior.

Page 4 mentioned above, also contains the basic measurements for the key components layout, and will aid building greatly. There are many other sources of reference available, so please feel free to add these into the thread.

The parts themselves are all beautifully moulded, the transmission housing looks excellent as does the gear box which has exquisite detail. The Low Bustle turret also has terrific detail both inside and out, cast marks are present on the turret top and the overall texture has a nice realistic look and feel to it.
Detail is also present on both the front and rear of the rear firewall, should you choose to add an engine.

Studying the parts against the various diagrams, and actual photographs I have, shows that everything you should need for a super detailed build is present. Add to that the outstanding quality of the casting and finish of the parts and you have the making of a really interesting build.

With over 13 plastic zip bags and 170 resin parts I can’t find fault with anything I’ve looked at. You get early and late gun mantles, a full breach for the new gun turret, and all the correct storage and ammunitions racks/boxes.

The parts for the turret and basket look excellent too, you even get the roof ventilators for the inside of the turret plus everything else you should need. The only addition I can see will be either be some wire and/or lead wire needed for the plumbing

Gear leavers, seating, fire extinguishers, stowage bind, periscopes, map case, ready floor ammunition .50 cal ammo boxes, .30 cal ammo boxes, brake levers, regulators, spare barrels, dash board and a host of other necessary parts are all included and finished to the highest standard.

Also included in the set is a No 19 radio. The make-up of this part is new and it has been designed for the new resin turret, fitting onto a pre-placed mount inside the turret.

Along with some beautiful PE you get a couple of 2.5mm silver lenses just for good measure.

A sharp razor saw will be needed along with some basic tools, and you should remember to take the normal necessary precautions when working with resin.

Conclusion

I can’t see or fault anything in the quality of the parts included in this conversion set, with the exception of some wire already mentioned. This is another quality Resicast product, extremely well researched, cast and designed with the modeller in mind and full of outstanding detail.

This set carries all the quality hall marks of a super Resicast kit. Give the build a little time and patience and you should end up with a terrific interior. The inclusion of a new turret should round things off very nicely.

Interiors may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if they are then you should thoroughly enjoy this set. It is not a set for the beginner, but if you build Sherman Tanks then at some point you may well feel the need to add one of these to you collection.

My understanding is that interiors for the M4A4 Sherman VC Firefly and M4A1 Sherman MK II are currently being developed so there are more good things to look forward to in the future. The M4A1 set is due out before the Firefly set, and I just learned that Graham has updated the Sherman ARV Mk 1 interior set to fit the Tasca kit. Also nearly ready is a basic update set to be used with any Sherman kit and it features a simplified version of the driver and co-drivers position.

References:
Barry Beldam’s Stowage Diagrams for British and Commonwealth Armoured Vehicles – Part 1

See below for additional Images from Resicast.