This has to be a Sherman Variant. If it isn't, please let me know. This is a Tasca 1:35 kit of the M32B1 U.S. Tank Recovery Vehicle. Needed to get this one to haul back all my mistakes This build will take awhile, because have to finish up a few others first and to find up date kits to make it even better. Any help on building this kit is certainly welcome. Would like to make as few mistakes as possible. Thanks!
Thanks John. Started to do some research on this baby. There are a couple of update kits, but wonder if it even needs them. The details are ..... well I can see why Tasca kits are so saught after.
What kind of update kits are there for this? The kit should be good enough out of the box, the only thing I have heard about the kit is the interior is a little lacking in detail.
I've this kit too. It is superb kit, waitid it for a long time. I've started my M32B1 many years ago, from the Dragon and Italeri kits. Added full interior, and a lot of scrtach items. The painting is one of the options given by Tasca. I'm close to finish it. There is some aftermarket sets on the market: - etched set from Voyager - some cool stuff from HDS: click2detail.com/ (for any variants) - decal set from Bison - US Mechanicer figure from Corpus - Technical Manual series book from Tankograd
And of course You cando any variants combined withother great Sherman kits (Tasca and Dragon).
If Yoyu need any information, pls let me know, try to help You!
Post by Allied-Eric on Oct 26, 2013 8:50:39 GMT -5
Hey DF that should build up real nice I gotz me one too and it is sweetness in a box for sure! Along with Antal suggestions above also check out Easy1 Publications for some helpful TM that are priced good.
Allied-Eric
Vancouver, WA, USA
AMPS-2652
-In the Ready Rack-
Improvised Assault Sherman-M4A3DS(ETO)
Hyper-Sherman
Crispy-44
Post by barkingdigger on Nov 9, 2013 9:29:25 GMT -5
Seein' as all the M32A1s were rebuilt from worn-out M4A1 training gun-tanks, this Sherman variant is definitely as "Sherman" as can be! They also built them on M4 and "early" M4A3 hulls with small hatches. I'm not sure if the "large hatch" late M4A1 and late M4A3 versions were recycled tanks, or new hulls plucked from the factory lines in '45...
It's a beast of a kit - even the cable clamps are multiple parts! I'm working up to building mine eventually, if I ever get the hobby bench clear enough to see the woodgrain.
I've got a couple of these kits on the shelf; one will be close to OOB for WW2 and the other already has a Shapeways turret and other stuff to do an HVSS version in IDF service. Eventually. The only thing lacking in these kits is a proper driver's compartment. I like to use the parts from the Academy M10/Achilles/M36 kits, since those kits are pretty disposable anyway with their dimensional errors. The transmission needs to be sectioned at the outside of those #B26 inspection plates, to narrow it enough to fit into the Tasca final drive & differential assembly. That's what I did to fit my tranny into the Madill 071 hull. Next time I get the urge to start an interior for a Tasca/Asuka project, I'll make up a master pattern and have Steve Reid at Celticwerks cast up a few. The seat pads can be cut from the Academy floor and sanded down to fit; add a scratchbuilt driveshaft and you're golden.
"You could probably use some armor. A Sherman can give you a very nice...edge!"
I wonder why Academy hasn't released the tranny / drivers compartment parts as a detail kit . I'ld pick up one for every Sherman I"ld build , not a really fan of resin detail parts. And yes its got a few things missing , so you can go to town adding vents , caps, bolts etc . Or not , really can't see too much through the hatches anyway. But YOU know its in there ...
I'm with you about seeing it in plastic. At ten bucks apiece, I'd buy half a dozen of 'em at a time. But accessory sets like that seem to be out of favor with kit producers these days. I don't mind resin; sometimes it's the only way to do things economically. I've got some Mack DM895 truck projects I'm working on, and having scratchbuilt one bogie carrier and set of leaf springs I'll have them cast in resin to save the effort and time of trying to make more. Same goes with hydraulic accumulators for those and other projects; I swiped them from the Trumpy Chinese 50-tonner kit and will have about two dozen cast up for stock.
The thing with the M32 in particular is that the top is so open anyway with those two big holes in the turret roof. There's better visibility through there than there is with any of the TDs, so it makes sense to put in a driver's compartment. Usually Tasca/Asuka only misses small things, but this omission is pretty striking, IMO.
"You could probably use some armor. A Sherman can give you a very nice...edge!"