For my next project, I need an early production M4A4 which had direct vision ports. Unfortunately, there's nothing out there kit wise (that I know of) so a little kit bashing is required.
I took one Tasca Sherman III DV hull and removed the upper centre section. The same was done with a Tasca Sherman V hull. Makes a bit of a mess of the III hull, but here's the parts dry fitted with no filler etc at this stage...
as you can see, no welding line on each side of DV block but one in the center that goes up to the turret ring and as this plate is added, the front plate is not visible at the top, as we can see on your piece coming from mkIII
and to be clearly visible, this image coming from the excellent Sherman minutia website
It looks like TMD produce a resin hull too - though this way is much more fun Besides, I had a spare III DV hull just laying around.
Yes, a few weld seams to remove/add as the two upper sections were cast units rather than cast/plates on the III.
The centre section is now cemented in place with the redundant welds removed and am in the process of filling and sanding the joins. Will update with some pics later.
I'll also need to alter the plate at the rear of the hull as this was a 2 part piece on the initial vehicles.
Gaps filled with Mr Surfacer and sanded along with weld seams being removed from the front plates and also the inside of the hoods. I'll use the Archer resin welds to replace everything so they all tie in together.
The 'cut outs' below the vision ports are increased in size and bullet splash guards made from spare PE. The 'new' cast pieces received an application of Mr Surfacer to create a cast effect and Archer resin welds are added along with casting marks and numbers...
In order to depict an early D50787 turret, I used an M34 gun mount, removed the hatch locks and mounted the lifting rings in the 'high' position. Casting details are again from Archer. The turret surface is 'roughened' up with a Dremel mounted burr and wet and dry sandpaper...
The .30 cal barrel is from Aber and I'm currently awaiting delivery of some more RB turned 75mm barrels. Tie downs are next to be added to the turret bustle.
Tasca's suspension units are probably the best available in styrene, but still require a lot of clean up Here are the 6 units in various stages of progress. Note the holes on the leading face of the units have the 4 holes added, volute spring adjusters on the top along with early type track skids...
I ordered the Son of a Sherman Vol 1 book last weekend and it arrived today. I've since made a few minor adjustments based on info in the book. Firstly, I decided to add a siren to the front...
... and the exhaust deflector/stowage bin brackets are deleted and a wrench bracket added. I've also removed the mallet brackets on top and re-positioned the rear deck lifting handles...
The Son of a Sherman book has been an absolute godsend for this build. Here is a break down of the major differences I made to create an early M4A4...
i "Fluted" M3 75mm gun ii Shorter bolt heads
iii Fender mounted siren iv "Padded" hoisting eye v D50880 M34 gun mount with initial D51288 rotor shield vi No sight vane vii Cast direct vision ports with bullet splash strips
viii Weld seam for 2 piece rear plate ix] Exhaust deflector mounting brackets removed x Higher position for lifting eyes on early DD50878 turret xi Drain hole of antennal mount xii Idler wrench mounting brackets xiii Tow bracket
xiv D51050 cupola without hatch stops xv Early position of hatch handles and no hatch stops xvi No factory set-up pads on turret xvii "Padded" hoisting eyes
xix Transmission drain plugs
I'm still trying to find move definitive information on this early type. My biggest question remains the validity of the tow bar assembly as I can't find when this was introduced. More likely to be a post factory addition? It appears that some earlier turrets weren't fitted with footman loops so may end up removing them from my kit. I do need to add a fine casting line to the turret rear where the two halves join.
If you spot anything else out of place, do shout out!
Gary
Last Edit: Jul 17, 2015 18:59:01 GMT -5 by gary - Back to Top