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The Tamiya Sherman M4 is a simple but poor and confused kit. And I don't know how many units landed with M4 Sherman Is on D Day itself. It was a minority variant in Commonwealth service: we only had about 2,000 compared to about 5,000 M4A2 and over 7,000 M4A4. An M4A4 Sherman V or M4A2 Sherman III would be a safer bet. Asuka and RFM both do nice Fireflies and now they both do standard 75mm M4A4s, although the RFM version is yet to land in the UK. But watch your M4A2s. The Academy and Zvezda kits are not suitable and Dragon and Asuka have some that are and some that aren't. There is also the venerable Tamiya RMASG Centaur, 70-odd of which were landed on D Day along with 18-20 M4A4s with RMASG markings. 4 Churchill Crocodiles were landed too as well as 6 Squadrons' worth of Churchill AVREs with various attachments: SBG, fascine, bobbin, potentially a few log carpets. Some M10 anti-tank guns, possibly including some 17pdr Achilles, were landed. From the simplicity perspective, some brands like Asuka anmd Tamiya tend to still use vinyl tracks whereas RFM use multi-part individual links and Dragon are changing to individual links. Dragon's old DS vinyl tracks are to be avoided. But don't forget that all tanks landed on D Day and for some time afterwards while we were still landing vehicles over the beaches were equipped for wading with the wading trunks, sealed hatches and gaps etc. So you would need to show these. There are resin and 3D products from the likes of Resicast and Lanmo but they will cost you about as much as the base kit. Even if the upper trunks had been removed, as they usually were as soon as possible, the lower trunks often remained for some time.
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The prototype, in mild steel or un-proofed armour plate, had the early style of track and retained its original T census number T31996. Period images say that production vehicles had the later tracks. The serial number range for the 49 production Gun Carriers from Beyer Peackock was S31273 - S31321. The hulls were new-build contracted from Vauxhall and Beyer Peacock were only contracted to "assemble" the conversion. The hull contract for Vauxhall was dated 25 July 1941, well before the SCC2 change: no completion or delivery date for the hulls is noted. Contract completion from Beyer Peacock was not noted until 2 November 1942, 6 months after the SCC2 change. It is believed that the first production vehicle emerged in May 1942, around about the SCC2 changeover time. Which does beg a colour question. The custom hulls would probably have been output by Vauxhall in red primer knowing their future use for conversion, and they would have been incomplete with no fighting compartment roof and no upper hull front. Beyer Peacock would doubtless have been instructed to follow the late 1942 scheme of SCC2 when that was promulgated in May. But it does beg the question whether the first few Gun Carriers might have emerged in Khaki Green 3 as exhaustion of existing paint stock before changing was mandated. How much Khaki Green paint had Beyer-Peacock bought or been issued? Enough for all 50? I wonder if AFV Club are perhaps confusing Khaki Green with Khaki in their colour call-outs. But "khaki" is such a general term that you could perhaps apply it to SCC2 if you didn't really understand the colours. As seems to be the case too often with many kit manufacturers.
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Several kits are available, just none in injection plastic - although the usual rumours abound. With the demise of Accurate Armour I can think of 3 3D printed models in 1/35 and it is certainly available in other scales from 1/87 up. But £££ of course. It is a more complex shape than you might think and all of the 3D 1/35 models have some shape issue or another, mostly with the turret. At least 1 of those was produced with direct reference to the 2 survivors at Bovington and is currently only available through the Museum shop. So the answer to "reliable" plans would seem to be a "no". You may be able to use some suspension parts from something like a T26 or Vickers Type E, which are similar.
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Regiments with turret numbers don't seem to have used Squadron symbols, or perhaps just had one on the back of the turret. There is an L&BH group on Facebook. Have you tried them? Although their posted photos seem to come up on Google searches. There doesn't seem to be a museum covering L&BH specifically. Something else to think about if you can find pictures is the base tank build standard. Avalon from 22nd or Westminster Dragoons at Overloon is a very early direct vision tank without even the 'ears' on the mantlet from mid-1942 whereas Bovington's Crab base tank was built about a year later in mid-43. And then there are MkI and MkII flail units.
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The shapes and colours of Squadron marking are well known and were standardised. 1st L&B were 2nd senior Regiment in the Brigade and wore Arm of Service 52 on red. A Sqns used a hollow triangle, C used a hollow circle. The 2nd senior Regiment used yellow markings. Decals are available in all common modelling scales. Names are an entirely different issue. There was no overall standardisation, and often little standardisation of font, size, colour or position even within units. You would have to find a photo of your subject tank to be certain.
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So lots more options than the instructions and artwork suggest, then. Which is A Good Thing. But with the thick-cheek turret you are limited to tanks produced after some time in June 1943: the final 1,900 or so. I'm pretty sure you can't do the kit Free French option either. Free French forces in North Africa were supplied with 274 M4A4s from January-February 1943 production after they formally joined the Allied cause after Operation Torch. They equipped the 1er and 2eme Régiments de Cuirassiers, and the kit markings are for the 2eme. I'm not aware that Free French forces under British command were given any more M4A4s during WW2. Afterwards, yes - including some ex-DDs. Fortunately Star Decals have several sets including markings for units operating M4A4s.
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Oops. I was thinking the Airfix Tilly was in the 1/48 set with the Bedford and Albion........
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Still seems to be pre-order only in the UK. Don't they give you the rear hull stowage box? That's an omission. Most if not all M4A4s in Europe had them, with the tensioning wrench stowed inside. Although they are not seen in the Far East, where the exhaust deflector which originally used the box mountings is sometimes seen. Most in Europe had the turret rear box too. The kit is wrong for Warspite, which did not have the thick-cheek turret and therefore had a pistol port, if welded-up. No travel lock either, although that is a minor issue by comparison with the wrong turret. The artwork says you don't get the dial sight box either. Nor any smoke candle boxes, again pretty universal in Europe, or towing attachments. The wading trunking strips each side of the engine doors are still on the etch fret. The Firefly kit included all the "missing" parts. Are they still on the common sprues? So it's a bit of a curate's egg. Strictly OOB it is Far East only.
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More new product news. While RFM's announced 75mm M4A4 does not seem to have landed yet, they have announced 4 different M4A3(76)mm VVSS kits. Presumably leveraging their HVSS versions. IMO not really something the world is crying out for in 1/35. The options are all "late" with the small loader's hatch and the muzzle brake, although a muzzle collar might be optional. Topping the price list is a mighty £85 for the premium version with full interior and upgrade parts. Then come 2 options at £65: with interior but no upgrade parts or upgrade parts but no interior. Lastly is the proletarian basic version without either interior or upgrade parts at £45. There will also be 3 sets of individual link T48 rubber chevron tracks. A 3D printed set for £34 or 3D printed with EECs at £36, or a plastic set featuring grousers for £20. Yes, cross-track grouser bars - not extended end connectors. But RFM incorectly call them Duckbills on the box, the common name for EECs, so be warned. And a 76mm M2 gun barrel with brake for £10.
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Many questions. You don't mention a scale. Clearly a ship is likely to be a very different scale from the others unless you are thinking of a landing craft. An idea of scale would narrow the possible answers considerably.
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If you have deep pockets then Accurate Armour still have a Hillman Tilly in 1/35 left. But they want £62 for it. They also still have a Standard Tilly in 1/48 for £30. The Austin, Morris and Hillman all had very much the same bodies and very similar front wings and cabs, pretty much the same wheelbase and wheels. Essentially just different bonnets and grilles. So they should all be reasonably easily convertable from the Tamiya Austin in 1/35 or 1/48. The Standard was completely different, however. But Accurate Armour and Airfix have both done it in 1/48. So perhaps that might be the scale to go for to complete the set. You might try the folks at The Tilly Register for info - although they might ask you to join. http://www.tillyregister.com/index.html
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Has anyone else seen dark brown DS type tracks in Dragon kits before? I certainly haven't. Everything DS including tyres and stowage items has been the sandy colour as far as I have ever seen. As for gun barrels, the RFM muzzle certainly looks much better. The rifling is suitably subtle, the tube wall thickness looks more correct and it has the boresighting markings. Is that the new go-to? I have absolutely no idea why the Dragon M4A4 barrel has the indented ring near the muzzle. No M3 75mm gun ever had that. Looks more like a PaK 39 barrel from a Hetzer. Filler or bin. And as Dragon use the same engineering for their barrel fits and pretty much the same mount and mantlet parts, one of those barrels is slightly the wrong length...... When buying Sherman gun barrels you need to be aware that different brands and different products within brands are designed for different kit manufacturers' ways of mounting them. Hence why you see some longer full-diameter barrels and different lengths of mounting spigot on others. That RB barrel 35B03 is seemingly not going to fit a Dragon Sherman by comparison with the Dragon barrels, although it is supposed to be designed for them. They also have 35B151 with a different fitting (below) BTW, the boresighting markings on the muzzle are for aligning the gun and sights. String would be taped across the markings to form a cross. Looking through the barrel with the breech open it would be aimed at a distant object at a known accurate range within the flat trajectory section of the weapon's ballistic profile matching a graticule setting in the sight. Maybe only 500 yds, probably not more than 1,000. The sight would then be adjusted to align with the same object, the string removed and and a conformation round fired, adjusting the sight again as required until barrel, sight and impact point are aligned. Today it's a bit more complicated involving optical devices in the muzzle, muzzle reference systems, electro-optics and computer wizardry. But most tanks still have a backup optical telescopic sight with mechanical adjustment which needs to be boresighted too.
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Rifling is something usually wildly overdone in after-market barrels. In 1/35 you would not see it, certainly not in weapons of that calibre. We're talking maybe 1mm deep in 1:1, so a hairline scratch in 1/35. And the "lands" - the raised strips - were flat-topped and not pointed. Rifling was only tapered at the throat from the chamber where the driving band is first forced into the rifling. I would be drilling or filing that down to the point of being almost invisible.
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@PatrikF I have come close-ups of the No3 Mk1 showing it open, closed, cocked and safe if these are any use in future. Sadly I forgot to include a ruler in any of them. Here's a close-up of the No3, here on a Matilda and unfortunately with the bolts missing. That bracket design with the backing plate and cable entry box was not used on Shermans. Note how the firing cables attach through the trigger guard to the new trigger. Also, unlike some model and 1:1 reproductions, the magazine was removed. Those are old rifle breeches as they have the early tall charger bridge and the lower one has the magazine cut-off slot. Presumably older rifles with worn barrels or otherwise needing repair were converted. The top one seems to be a MkIII* dated 1919 and the lower one a MkIII dated 1911.
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Bad news, I'm afraid. Sadly you have the current boxing with DS tracks. That red flash was the (alleged!) upgrade from 2006 when the original indy link tracks with separate end connectors were replaced with DS. They are still in circulation. The fact that the tracks are a darker brown is, I think, simply an age thing. It doesn't age well. That particular kit boxing is especially confusing because the red flash lasted a while and is still seen 19 years later. I was nearly caught out thinking there had been a re-release with the new tracks. You need to look at Dragon red flashes very carefully as there are other kits out there still with red flashes advertising the arrival of DS from 20 years ago. There is not yet a later release of that kit with the new indy links. Only of the DV and Sicily Sherman IIIs so far.