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Tamiya 1/48 M4A3E8 "Easy Eight". I use Tamiya, ICM, Mr.Hobby paints.

I recently finished the Heller M4A2 as Sherman III 'Sheik' from the Royal Scots Greys, as it appeared in the vicinity of Naples in 1943. This was for the Sherman Group Build on the Braille Scale Discussion Group forum. I just loved the tank's spotted 'leopard' camouflage and luckily Star Decals has it on their 'British Shermans in Italy' sheet. Although there is some discussion about the colour of the spots, I decided to go for black since other tanks in the unit were camouflaged in mud and blue-black, so they would have had access to that paint in theatre. I hope you like it. Peter

As you know, I'm working on the RFM Sherman M4A3 with full interior. The paint scheme suggests that the inside of the crew hatches in the hull and turret is white, but I read (can't recall where though) that they were painted green, the same as the outside as white would be a giveaway from the air. I've currently got mine in white primer, so a change of colour is easy at this stage. Can anyone help or advise me on this as I'd like to be reasonably accurate. Thanks in advance, Keith 😁

Hi All, My second build for 2023 is Asuka's Sherman III with deep-wading trunks as supplied by Asuka. The decals are from Star Decals. The conversion set was very well made, with the only issues being from trying to make the rigging for the release mechanism to drop the trunks once no longer needed as there was a risk of the engine overheating if left on for an extended time. The Rigging was made from 1mm plastic rod supplied with the conversion set, and was glued to turnbuckles to create the articulation of the mechanism. The trunks themselves were folded photoech, with the covers over the exahust being supplied in resin. It was refereshing to use an otherwise drop-in conversion set with the only actual kit modification being the fact that i needed to drill a slight indentation into the extractor fan cover to accept the main wire for the trunks. Otherwise everything else was a drop-in or straight replacement. The only other modification was the rear deck bustle, made from brass rod. The vehicle was painted using Thinned Humbrol Enamel 155 Olive drab, which was then drybrushed and washed with oils. Following this the vehicle was weathered furhter with oils and enamels. The stowage is mainly from Tamiya and Blackdog Models. The Track is AFV Club rubber-band style, as i'd already commandeered the kit track for another project. The vehicle is finished in the markings for the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, which is the subject of a number of books such as James Holland's excellent 'Brothers in Arms', David Render's 'Tank Action' and Stuart Hill's 'By Tank into Normandy', which for all i couldn't recommend highly enough if you want inspiration for British Subjects in the 1944-45 NWE theatre. Thanks for looking, Sam

After a fair bit longer than I thought it would take I finished the Saipan Sherman, I really enjoyed building this wee heller kit in 1/72. The background to this build is that during the invasion of Saipan in WW2 , three separate USMC shermans became stranded in the shallow lagoon surrounding Saipan, where they remain to this day. See below for the video that provided me with the basis for this diorama. My build is a bit of a composite of the three wrecks. I hope you like the results! Regards Mark

I made the Tamiya Sherman Tank. I decorated it with products from a small Vignette and an aftermarket. ^^ BR

So, here she is.... my take on the Sherman M4. A really fun build that i enjoyed putting together. It's mostly OOB apart from the figures and the tracks. The build itself was as expected from Tamiya, they go together pretty much by themselfs. No issues what so ever. With the paint i kept it simple. Just a baselayer of OD with highlights and shadows. After that i did some color modulation with oils, added rust, dust, stains and spots. All the chipping was kept very light. The figures are aftermarket from a certain chinese webshop. They were a real pleasure to paint. Tarps were made with Tamiya epoxy putty. Towingcable was scratch build. Anyway, my goal with this build was to keep it simple. Nothing over the top. Work on my paint and weathering skills and work on my patience ( i tend to overdo things ) I'm happy with how she turned out. A dusty, battlefield used Sherman. So here are the photo's. I hope you enjoy them. Feel free to comment. Tnx all for following my buildlog and for taking the time to read and write. On to the next one!!! Cheers! 👍👍👍

WIP Saipan Sherman I came across a neat video of some rusty wrecked semi sunken Sherman Tanks in or should I say off Saipan. I really like the colours and contrast between say the tropical blue of the Lagoon and the rusty reds and oranges. I grabbed a few screenshots of the wrecks in the video that is worth a watch :- I started by buying a 18cmx 18cm photo frame , pulling out the retaining clips, epoxy and sealing in the glass with clear bathroom sealant so when I add the epoxy later it wont run out the bottom. When I have done similar dioramas in the past with perspex sides I have run into the issue where I ended up marking the perspex and it made getting in about the base awkward, so I decided this time to put spaces in until I got the base completed and the model mounted then I will take the spacers out and replace them with perspex sides of the same size, then do the resin pour. My next step I cut foam board and mounted it in the frame in order to raise the "seabed"up , I slotted in the spacers and then mixed tile grout with some Mig Ammo ochre, I then added quite a bit of water and smoothed out the grout to get rid of any scultping marks and make the seabed more natural in profile. I decided to be a little experimental and added some play sand to the wet grout to see if it will stick , if it doesnt I can simply add more with some PVA glue and it will give me the finish am looking for. Ive also started the Sherman, its the Heller kit, that might not be the exact model of Sherman, I believe the USMC used M4A2 and the heller kit is a French A4, I feel like the diffrence will be minimal as the end result will be a sherman shaped rusty reck so for me it was an acceptable trade off. I primed the sprues with Vallejo Rust Primer, I built the turret and the I test fitted the main upper and lower hull and the turret together, I decided to use a stipple effect to start building up layers of rust up on it. The next steps is getting the running gear built up and mounted on the Sherman. I also need to scratch build some of the rusty gun in the turret, I need to drill some holes in the turret top and then get the turret completed inside, I also need to scratch build the back end where the engine block was and figure out what bulkheads I need to put in and think how i can build a engine block, it doesn't need to be accurate as its going to be really rusty and clogged with barnacles and sand and stuff. Any thoughts or feedback, hints or tips is really welcome Mark

So, new day, new project. Since i'm still waiting on aftermarket parts for my Tiger project i decided i want to do something completly different. A Sherman.... I got this kit from Tamiya for a very good price and i thought i could give it a go. The M4 early type is a tank i know little about. After reading the build guide i decided to get me some information. So i downloaded a couple of usefull photo's on details. i know there are a lot of experts here that can provide me with additional tips on building this model. Also i want to state that this will be a ootb build, no PE or aftermarket parts. This means that there will be historical inacuracies regarding some bolts, hinges, thickness of certain parts etc. For me this is no problem. That beeing said, i want to do this iconic tank justice so i'll take it slow going over every step. No heavily damaged tank this time. I want to tone it down, focussing on a good and tidy build, work on my airbrush and paint skills and do some very light chipping and weathering. Can't blame a guy for trying 😁😉 The kit comes with figures and they look fairly descent so i might add them ( the KV2 project was a real eye opener regarding figures ) On to the build itself. Beeing a Tamiya kit i expect no major issues, however, the fit of the front hull plate seems a bit off Also, i need to close the gaps above the tracks because otherwise it will be a see trough model. Nothing that can't be solved with plasticard. the lower back plate is finnished and fitted, no issues there. I'm off to a good start. Enjoying myself wich is the most important part of modeling. I want to thank you guys in advancement for all the tips, tricks, technical details and words of encouragement. Feel free to tag along. I'll keep you guys posted. Cheers! 👍👍👍

I'm really an aircraft guy, who dabbles in armor occasionally, so please don't be too harsh! This is Dragon's M4A1 (76) Sherman commanded by S/Sgt Lafayette Pool, who is widely recognized as the US tank ace of aces, credited with 12 confirmed tank kills and 258 total armored vehicle and self-propelled gun kills, over 1,000 German soldiers killed and 250 more taken as prisoners of war, accomplished in only 81 days of action from June 27 to September 19, 1944, using three different Shermans. Built more or less 'out of box' and painted with Tamiya acrylics. Thanks for looking, Colin

My build of Asuka's M4A1(76)w Sherman with MasterClub tracks, DEF Model metal barrel, MJ Miniatures tool straps, Alpine figure, and a mix of Value Gear and 3D printed stowage. Comments and criticism welcomed as always!

I managed to pick up Resicast’s Sherman BARV conversion for Tasca’s sherman III. While i have the base kit needed in the stash, I dont want to sacrifice a great kit for this build if necessary due to minimal use of parts. A quesion for the shermanholics out there, can I use Tamiya’s M4 Sherman Early Production kit 35190 as a base donor kit? No engine hatches or the rear deck/hull will be exposed as seen in the images below. https://www.ultracast.ca/Resicast-351126-Sherman-BARV-Conversion-for-TASC-p/res35.1126.htm

Hi All, Okay so maybe it's not the conversion job of the century but more on that later.. Here's Tamiya's Early M4 Sherman. I had built this as the American gun tank OOB about 5 or 6 years ago but was never happy with it so it sat on the shelf of doom collecting dust in the corner until Star Decals Set 35-C 1245 British D-Day Shermans came across my bench one day. Being heavily inspired by the more colourful looking marking options here, I dunked the Sherman into Clutch oil and left it submerged for 2-3 days. This worked to strip the paint etc. off the model without damaging the actual plastic. I then rinsed it thoroughly and repared bits that had broken off over the years. Next I got hold of a commonwealth style stowage bin for the back of the tank which I found left over from a Black Dog Models stowage set. Adding to this, I scratch built a first aid box out of a resin pouring stub and some scrap brass, before adding two welded on repurposed ammo cans to the rear glacis. Adding to this I also added a spare wheel to the turret side, again using spare scrap etch to make up a securing band. Albeit not a perfect conversion, I was quite happy with it at this stage as whilst it wasn't a Sherman I down to every last rivet, it encompassed the general changes and look I was aiming for. I painted the model using Humbrol 155 Enamel Olive drab, again whilst not a perfect colour match for the British SSC 15 being too light, I was quite happy with the colour for my personal interpretation of scale effect, which was dry-brushed, decalled, filtererd and washed, before oil streaks and other weathering including some chipping was applied. The model was matte-coated using Xtracolour Enamel Matte Varnish. Stowage was from the spares box, including items from MiniArt, Tamiya and Blackdog. The stowage on the rear deck was secured using painted solder which had the malleability to make it more 'rope-like' without the overscale fraying seen with twine, string or thread. Overall the jury is still out with this method so it's something I might reconsider for the next one. Thanks for looking! Again, Thanks for looking, Sam 😀

Afternoon all, Her is my entry for the GB - Italieri's M4 Sherman based on the movie staring Brad Pitt. II haven't built any kind of armour in a long time. I think the last attempt ended in failure during the Tiger STGB which was a while ago.... However this is a Sherman so it has less road wheels and rubber band tracks (unlike the Zvezda Tiger) so it should be doable for me at least. The kit comes with lots of stowage very much like the film version with log applicate armour and plenty of baggage. No crew figures though so i will have a think about whether i will add some. Any way heres a few pics. TFL Cheers Greg

A few months ago, my wife gave me a copy of James Holland's Brothers in Arms, which is a history of the Sherwood Rangers in WWII, primarily their journey from Normandy to Germany - D-Day to VE-Day. For this build, I propose to make an Asuka 1/35 scale Firefly Ic, inspired by images in the book. The box I'll need track for this - lots of tracks. Plastic, other AM stuff, and another book AM stuff includes a DEF Models gun barrel, Eureka tow-rope and some decals - the decals include some Sherwood Rangers' DD tanks as they appeared on D-Day. I'm not sure if I'll use any decals. Photos rarely show markings; not sure if this was because markings weren't used, or the censors were remarkably efficient.

It's been five years since my last tank (Takom T-29E3) and I've been hankering to tackle another. That plus the very generous gift card from my wife for the excellent hobby shop near us (Hobby Sense) resulted in the acquisition of Meng's glorious 76mm armed Sherman. This is my first Meng kit and I don't think it'll be my last. Wow, I have never seen surface detail anything near what comes in this kit. The instruction booklet however, not so good. But man the kit itself is crazy cool. I picked it up a couple weeks ago and I've spent much of my free time since at the bench. I will admit that I'm not a Sherman expert. Far from it as this is only my third ever Sherman and my first in probably 25 years. So while I cant speak to the kits accuracy, it has blown my little mind at almost every step. I didn't intend to make a build log at first. I just wanted to build. But now that I'm a fair ways into the kit I figure why not. Though for now I'm keeping the blog process simple by only using my Samsung Galaxy phone for taking photos. I did pick up some foam board from the dollar store round the block from us so I could cobble together a simple photobooth for when I feel like putting in a little extra effort. 20220204_155548 First area I started with was building a short section of track. This kit is mostly track parts so I may as well get an idea for what I'm in for. 20220124_145417 20220124_175005 I'm going to build Lt Col. Abrams' Sherman "Thunderbolt VI" from the 37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division as seen on the very lovely Meng boxart. I've read he had the habit of wearing out tanks so with that in mind it seemed appropriate to break out the dremel and weather the track pads. 20220124_145455 Trying to stay organized and not lose anything. 20220124_175001 Meng provides a handy little track assembly jig. 20220124_175136 20220124_175349 Each track pin gets a tiny dab of CA and then the excess material is trimmed away. 20220124_180324 And voila, a very short section of working track. It takes time but there's nothing particularly difficult about the process. Only patience is required. Oh and yes, there will be duckbills too. 20220124_181620 Next I thought I would start the bogeys. Again these are complex compared to the armour kits I've built in the past. But there's nothing hard about getting them together. Just take your time and you will be rewarded with fully functioning VVSS suspension and rolling wheels. The real volute springs are both fun and save you from having to sand any mold seams. 20220127_152424 20220127_155025 20220127_153234 One of the many small details I noticed. In any other tank I've built they would have the armoured filler caps. But never the caps underneath which this kit does provide. 20220129_102852 And even though it's almost invisible once the cover is in place, there is a photoetched grill for I think crew ventilation. 20220129_102857 20220129_103059 Moving to the turret I painted the back of the vision blocks a light gray/green then masked with a small rectangle of tape. 20220201_204903 I had considered purchasing an aftermarket aluminum barrel which had rifling. But I decided not too as shipping was a touch pricy. To my surprise, the kit barrel provides very nice rifling detail! That's not something I've seen in a plastic kit so I was quite happy to discover this feature! Good thing I didn't bother with the pricy aluminum barrel! 20220203_210341 Wasn't taking too many photos so we jump ahead a fair bit. Hull is complete and primed with major turret components assembled. The flat sections of armour have a beautifully subtle rolled steel texture to them. And the cast steel parts are also very nicely done. If you look along the lower hull dust guard mounts you can see hints of unbelievably tiny welds molded into the kit. 20220203_210150 There's a very nice gun breech in the turret. Though I will probably be including a commander figure in the turret which will completely obscure it. But we'll know it's there. 20220203_210254 I did cave and purchase the stunning brass antenna from Adlers Nest. I had no idea you could turn brass that small in diameter. The antenna base even has a piece of some kind of armature wire inside so if I bend it, the wire will hold that angle. Incredible! 20220128_180053 WWII Sherman antenna or miniature lightsaber kit? You be the judge. 20220128_180109 Each antenna section is of a slightly smaller diameter so they do assemble in a specific order. 20220128_180844 This will be so cool to add to the model later on. 20220128_180702 The .50 cal is a small kit unto itself. I used my new teeny tiny set of twist drills to hollow out the front sight. The barrel came already hollowed out at the front. 20220206_121540 The mount for the .50 cal comes in a left and right half. And I managed to lose the right half. Never was able to find it. Carpet monster won that round. Thankfully I keep my spare parts and the Takom T-29 I built a while back had an unused .50. cal MG. The mount was molded into the gun itself so I used my Dremel to grind away the unneeded plastic. A llittle plastic card was used to finish off my replacement. 20220206_121523 After looking over a fair few photos of Sherman turrets I learned that the surface of each one is quite unique. Not only the cast texture itself but also how each one is cut with a torch along the bottom. The molded in cast texture is very nice but it's too fine and uniform. I didn't have any Mr Surfacer 500 handy so I used some Tamiya White filler putty thinned down just a bit with a Tamiya lacquer thinner. A very mean looking bit in my Dremel was used to replicate the torch marks. Once the putty was dry I used a medium sanding stick to tone down the texture where needed. 20220206_172358 20220205_172334 20220206_172648 According what reference I've found the 2in smoke discharger in the turret should not be covered over for a WWII Sherman. So it was drilled out. And I'm not sure if it's some sort of turret aiming device or something else. But whatever that little L shaped bracket is in front of the commanders hatch, it should have several very small holes. This is understandably not possible with a plastic part. So I took out my very small twitst drills again and by hand, very slowly drilled out where appropriate. 20220206_120854 20220206_172352 The cast panel on the upper front hull and transmission cover also had their cast textures enhanced. 20220206_172747 More Vallejo gloss black primer went on to see how she's progressing. I don't think I'll be using Vallejo primer again. It does not dry into a very robust surface and is easily scratched. 20220207_185224 I think it looks pretty cool all in black. 20220207_185311 I've done more work since these last photos were taken. The commanders cupola is installed with vision blocks masked. The seam at the end of the main gun barrel has been filled and sanded. Retaining pins and associated chains added to the .50cal MG mount. It's good to be back and building again. See you all again soon. -Matt

Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my 1/72 Heller Sherman M4A2, built as a British Mk.III. Stowage from Milicast, figure, decals and photo-etch from Dan Taylor Modelworks. Painted with Mr.Hobby acrylics, pictures by Wolfgang Rabel. I'm primarily an aircraft builder, and not an expert on Sherman tanks. However I understand that "a Sherman is not a Sherman" and there's numerous differences between marks and operators. Studying my (limited) references and the Dan Taylor Modelworks decal instructions (27th Armoured Briagde Set 3, T-76007) I hope I got most details right. The brushguards and the antenna socket are photo-etch parts from Dan Taylor's selection. The antenna itself is a piece of stretched black sprue. Markings represent a mid-production vehicle of the Junior Regiment of C-Squadron, 27th Armoured Brigade in France, 1944. Thank you for your interest, all feedback and comments on possible errors is welcome! Greetings from Vienna Roman

My last job...

Hi Guys I recently finished my „Three Shermans in the PTO“ - Caesar (Tinian, 1944), El Toro (Guam, 1944) & Davy Jones (Iwo Jima, 1945) in 1:35 scale. I used the newer Zvezda Kit (for Caesar), the older Dragon Tarawa kit (for El toro) and the Italeri USMC Sherman kit for Davy Jones. Individual tracks for Caesar plus duck bills for Davy Jones from Bronco, plus a bunch of aftermarket stuff for all three of them. Some minor scratchbuilding was done on Davy Jones. Decals via Toro Decals. They were painted with Mig's Ammo colours, weathering was done with oils (Abteilung 502) and pigments (Vallejo/AK Interactive). ...looking forward to your feedback!

Sherman Firefly VC Starter Set 1:72 Airfix A55003 The Sherman was one of the most widely used Allied tanks during WWII, named after an American Civil War general when it entered service in the early part of the war. It was the mainstay of Allied armour, and was a reliable and rugged vehicle, but initially suffered from weak points and thin side armour that allowed a carefully placed shot to penetrate it an set the tank afire. Once identified appliqué armour was added to the vulnerable spots to improve survivability. It became one of the most produced tanks of WWII, with over 50,000 produced, 17,000+ of which were destined for British service. Originally fitted with a 75mm gun, the arrival of the Panther and Tiger tanks in the European Theatre led to tests for improving firepower to penetrate the thicker armour of these new foes. The American tests weren't as successful as the British forays into heavy armament, and it was the redesign and installation of the Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun in a standard turret that resulted in the Firefly, lead by W.G.K. Kilbourn, a Vickers engineer, that succeeded in adding the gun to the Sherman. It was capable of knocking out a Panther and Tiger at combat ranges from then on. Although the Firefly concept was initially rejected, it was pushed ahead and the improved Shermans started reaching the front just in time for the work-up before D-Day where it accredited itself well. To hide the extra firepower the length of the barrel was sometimes disguised by adding a wavy camouflage to the underside in the hope the enemy would confuse it with the weaker 75mm gun and be less cautious. By war's end around 2,000 Fireflys had been produced, and had been used effectively as part of the larger Sherman force, evolving new tactics to protect the valuable Fireflies while making good use of their heavy hitting power. Tanks with 17-pounder guns were usually known as "1C", "1C Hybrid", or "VC", depending on the basic mark of the vehicle. The "C" indicated fitment of the 17 Pounder Gun. The Firefly nickname is said to be a response to the bright flash of the gun firing. The Kit This is a new tool from Airfix and is 1.72 unlike some other small scale armour kits which were 1/76 scale. As you can expect from a new tool the moulding are crisp and clean, the plastic also seems to be a bit harder than some of the modern aircraft kits. In a departure from previous kits the rubber band tracks have gone. In the initial boxing both link and length tracks and single part tracks moulded with the wheels/bogies were included, this is now a "Simplified" version of this kit with only the single part tracks/wheels included. A good thin for the younger modeller. As well as paints, glue and a brush the instructions have also been re-worked to show where all the parts are on the sprues, and a small guide to tools is included in the kit. The main lower hull is the first step in construction. the two sides attach to the base and the front and rear parts go on. In addition at the rear the exhaust shroud goes on. The tracks can now go on. We then move onto the upper hull. Some holes first need to be made and then the rear bulkhead with mud guards attached is added . Next up its the turret containing that all important 17 pounder gun. The mantlet is first added to the turret followed by the single part barrel. With careful gluing of the parts the gun will elevate. Only one half of the muzzle brake is moulded onto the barrel, with the other half needing to be added. The base is then added to the turret, and on top the large hatch and aerial mount is added. A side hatch complete the turret and it can be added to the vehicle. Decals The small sheet from Cartograf (no no issues there) provides markings for a single tank from 1st Sqn, 2nd Armoured Regiment, 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, Polish 1st Armoured Division. Conclusion As well as Airfix's drive into 1/35 scale armour it is good to see them sticking with their roots and producing new kits for the small scale armour modeller. The kit looks really good in the box and their should be an appeal to the younger modeller with the simplified track details, or even a market for war gamers? Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Classic Conflict Gift Set Tiger I / Sherman Firefly Vc 1:72 Airfix A50186 This new set seems to be Airfix's Dogfight Doubles set for Armour. This new box brings together the the new Tiger and Sherman Firefly kits with paint, glue & brushes added. Everyone that’s even a little bit interested in tanks will know the name of the dreaded Tiger tank from WWII, which was at the forefront of German armoured might, and if it wasn’t for the limited numbers on the battlefield coupled with their unreliability, plus Hitler’s meddling with his General’s decisions, the invasion in 1944 might have been much harder fought than it already was. Designed to replace the Panzer IV but often fighting alongside it, the Tiger added extra armour and a larger 88mm gun similar to that of the successful Flak 37 artillery piece, and became one of the most dangerous tanks on the field in the later stages of WWII. The drive-train was stressed to the max due to the huge weight of the gun and armour, which caused many vehicles to be lost due to breakdowns and subsequent abandonment and scuttling of the hull. The Sherman was one of the most widely used Allied tanks during WWII, named after an American Civil War general when it entered service in the early part of the war. It was the mainstay of Allied armour, and was a reliable and rugged vehicle, but initially suffered from weak points and thin side armour that allowed a carefully placed shot to penetrate it an set the tank afire. Once identified appliqué armour was added to the vulnerable spots to improve survivability. It became one of the most produced tanks of WWII, with over 50,000 produced, 17,000+ of which were destined for British service. Originally fitted with a 75mm gun, the arrival of the Panther and Tiger tanks in the European Theatre led to tests for improving firepower to penetrate the thicker armour of these new foes. The American tests weren't as successful as the British forays into heavy armament, and it was the redesign and installation of the Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun in a standard turret that resulted in the Firefly, lead by W.G.K. Kilbourn, a Vickers engineer, that succeeded in adding the gun to the Sherman. It was capable of knocking out a Panther and Tiger at combat ranges from then on. Although the Firefly concept was initially rejected, it was pushed ahead and the improved Shermans started reaching the front just in time for the work-up before D-Day where it accredited itself well. To hide the extra firepower the length of the barrel was sometimes disguised by adding a wavy camouflage to the underside in the hope the enemy would confuse it with the weaker 75mm gun and be less cautious. By war's end around 2,000 Fireflys had been produced, and had been used effectively as part of the larger Sherman force, evolving new tactics to protect the valuable Fireflies while making good use of their heavy hitting power. Tanks with 17-pounder guns were usually known as "1C", "1C Hybrid", or "VC", depending on the basic mark of the vehicle. The "C" indicated fitment of the 17 Pounder Gun. The Firefly nickname is said to be a response to the bright flash of the gun firing. The Kit - Tiger I This is a new tool from Airfix and is 1.72 unlike some other small scale armour kits which were 1/76 scale. As you can expect from a new tool the moulding are crisp and clean, the plastic also seems to be a bit harder than some of the modern aircraft kits. In a departure from previous kits the rubber band tracks have gone. In this boxing both link and length tracks and single part tracks moulded with the wheels/bogies are included, it would seem Airfix are also going to release a "Simplified" version of this kit with only the single part tracks/wheels included. The first thing to do when starting construction is to select which track types you want and follow the instruction steps for that one. First up the lower hull is built. The sides are attached to the base and the front and rear bulkheads are added. The main top of the tank is then added and the side plates with track guards go on. At the rear the engine exhausts with their covers, and the rear mud guards are attached. At the front the bow machine gun and drivers vision port are added. To finish of the hull the tow cables are added. Construction now moves to the turret. The gun mantlet is built up and then placed in between the tow side of the turret. No glue is used here if you wish the gun to elevate. Hole are drilled in one side of the turret for attaching additional track links. Once the side are together the turret roof can be added along with the rear storage locker. Hatches and vision blocks can then be added also. Next up the single part barrel goes on, the muzzle brake is in tow halves one moulded in and the other half now going on. If using the simplified tracks these can be glued together and attached to the tank, though this will leave a central seam. If not using the simplified tracks then you dont have to worry about the multitude of interleaved wheels. Airfix have moulded these as one major part onto which the faces of the second row wheels are separate and now go on. The outer wheels are all individual parts. The drive sprockets are made up and then these attach to the front of the completed wheel assembly which also contains the return roller. The link and length tracks then go around the whole assembly. To finish up the track assemblies are added to the hull along with the turret. Decals The small decal sheet is from Cartograf so should post no issues, it has one scheme, the Tiger commanded my Michael Wittmann, The Kit - Sherman Firefly This is a new tool from Airfix and is 1.72 unlike some other small scale armour kits which were 1/76 scale. As you can expect from a new tool the moulding are crisp and clean, the plastic also seems to be a bit harder than some of the modern aircraft kits. In a departure from previous kits the rubber band tracks have gone. In this boxing both link and length tracks and single part tracks moulded with the wheels/bogies are included, it would seem Airfix are also going to release a "Simplified" version of this kit with only the single part tracks/wheels included. The first thing to do when starting construction is to select which track types you want and follow the instruction steps for that one. The main lower hull is the first step in construction. the two sides attach to the base and the front and rear parts go on. In addition at the rear the exhaust shroud goes on. Then at the front the drive housings go on. If you have elected for the simplified tracks these can now be added. If you are going for the full works then three sets of bogies for each side need to be built up, along with the drive sprockets and return rollers are added. The lenghts of track can then be added. We then move onto the upper hull. Some holes first need to be made and then the rear bulkhead with mud guards attached is added. Additional parts and tools can then be added to the upper hull . A cross beam is added to the front plate which was commonly used to store extra spares and equipment on. Jerry cans and extra ammo boxes are supplied in the kit for use in this area, or any where else the modeller wishes to use them. Additional track, and road wheels are also provided if the modeller wishes to add them to the hull in the form of spare links, and/or extra armour. Next up its the turret containing that all important 17 pounder gun. The mantlet is first added to the turret followed by the single part barrel. With careful gluing of the parts the gun will elevate. Only one half of the muzzle brake is moulded onto the barrel, with the other half needing to be added. The base is then added to the turret, and on top the large hatch and aerial mount is added. A side hatch complete the turret and it can be added to the vehicle. Decals The small sheet from Cartograf (no no issues there) provides markings for one tank; "BELVEDERE" Staffordshire Yeomanry, 27th Armoured Brigade, Operation Goodwood, Normandy June 1944 Conclusion As well as Airfix's drive into 1/35 scale armour it is good to see them sticking with their roots and producing new kits for the small scale armour modeller. The new box brings together their two newer kit. This should appeal to the younger modeller with the simplified track details, or even a market for war gamers? Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

(This is the Bovington M4A1 Grizzly before it was restored and used as a gate guard I think ) The Canadian Sherman M4A1 Grizzly was simply a Canadian built version of the Sherman M4A1 and is almost identical to its American counterpart except for a few small(ish) details/changes that tend to give the Canadian Grizzly a very distinctive look, these changes mostly involve the Canadian Dry Pin tracks (CDP) and the big rib suspension bogies, which could be considered to be Sexton bogies really I think as they were mostly used on the Sexton SPG, and it should be noted that not all Canadian Grizzlies were fitted with these big rib bogie units, the CDP track is very distinctive because the contact face tends to resemble German Panzer III/IV track, this combined with the solid and very chunky looking front drive sprocket is what tends to make a Canadian built M4A1 Grizzly stand out, and it has to said that most, if not all surviving Sherman M4A1's that are still in working order and being used for shows and events are in fact Canadian built Grizzlies, with the tracks and drive sprockets being replaced with the more normal US track/sprockets to try and disguise it as a US built M4A1, but there are always other little detail changes that tend to give the game away, such as the Grizzly groove on the rear engine deck area, turret bin mounting lugs, and the big rib bogies if these were fitted. But anyway, This build log is just a bit of lockdown fun and shouldn't be taken too seriously, and it should be noted that this project/build was first started many many years ago, and has been put to rest on the shelf of doom many times mostly due to getting bored and fed up with working on it, and the chances of me ever getting this finished are pretty low to be perfectly honest, I tend to do a little bit of work, and then lose interest for a while, but it might be fun (who knows) to have a little play with some white plastic card again for a while, and feel free to post comments, offer advice, point out mistakes, that kinda thing, It's just a bit of fun with plastic card The Lower Hull As far as I'm aware all of the Canadian M4A1 Grizzlies had welded hulls, Tasca provides a riveted hull in the kit and it can easily be converted to a welded hull, the Tasca instructions included give clear advice on what needs to be done, which is mostly just removing all the rivets to be honest, something that's time consuming but not exactly difficult, but me being me, I decided to do things the hard way, and going against my better judgement and all model making related common sense decided to scratch build the lower hull, as you do... Pictures above, It's mostly just a copy of the standard Tasca hull really, but with a much thicker floor plate to give the whole thing some strength, the engine bulkhead wall is there also just to give the whole thing added strength, it's not really needed to be honest, though it does help when test fitting the lower hull to the upper hull as it kinda provides a handy bump stop which lets me know when things are in the right place, the tubes and stuff are also just to strengthen things up a little. My photography skills are not as good as my scratching skills that's for sure, picture above is the basic scratched hull, glued together with ca after first being 'tacked' with little spots of poly cement, Evergreen plastic sheet/card is very soft so it's best to do most of the major glue work with ca in my opinion, poly cement can cause havoc sometimes, the bolts that secure the FDA to the sides of the hull have been added already using Master club resin bolts. And pictures above are simply test fitting the new lower hull into the Tasca upper hull, the curves on the sponson edges make getting a good fit a bit of a pain but nothing to bad, the main problem is that the sponsons are fairly weak and are put under a lot of stress when test fitting, so care is needed otherwise joints will start to creak and something will break off, more on this later, as things did start to creak and I had to strengthen the sponson joints, I have to admit that at the time I was kinda shocked at how well it fitted the upper hull, but it would of been much faster to just remove the rivets from the Tasca hull, more fun this way though... The Tasca Hull Pictures below, this is the standard Tasca/Asuka hull as supplied in the kit, basically you just need to remove a huge number of rivet heads from the hull bottom and both of the side plates, as shown with the arrows in the pictures below, and If you are a stickler for detail then I think the two cross braces will also need to be reworked as they are slightly different on a welded hull, but its nothing too difficult, and the bottom of the hull doesn't really matter anyway as it's not seen, It's important to leave the line of bolt heads that can be seen on the front edge of the side plates though, as these represent the bolts that mount the FDA to the hull. I think (but not sure) that the two cross braces that are marked with arrows in the picture above need to be reworked, they need to be more triangular in cross section and then spot welded in place with strange looking elongated spot welds, I also read somewhere that the Canadian M4A1 Grizzly had an extra hatch on the bottom? But as already stated elsewhere it's the underneath and will never be seen so it's not really that important unless you are a stickler for detail to be honest. As you can imagine pictures of the underneath of a Canadian M4A1 Grizzly are not exactly common on the internet, so it's fairly hard to check anything, but I think the picture above gives a good idea of what the cross braces should look like on a welded hull, it's like a flat plate that's been pressed to form a triangular shape and then spot welded on instead of being riveted, anyway this is what I copied when I added some detail to my scratched hull, If I remember correctly I had lost the will to live at this point after spending far too much time trying to find some pictures of the underside of the Grizzly hull. Matt

Sherman - The M4 Tank in WWII Casemate Illustrated Special ISBN : 9781612007397 The Sherman, its hard to think of a more iconic allied tank of WWII. There were plenty of different tanks out there but the M4 Medium Tank was the most numerous. It was used in all theaters of WWII by all the allied nations. While the Sherman may have been out gunned by the heavier Axis Armour the sheer force of numbers combined with the way it was deployed and supported won the day. This book from Casemate in their Illustrated Special range is just slightly smaller than A4 in size, hard back with 240 pages. The book is illustrated throughout with black and white photos, with some colour photos, plates & drawings towards the back of the book. The book looks all aspects of the Sherman in service, all the tank variants, and other uses,; along with post war use by other nations. Full contents of this expanded Casemate Illustrated Special are; Origins Production The Chassis Turrets Armament & Ammunition Crew Evolution for the Sherman Logistics, Supply and Backup Numbering and Markings Unit Composition & Organisation The Success of the Sherman Sherman since 1945 Conclusion This is a quality publication looking at this most important of Tanks in WWII. All aspectrs of the tank, its development, use and support are considered. There are great photos throughout which will be of interest to the modeller and WWII buff alike. Very Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

HI Everyone, I have finally finished my first diorama, as above I have called it NAAFI Break I had no plan and no idea really, Started with a Comet my first model for well over 20 years and then a Firefly my favourite WW2 battle wagons, then decided on a diorama, and found the base by accident I liked, and without any planning just added as I went along, lots of first for me on this, so overall I am chuffed to bits with it, few areas could be better especially the figures, but thanks to some great tips received and with practice the next ones will be better. Enough Waffle 😂 The Pics Well there it is, It has been a great stress reliever if not for COVID I may not have got back into the hobby. Cheers Mark

Sherman Firefly VC 1:72 Airfix A02341 The Sherman was one of the most widely used Allied tanks during WWII, named after an American Civil War general when it entered service in the early part of the war. It was the mainstay of Allied armour, and was a reliable and rugged vehicle, but initially suffered from weak points and thin side armour that allowed a carefully placed shot to penetrate it an set the tank afire. Once identified appliqué armour was added to the vulnerable spots to improve survivability. It became one of the most produced tanks of WWII, with over 50,000 produced, 17,000+ of which were destined for British service. Originally fitted with a 75mm gun, the arrival of the Panther and Tiger tanks in the European Theatre led to tests for improving firepower to penetrate the thicker armour of these new foes. The American tests weren't as successful as the British forays into heavy armament, and it was the redesign and installation of the Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun in a standard turret that resulted in the Firefly, lead by W.G.K. Kilbourn, a Vickers engineer, that succeeded in adding the gun to the Sherman. It was capable of knocking out a Panther and Tiger at combat ranges from then on. Although the Firefly concept was initially rejected, it was pushed ahead and the improved Shermans started reaching the front just in time for the work-up before D-Day where it accredited itself well. To hide the extra firepower the length of the barrel was sometimes disguised by adding a wavy camouflage to the underside in the hope the enemy would confuse it with the weaker 75mm gun and be less cautious. By war's end around 2,000 Fireflys had been produced, and had been used effectively as part of the larger Sherman force, evolving new tactics to protect the valuable Fireflies while making good use of their heavy hitting power. Tanks with 17-pounder guns were usually known as "1C", "1C Hybrid", or "VC", depending on the basic mark of the vehicle. The "C" indicated fitment of the 17 Pounder Gun. The Firefly nickname is said to be a response to the bright flash of the gun firing. The Kit This is a new tool from Airfix and is 1.72 unlike some other small scale armour kits which were 1/76 scale. As you can expect from a new tool the moulding are crisp and clean, the plastic also seems to be a bit harder than some of the modern aircraft kits. In a departure from previous kits the rubber band tracks have gone. In this boxing both link and length tracks and single part tracks moulded with the wheels/bogies are included, it would seem Airfix are also going to release a "Simplified" version of this kit with only the single part tracks/wheels included. The first thing to do when starting construction is to select which track types you want and follow the instruction steps for that one. The main lower hull is the first step in construction. the two sides attach to the base and the front and rear parts go on. In addition at the rear the exhaust shroud goes on. Then at the front the drive housings go on. If you have elected for the simplified tracks these can now be added. If you are going for the full works then three sets of bogies for each side need to be built up, along with the drive sprockets and return rollers are added. The lenghts of track can then be added. We then move onto the upper hull. Some holes first need to be made and then the rear bulkhead with mud guards attached is added. Additional parts and tools can then be added to the upper hull . A cross beam is added to the front plate which was commonly used to store extra spares and equipment on. Jerry cans and extra ammo boxes are supplied in the kit for use in this area, or any where else the modeller wishes to use them. Additional track, and road wheels are also provided if the modeller wishes to add them to the hull in the form of spare links, and/or extra armour. Next up its the turret containing that all important 17 pounder gun. The mantlet is first added to the turret followed by the single part barrel. With careful gluing of the parts the gun will elevate. Only one half of the muzzle brake is moulded onto the barrel, with the other half needing to be added. The base is then added to the turret, and on top the large hatch and aerial mount is added. A side hatch complete the turret and it can be added to the vehicle. Decals The small sheet from Cartograf (no no issues there) provides markings for two tanks; "BELVEDERE" Staffordshire Yeomanry, 27th Armoured Brigade, Operation Goodwood, Normandy June 1944 "12" 3 Troop, A Sqn, Northamptonshire Yeomanry, Normandy 1944 Conclusion As well as Airfix's drive into 1/35 scale armour it is good to see them sticking with their roots and producing new kits for the small scale armour modeller. The kit looks really good in the box and their should be an appeal to the younger modeller with the simplified track details, or even a market for war gamers? Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of