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The IWM collection includes a series of photos of the Lee T-25602 tank, taken by Capt E A Taylor in the Mandalay area on March 20, 1945. The vehicle itself is interesting because it is one of the few Lee tanks in Burma that still has the original American MG turret on the top of the main turret, while most British Lees had a round hatch at this place. It also has a short-barreled M2 gun with a counterweight and rear bins with an inclined (rather than horizontal) top cover. The photos are numbered IWM SE3491, 3494, 3495, 3497, 3499 and 3502. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205205524 This tank was portrayed by Star Decals in the decal set 35-C1120 http://www.star-decals.net/35-C1120.html and this is where my doubts arise. First of all, Star Decals leaves it up to us whether the stars on the hull sides should be white or yellow. Has anyone ever seen yellow stars on this theatre and on British tanks at all? And secondly - in photo SE3491 above, the front horizontal arm of the white (yellow?) star is partially obscured by the corner of some vertically positioned rectangle, darker than Jungle Green, on which a lighter emblem is faintly visible. Star Decals presents it as a black rectangle with a yellow creature - either a kangaroo or a rat, similar to the one from the 7th Armoured Brigade, but with its tail pointing up instead of down - which is unlikely to happen to rats. I've looked at this photo over and over again, using different brightness and contrast settings, but to me it looks more like the white gauntlet of the 6th Armoured Division. But where does this sign on a tank in Burma come from? Can anyone shed some light on these two doubts? Cheers Michael

Like to join this GB with Tamiya`s classic A27 Cruiser Cromwell IV built as a MkVI using Accurate Armour parts and marking of 7th Armoured Division from Star decals. Hopefully the photos will post! Regards Grahame

The 1/48th version of this hasn’t been forgotten, just put aside so that it’s big brother can take centre stage (yes, I know; it’s becoming a habit!!) I picked this kit up off of Ebay for a reasonable price, so that I could tackle the IDF M1 in 1/35th scale. I did one of these a few years ago, but that one mounted the M1A2 main gun with the muzzle brake. The one that I intend building this time has the earlier M1A1 main gun without the muzzle brake. For this build, I'm using the Dragon kit No.6083, M4A1 (76mm)W, Operation Cobra. As I said, I bought it off of the internet, and I'm a little bit suspicious that the seller has cobbled it together from different kits. Some of the reviews that I've read state that the kit contains an aluminium barrel. Mine didn't. This kit has been around for a few years now, and I think that maybe Dragon have changed a lot of what is included, as some of the reviews state that the kit includes British T62 tracks, whereas mine contains two sets of DS T48 tracks, one with duckbills and one without. These will end up in the spares box, as what I need for this build is a set of T54E1's. I found a set in a Tamiya kit and they don't look bad, so providing they fit the sprockets, they will suffice. There are one or two features which I don't like about the kit, most noticeable being the OTT casting texture on the hull and FDH. Dragon state on the box lid that the hull has “realistic cast texture”, and even some of the well known online reviewers say that it's realistic. I beg to disagree. Cast hull Shermans had very little casting texture. This is way over the top. It will need sanding down quite a bit to get it to a more realistic appearance. It's very reminiscent of the cast hull in the old Dragon M51. What I do like though is the slide moulded M1A1 barrel, so IMO, there is no need for an AM barrel. Also included is a new exhaust deflector. So, hopefully, I'll post some progress in the near future. John.

I originally made a start on this build about 8-10 years ago and got as far as building most of the lower hull, but then I discovered to my horror that the hull tub was warped and there was no chance of fixing it with all of those parts glued in place. Fast forward a couple of years, and I was at Telford and on one of the stands, someone was selling off some kits cheap which had belonged to a modeller who had sadly died. Among them was the AFV Club, Aussie Mk.V.1 for the princely sum of £15 (there was also a Dragon Conquerer for the same price, and I’m still kicking myself for not buying it). Fast forward to today, and I’m setting this as a marker for my next build. I’ve still got the M51 to finish, but it’s not as if I can go out very much at the moment, so hopefully, I can get both done. At least this hull isn’t warped. This is fairly new territory for me, but as I understand it, there isn’t a great deal of difference between the Mk.lll and the Mk.V. One thing that did need changing was the turret, so at the time of the original build, I had purchased a Lionmarc resin turret, which does look good, and incorporates the canvas mantlet cover. There’s a small etched sheet included. The mesh will probably be replaced with some Accurate Armour etched brass diamond mesh. Metal tow rope............ .............and a very nice aluminium 20pdr A type barrel. What isn’t in this kit though are the bazooka plates as the Australians didn’t use them in Vietnam, but I’ve had a kind offer from Ben (Badger) of an etched set. Lastly, a couple of years ago I picked up a Star Decals sheet for the Centurion Mk.lll based in Korea. One other thing. Reading up on the differences between the Mk.lll and the Mk.V I found a reference to the fact that the Mk.V had an extra return wheel added at the front. This is in the AFV kit, but when I checked the instructions on line for the Mk.lll kit from AFV, it too had the additional return roller. Anyone know if this is a mistake on AFV’s part, or were the Mk.lll’s fitted with it? OK, so once I have something done, I'll start to post the progress. If I get any enjoyment out of this build, then I will be looking out for a Shot Kal. John.

Along with the original VVSS M1 Shermans, the Israelis also received a lot of HVSS Shermans, mainly from the French, which when they put them into service were dubbed “Super Sherman”. About year ago, I built an M1 using the Tamiya kit. This time, I am going to use the Tamiya M51 and substitute some of the parts with parts from the M1 kit such as the turret and engine deck. I'll also be using an AM main gun from RB Models along with their 12.7mm M2 Browning. The only set of decals that I know of for this tank are those made by Star decals, and I'm waiting on a set being delivered at the moment. Hopefully, this build will be more successful than my M60 build. So this is the tank, although, not exactly the same. Different markings and different track guard supports. Tamiya M1 Sherman. Tamiya M51. RB Models 76mm main gun and 12.7mm M2 Browning. As I said, the decals should (hopefully) be on their way from Sweden. I'll put some photos up later of where I am at now. John.