Hey all,
Which should I build first?
First choice is the Tamiya M4A3 75mm with a bunch of aftermarket goodies (Eduard photo etch, barrel, and AFV Club tracks).
I saw the second choice at the local hobby shop and snatched it up without thinking about it. It’s the Dragon M4A1 Operation Cobra kit.
I need some help with this decision, because I expect both kits to be alot of fun and keep me busy for a while.
Semper Fi,
Chris
Dragon one, don’t ask why lol…
I’ve recently finished a M4A3 from Tamiya OOB. It built up nice, and I had no real complaints about it.
Go with the Tamiya kit first.
Grant
My pick would be the Tamiya M4A3 75. It is a good kit. Some PE and an Aluminum barrel would be a great addition. IMHO the kit tracks don’t need to be replaced as they are good. One problem with this kit is the bottom of the sponsons are open so you need to cover them up with a piece of plastic sheet.
1 vote for Dragon
2 for Tamiya
Dwight - I already used the Tamiya M4A3 tracks for my M10. The AFV tracks were just a little bit too wide.
Thanks for the input guys. I’d love to hear more opinions of these two kits.
Semper Fi,
Chris
Now I understand.
BTW I also have the Dragon M4A1 76 but haven’t built it yet. But it sure look very good.
Im going to vote Dragon. Why you might ask…well…I like dragon kits better in general, for the details. But I have not built either one of these, so dont take my vote as a professional opinion. So in other words dont listen to me…unless you just need a tie breaker vote or something. Hope this helped.[?]
My vote is for Tamiya. Great kit aside of the sponsons already mentioned. BTW, I’ve ordered replacement tracks from Tamiya before. I have not seen the Dragon kit yet. Just my [2c].
2 for Dragon
3 for Tamiya
It’s a close race, keep em comin.
Semper Fi,
Chris
I’ve recently build the M4A2 76W from Dragon, and it is a very nice build! Only two downs… the turret is a real bad fit, lots of filler needed. And the (vinyl)tracks in this kit are too long (not just in mine, i’ve heard more about them)
I’d like to see you build the tamiya one, just to compare [;)]
Jan [:)]
Build the Tamiya one first of course.
Ben
I’d say they both will end up being nice models. For tweaks on the classic M4A3 kit, go here:
Blonde or brunette?
Great taste, or less filling?
Looks like two fine kits to me!
I vote for tossing a coin, Chris. Heads Tamiya, tails Dragon. Let me know what the result is. [;)]
Semper Fi
The Tamyia of course! (practice for the Dragon, lol)
Curtesey of ArcherFineTransfers, templates to close off the sponson gap!
http://www.archertransfers.com/WEB%20pictures/ShermanFix.pdf
enjoy!
Jon UK
2 Dragon
6 Tamiya
It’s looking like tamiya’s winning. I’ll start it as early as tomorrow, if work doesn’t interfere. Thanks for the sponson filler templates and the M4A3 tweeking site. I hope I don’t OD on OD.
Semper Fi,
Chris
My suggestion: Warm up with the easy-to-build Tamiya kit first, then tackle the complex Dragon kit.
They’re both great kits, but you might burn out quicker on the million-part Dragon kit…meaning you might not have the stamina to continue on to the Tamiya kit! Build the easier kit first.
Great link, thanks!
I’ve built the Tamiya M4 with Eduard PE and alsohave an unbuilt Dragon M4A1(75mm).
In spite of the fact that the Tamiya kit iteslf is probably a bit easier to assemble, I think I would suggest building the Dragon kit first. My Dragon M4A1 has oodles of extra parts, and I suspect yours does as well. If you build the Dragon kit first, you’ll give yourself a box of spares, some of which may be useful on the Tamiya kit. Secondly, I’m not sure how much PE experience you have, but it looks like the Dragon box is showing a simple PE fret which would be a lot less involved than the Eduard set that you have for the Tamiya kit.
One FYI on the Eduard PE is that I don’t think their front fenders are correct. They should angle a lot more ending up with a very narrow front. It’s almost as though their pattern maker picked up the wide front edge that would be found on HVSS fenders but put in on the narrower VVSS fenders. If carefully shave down the edges of the kit fenders, you can give a plausible sheet metal thickness which drastically compromising thier strength. Other than that, the Eduard PE was pretty decent and easy to use.
Whichever kit you embark upon, good luck on your builds.
Andy
Can I vote for the Dragon kit again? …is that proper forum behavoir? If it is Ill vote for the Dragon twice just to make it a close race.[#offtopic]
7 votes Tamiya
3.5 for Dragon (Dave I counted your second vote as a point 5).
I’m about to finish up my quick little chopper project, at which point I will be starting on the winner of this vote. I’m not very intimidated by PE, I just don’t use the parts that I don’t like. Wohoo, I’m looking forward to these builds. The bulge or the hedgrows, the stubby 75 or the long 76, the angled hull or contoured one, shermans are so much fun.
Semper Fi,
Chris