for a while ive wanted a USMC sherman but have never gotten around to getting one. now i want one and i would like some feedback first on which kit is the best. academy recently came out with a new one and italeri has had one out there for a while. anyone build these and can shed some light? should i wait for the DML M4A2 to come out?
Must admit I’m no expert, but from the grapevine, Academy and Dragon seem to have some great offerings. I guess someone who is building or built one will help you out more.
I haven’t seen the DML kit yet, so I can’t really say much about it, but I do have the Italeria kit, and from just examinning the contents of the box, I think it has the potential to build into a pretty nice representation of a Marine Sherman. All of the moldings seem to be crisp, and reasonably detailed. I haven’t given any thought to doing any after market detailing on this kit, I think with some “TLC” it can go pretty much go out of the box. Even the rubber band tracks can be made to look pretty detailed with some washing and dry brushing. I’m looking forward to attacking mine along with the Italeria LVT’s which will get some after market detailing when I take on the Pacific campaigns. I know that most folks will probably go with Academy or DML, but I got a really good price on the Italeria, and see a fun build in the makes. Semper Fi, mike
I am just finishing up the Academy M4A2. It is a very nice kit. The plastic is on the soft side and there were a few minor fit issues. The one thing with it, is you have the option for 5 Shermans, 3 with wood armor and 2 without. The ones with the wood armor are in actuality M4A3s, but can be made close. The kit lacks the upswept return roller arms, but other than that really everything major you need to make them accurate is in the box. Plan on making your own wood siding if you do Boomerang or Doris, as the plastic wood planking included is incorrect for those two. They should have the two wide planks. It was actually pretty easy to do. I got some airplane balsa at the LHS and using the plastic wood plank as a template, cut them with an exacto knife. They look more real anyway. Two options are included for actual M4A2s- Caesar and Goldbrick Jr, both without wood armor and wading trunks.
I haven’t seen much on the Dragon M4A2, but basing this on their M4A1 and M4A2 Russian Shermans, this should be a great kit with lots of extras.
I cannot tell you about the Italeri kit, as I haven’t done one.
You forgot one. The DML M4A3 HVSS POA-CWS-H5, a great late model Sherman used at the end of the war and in Korea. This is the 105mm howitzer version with a coaxial flamethrower.
I haven’t had a chance to get a hold of that one. Their M4A3E8 Korean War version is very nice looking, and I am guessing they share parts?
I built my Italeri kit out of the box with no major problems with the kit.
More pics of it here: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/muzzleflash/models/m4sherman/
I have not seen the DML kit yet but this one was fun to build.
muzzleflash88: did the kit come with all those extras uve got there or is that an aftermarket set?
I have no experience with the Academy kit.
I am currently building both the DML M4A2 Red Army and the Italeri USMC. The DML is a great kit. I’ve had no major problems with it. In fact, I can’t think of any minor ones either (other than some very delicate parts and heavy sprue gates, which don’t make a good combination). I imagine the M4A2 USMC will be of similar quality.
The Italeri has some major issues. First, there are duplicate part numbers on the A sprue. You have to be careful which ones you use. For instance, there are two sets of sponson extensions for the rear of the lower hull. They are different lengths and have the same part numbers, albeit reversed, side to side. There is no mention of this on the instruction sheet. Looking at the shaded, not for use parts showed me which to use. But there were others where the part numbers were duplicated that the shading on the inst. sheet didn’t help. You just need to be real careful when building to avoid this.
Next, the instructions say you can build either an M4A3 out of the box or replace the engine deck with an included part ot make it an M4A2. This is not true. You will wind up with an M4A3 with an M4A2 engine deck. There are quite a few changes to the rear hull you would need to do to have an accurate M4A2. Better to keep this one an M4A2 and get one of the others for an M4A2.
I’ve also run into a few fit problems. With dry fitting, trimming, clamping parts, and putty, I’m getting around most of them, so far.
The tracks are pretty stiff, and I’ve heard they can snap the drivers from the running gear when being installed. So great care or an AM track set is in order.
Good luck with whatever you decide.