Sherman M4A3 (76) W - project ended

Freshly painted

I used 1/3 Olive Drab and 2/3 US Dark Green from Vallejo. Very easy to work with and what a superb appearance once dried! Perfect for brush painting. Next, I'll spray some glossy cover on it and continue with the weathering process.

Sherman M4A3 (76) W - construction done

Construction almost done

The construction is nearly done. Some minor details remained such as fixing the towing cable and adding more stowage.

The turret

I started to work at the turret. The most difficult part was to recreate the .50 cal heavy machine gun barrel clamp.

Some hull progress

The second hatch is done. Brush guard, interior/exterior grab handle and closing mechanism added:


The stowage rack, a nice one from Dragon:


The tracks are not glued into place. I'm thinking about painting them separately.

Periscope brush guards

One of the most difficult problem to tackle on this kit is represented by the periscope brush guards. Unlike some more recent Dragon kits that include PE options, this particular M4A3 doesn't. Although I was skeptic about any attempt to replicate it, I managed to build a periscope brush guard today.

Work on the hull

I added the PE headlight protections and some minor improvements on the siren protection (too bad Dragon didn't provided a PE option). The back-lights protections and its wiring were entirely made from scraps.

The rear

I replaced the handle of the engine access door. Quite a brain surgery on this scale.

Project started: Sherman M4A3 (76) - the bogie set

One of the most tedious job on a Braille Sherman are the bogies. I added the bolts and drilled the four holes for the return roller.

Next project - Sherman M4A3 (76) W

This is my next project, Sherman M4A3 (76) W from Dragon - their first Sherman kit which was followed by an entire plethora of such fine Sherman kits.

This is a great review from Doug Chaltry.
And, for those who can read Romanian, this review is very usefull.

I will try to depict a tank photographed on January 1945, in France, near Riedwihr.