Tamiya's all-new 1/48
scale
M4 Sherman
Early Production
S
u m m a r y
|
Catalogue Number: |
Kit No. MM32505 |
Scale: |
1/35 |
Contents and Media: |
Olive high-pressure injection moulded
plastic; one die-cast, pre-primed part for main hull; markings for three
Shermans. |
Price: |
1,600 yen |
Review Type: |
FirstLook |
Advantages: |
Great fit and easy build; crisp
detail; cast lower hull adds add strength to assembly; excellent link and length tracks;
markings include two-colour camo option. |
Disadvantages: |
Sponsons not boxed in (open to hull
above tracks); ejector pin marks on inside of tracks and hatches; no tow
cable; no interior
detail (not even a breech); no figures. |
Recommendation: |
Highly Recommended |
Reviewed and Built by Steve Palffy
with images & additional text by Brett Green
Tamiya's 1/48 scale M4 Sherman Early Production will be available online from Squadron.com
I opened the front door this morning to almost
trip over a parcel. Somehow I had missed the courier earlier, but
luckily he left his precious cargo. Inside the box were two kits -
Tamiya's 1/48 scale Sherman and Sturmgeschutz III.
After a careful and highly scientific selection
process (eenie meenie miney moe), I decided that I would start
working on the Sherman without delay.
Tamiya's 1/48 scale M4 Sherman Early Production
kit is at least as well
detailed as the recently reviewed Tiger
I, including link and length plastic tracks, and separate hatches to
permit the installation of crew figures.
The suspension is very well done and appropriate
for this version, featuring the horizontal return roller mounting and
"packed" return rollers
In common with the other 1/48 scale Tamiya armour
releases, the lower hull and hull sides are supplied as a single, solid metal casting. This
certainly lends weight to the overall model, but with the fixed
suspension and the link and length tracks, the model would look
exactly the same weight with or without the cast hull. I cannot really
think of any great advantage to using metal for this assembly unless it
has reduced tooling or production costs considerably.
The tracks are beautiful, with full detail on the
outside and side faces of the links. I believe that these may be the
best detailed Sherman tracks available as standard issue with any kit.
The only wrinkle is that the inside of the track links suffer from some ejector pin
marks..
The lower rear hull plate is supplied as a
separate part that is glued to the die cast hull. This offers hope that
we will see different versions of the Sherman being released in the
future.
Some of the tools are moulded to the hull, but
they are very well done. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to tell which
tools are separate and which are integrally moulded.
In common with its 1/35 scale cousins, Tamiya's
1/48 scale M4 has open sponsons. In plain English this means that the
inside of the hull is open above the tracks. You can see clear through
the model from various points, including the mantlet sighting holes and
the hull vents. If this excessive ventilation bothers you, it will not
take a great deal of time and effort to block off the sponsons with
sheet styrene.
Construction
I would love to describe construction in detail,
but all I can tell you is that I opened the box and the next thing I can
remember a completed model was sitting in front of me!
Well, maybe there was more to it than that, but
construction was even easier than the Tiger. The kit almost built itself
over a single session of around 4-5 hours.
I was especially impressed with the ease and
precision of the tracks and suspension.
Tamiya's 1/48 scale M4 Sherman Early Production
is another great kit.
In some ways - good ways - it reminds me of
simpler kits of my youth. Kits that you could sit down and build in an
afternoon. This kit does not have 600 parts, It does not
have multimedia. It does not require a degree in microsurgery or
origami to make the parts fit.
Of course, it is different to the earlier
generation of kits in many other ways. In the 21st century, you can now
build a highly detailed, highly accurate kit in an afternoon. And it
fits together perfectly. If you are feeling really nostalgic though, you
can still leave some gluey fingerprints on the hull.
Now, where is that StuG III?
Highly Recommended.
Click on the thumbnails
below to view larger images:
Review Text Copyright © 2005 by Steve Palffy and Brett Green
Images Copyright © 2005 by Brett Green
Page Created 13 January, 2005
Last updated 13 January, 2005
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