Another Go At Accurately Modelling The Infamous Airfix Sherman!
A Long Time Ago In Galaxy Far, Far Away...
This story goes way back to when I first started scale model making again in 2011. I was looking for a relaxing hobby to destress from my job working in a marketing department, but me being me nothing is ever that simple!
Right off the bat, just making a simple Airfic model tak straight out the box (or OOB as the model nerds call it) was not for me. No, I immediately detected some flaws in this kit - the original tooling of which goes back to 1961, so is the same age as me - and decided that I should 'improve' the model...
And so I took the course of 'accurizing' the kit, scratch building parts or modifying exiting components to make the Airfix M4 more akin to a historically representation. In my initial attempt I decided to convert the kit into an M4A3 variation of the Free French army in Normandy... But, alas, I bit off more than I could chew, and never managed to complete it...
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| Above: As far as I got with my 2011 attempt at making a 'good 1/76 Sherman'. I simply ran out of steam due to how long this was taking and how testing it was for my basic level of modelling. |
Second Attempt... Let's Not Get Discouraged
I still feel my first try at making a 'accurate' Airfix M4 was a 'plucky go' and I think I had the right idea... Just not the modelling proficiency to carry it out.
This time I think I have a better idea of what I am letting myself in for and have a few better ideas about how to do this based on my first failed attempt. But, I started by going back over my blog entries about both my first attempt at a French Sherman and also the post where I remind myself about the issues with the Airfix Sherman kit (these open in new browser tabs):-
> Posted in 2011: My Fickr gallery - 'Airfix 1/76 scale Sherman M4 Tank'
> Posted in 2022: 'The strangeness of the Airfix 1/76 'M4/Mk.1' Sherman!'
The crux of he project will still be the elephant in the room - the Airfix M4's infamously undersized turret! 😖 If you look though my Flickr photo journal of this original (link above) attempt you'll see a lot of time and effort was put into the 'Frankenstein' modification that went into 'correcting' the Airfix Sherman turret!
Secondary to this inaccuracy in the kit, there is also the questionable inclusion of a terribly modelled 3-pieces bolted differential cover and the inclusion of the early M41 rubber track pad type tracks. These are a wee bit problematic depending on what flavour of British M4 you want to recreate and from which period in WW2 your model is intended to hail from (nerdy Sherman history stuff)! 😆
The tracks are (fairly) easily to deal with - you can relace them with alternative M4 track versions form other donor kits (like the Matchbox/Revell Sherman Firefly, or find spares on eBay). But the differential housing is a slightly different matter; here's a picture of what I did to it in my French Sherman - I converted it into the alternative 1-piece cast differential cover...
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| Above: My 2011 French Sherman M4A2 with modified single piece differential housing (front nose bit)! A easy fix with lots of Milliput putty and sanding. |
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| Above: The real thing - 3-piece (left) and 1 piece (right). You can see photos of British M4s in Normandy sporting either housing type, it depends on which unit they were from or - potentially - how old their particular Sherman was (the 1 piece was a later improvement). Source: The Sherman Minutia Website |
Aside from these main issues there are a plethora of little details that need to be attended to make my Sherman Great Again! LOL But I'll cover these as I go along in my build posts.
Gathering The Required Parts
With a sort of plan in mind, I had to collect the bits and pieces I needed for this project. I actually started thinking about this project back in 2022 and so have been setting aside the necessary parts since then. This Sherman is part of a larger project I had in mind called 'British Tanks from Normandy to Berlin' and you can find out more by going to the following link (opens in new tab):-
Blog Entry 2020 - 'Return to Scale Modelling Project Planned!'
However, and very obviously, the most important part of this Sherman Mk. 1 project was acquiring the Airfix kit, luckily this kit is easy to get hold of either in a true vintage kit form or as one of the re-issues or 'brand new' from Airfix as part of the 'LCM3 Landing Crat & Sherman' set.
My version was a true vintage version which was released in 1976. I picked this up quite cheaply from eBay and I am glad to say that all the parts are in very good condition despite it being second hand. Here's an unboxing...
Well, there we go. With my recent Sopwith project under my belt I think I have dusted off my basic modelling skills to a point where - if I take this Sherman job very slowly and carefully - I might actually complete this second attempt! (IF my wobbly hand behaves.) 😑
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