Product Specifications.

6231, British Sherman Mk.III Mid-Production, Sicily. 1/35th-scale styrene/multimedia kit. Contains 412 styrene parts (including 22 clear), two DS-100 track lengths, one piece of wound metal wire, one etched brass fret, one decal/markings scheme and eight pages of instructions in 12 steps.

Introduction.

DML has just brought out another version of the widely-used M4A2 medium tank, also called Sherman Mk.III by British/Commonwealth users. This particular iteration will allow the modeler to replicate a specific tank named Clive, which was assigned to the 3rd County of London Yeomanry, during the campaign in Sicily. Several corrections have been made (see below) to what was originally a kit marketed as belonging to the USMC on Tarawa, while markings and fittings specific to British Sherman Mk.IIIs have been provided. Finally, this particular tank wore the unique WE210 tracks, which are also provided.

Tracks.

These consist of two single lengths molded in DS-100 soft styrene. This material can be glued with standard styrene cements and will take paint better than vinyl. These represent WE210 “double-I”-pattern rubber-faced tracks, which were first seen on UK-manned M3 medium tanks and later on some M4s. Coming from a slide-mold, the detail rivals that of any individual-link products on the market. For instance, the end connectors have the proper details on their outside surfaces, to include the circular openings for the track pins, while ease of assembly is self-evident.

The newly-tooled WE210 tracks.

Suspension System.

The bogie trucks and swing arms have nice foundry parts number details cast on. The swing arms will remain movable, while the return roller arms are of the so-called straight type, which is appropriate for this tank. The leading faces of each bogie unit needs some detail added, including the drilling out of four holes, while the track skids can use the addition of four attachment bolts and some thinning-down; the return roller brackets also need some bolts added. Perusal of references listed below (particularly number 4) will show the detail-oriented modeler what needs to be done. Because of the sprue layouts, there are also bogie trucks included that have the up-swept return roller arms. These will come in handy for the ever-expanding spares bin.

There are two sets of road-wheels included in the box: welded with five spokes and stamped with six spokes; the latter are accompanied by separate back hub details. The instructions note that the proper ones to use are the welded types, but also show the stamped types as an option. Photos indicate that the spoked types are correct for the tank for which the markings are provided. Again, the spares bin will be well-fed! Two styles of idler wheels are supplied, with the stamped type featuring a separate rear face. There is also a choice of drive sprocket rings (usually described as plain and fancy), but only one is used as properly noted in the instructions.

Hull.

The hull belly and side plates are a one-piece molding in the appropriate configuration for the diesel-engine version of the M4. There are separate mounting plates for the bogie units as well as other parts to detail where the mounts fold over onto the belly plate. Re-tooled separate front extension parts are attached to the hull sides; these include properly-sized final drive housings. The transmission cover has also been re-tooled and represents the early cast single-piece type with the rounded nose; it has some excellent texture effects as well as some foundry numbers molded on. A separate attachment strip for it has raised bolt heads without any extra splash protection; separate tow clevis mounts are provided as well.

The re-tooled transmission cover and final drive housings are at right; compare with previous parts from M4A2 Tarawa kit, at left.

The hull rear plate is attached along with separate exhaust pipes and mufflers, plus the grill work seen beneath the superstructure overhang. The radiators and splitter plate seen above this are not provided. Other items include a tow pintle and mount as well as molded-on mounts for the tow clevises. The idler wheel mount assembly is a multi-part affair and includes an axle that can be adjusted for proper track tension; don’t glue it in place until you’re satisfied with the appearance.

Superstructure.

This kit is provided with the early welded superstructure, which had a 56-degree glacis plate and welded driver’s hoods. The part comes from a slide mold and has fine weld detail on the roof and side plates, where appropriate; these are all properly raised above the surface. The rear plate has painted-on marks to show where etched brass hex-bolt heads are to be applied; there are also styrene versions on the sprues, which are not mentioned in the instructions. The welded driver’s hoods have nicely-rendered weld bead detail as does the radio pot on the starboard side of the glacis plate. Importantly, there have been some corrections made to the entire molding to include properly-rendered driver’s hoods, properly-located painted-on marks for the bolt pattern on the rear plate and properly-configured join between the side plates and the roof.

The new hull with revised driver’s hoods is at right; compare with previous parts from M4A2 Tarawa kit, at left.

Note the corrected engine deck access hatch lids and the re-positioned painted-on dots for the bolts on the rear plate, at right. Compare with previous parts from M4A2 Tarawa kit, at left.

All crew and engine deck hatch lids are separate parts and can, of course, be depicted opened or closed. The same can be said of the various fuel, oil and water filler caps, which also have detailed orifices. The crewmen’s hatch lids have separate grab handles, counterbalance springs, periscope rotation plates and covers, as well as periscope heads in clear styrene. In a throw-back to earlier times, the engine deck access hatch lids have grab handles molded in place; some properly shaped brass or styrene rod should fix that little problem. It should also be noted here that the engine access door lids have also been re-tooled to give the correct grill pattern.

There are a host of other detail parts including lift rings, dome vents, head- and tail-lamps (the former as clear styrene parts), brush guards (with only the ones in front given the option of being replaced with etched brass parts), horn and various (quite well done) tools. The bow-mounted .30 cal. Browning machine-gun is slide-molded so it includes nice cooling jacket detail as well as a pre-opened bore. There are also optional styrene armor strips for the area around the filler caps, optional styrene or etched brass fire extinguisher pull handle covers and other etched brass details. The provided braided metal wire, styrene end loops and etched brass clamps will result in a nicely-done tow cable.

Etched brass front fenders are supplied as are the mounting strips for the sand shields. The latter items seem to have properly captured all of the subtleties of the prototype parts to include the spacing of the bolt holes as well as the taper of the front and rear segments. Full sand shields are also given as etched brass parts; the instructions also show how this specific tank mounted the rear segments to the superstructure on either side of the engine deck, for use in holding stowage items in place. Mounts for the lorry disguise are also provided as etched brass assemblies, as is a Flimsy/POL can rack, seen fitted to the starboard fender.

Turret.

The turret is beautifully textured; it comes from a slide-mold so the pistol-port hatch opening is already molded in place. There is a fine seam that must be eliminated, while the hatch lid is separate and includes an internal locking lever. All periscope heads are clear styrene, while there are separate rotator plates and covers for them, so they can be depicted opened or closed and pointed in any direction. The commander’s split-hatch cupola has separate lids with complete detail on both sides, to include separate lift and locking handles, hold-open latches and machine-gun travel lock, as well as molded-on foundry numbers.

The turret is fitted with the M34 mantle and rotor shield and also has the earlier high-profile commander’s split hatch cupola ring.

The 75mm gun tube is from a slide-mold, so it is pre-bored; careful clean-up of the mold seam is needed and for this I strongly recommend the old stand-by tool, the Flex-i-file. The M34 mantle is a multi-part assembly with outstanding texture and foundry casting numbers molded in place. There are two rotor shields for the 75mm gun; one has the side extensions, while the other does not. The .30 cal. Browning is from a slide-mold and includes fine cooling jacket detail as well as a pre-opened bore; a separate rotor shield is also provided for it. Two variations of the M34A1 mantle along with its associated rotor shield are also given; these can join the other extra parts in the spare parts bin. Another item of note is the finely-rendered roof-mounted search-light. An etched brass blade sight is supplied for the commander, while extremely fine styrene tie-down loops are given for the turret bustle rear; these are complimented by etched brass straps and buckles. The usual lift rings are supplied as is a British-style radio antenna bases and plate. The stowage box seen in British and Commonwealth M4s used in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, with the curved lid, is provided as a two part assembly

Molding, Fit and Engineering.

Briefly: no complaints here!

Accuracy and Details.

I have no 1/35th-scale plans to compare the parts to, but photographs indicate that the details are proper for this version and that the components are where they should be. In addition, I have noted corrections where they have been made. I suppose the only major omission I would comment on is the lack of a Browning M2 .50 cal. machine-gun, which is clearly seen mounted in the known photo of this tank. The M2 was also seen on other tanks from this unit, notably the one named Churchill.

Instructions.

They are the usual drawn style and are not nearly as busy as most of the recent ones seen from this manufacturer, there being only 12 separate steps, not including the painting and markings section. I don’t know why, but the modeler is told to remove the idler wheel axle in step 3; I’d ignore that!

Although several parts are shown as options, modelers who are using the kit markings should note the following: the road-wheels and idler wheels are the welded types; the drive sprocket is the open or fancy type and the 75mm gun had the rotor shield with the extensions on either side of the gun tube. This is correctly shown in the instructions; beware that Clive did not have a rotor shield over the co-axial Browning .30 cal. machine-gun as shown installed in step 9.

Decals and Markings Information.

These are from Italy’s Cartograf and are very well-printed. Registration is very good, while carrier film is thin and closely-cropped to the design edges. Markings for a single Sherman Mk.III are given for Clive of the 3rd County of London Yeomanry, as seen during the campaign in Sicily. The color scheme is a Light Mud base with a Blue-Black disruptive pattern. Period photos confirm the colors and markings as well as the use of WE210 tracks and sand shields as stowage containers.

Note the Middle East/MTO-style turret bustle stowage bin with rounded edges on the lid. Also depicted is the extensive etched brass fret, tow cable and decal sheet.

Conclusion.

As DML continues to work through major variations of the M4 Sherman, they also continue to provide a variety of sub-variants, such as this type with early superstructure configuration and welded driver’s hoods. The addition of the WE210 tracks is certainly welcome as are the accurate markings for a particular tank or unit. In addition, when errors are found and reported by modelers, DML listens and makes the effort to correct them; this is something that is not universal (or even relatively common) amongst manufacturers. Rather than continue to castigate this (or any) manufacturer for not getting it right the first time (nothing made by man will EVER be perfect), it is to be hoped that modelers will welcome this latest release for what it now is, not for what it should have been in the beginning.

Highly recommended.

- Frank V. De Sisto