Building And Detailing Realistic Sherman Tanks

"Scale modeler's how-to guide" -- cover.

“A superbly organized, well-written, detailed history of the Sherman tank” with hundreds of photos and diagrams included (Armor Magazine). The Medium Tank, M4, better known to the British as the Sherman, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and western Allies in World War II. Reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and easy to maintain, thousands were distributed to the British Commonwealth and the Soviet Union by the Lend-Lease program. It first saw combat in North Africa, where it outclassed lighter German and Italian tanks. By 1944 the M4 was outgunned by the German heavy tanks, but it still contributed to the fight when deployed in numbers and supported by artillery and fighter-bombers. A detailed insight into the development and deployment of the M4, this book covers the design and construction of the chassis, turret, engine, armaments, and munitions, and differences between the variants of the M4. It covers the difficulties facing the crews who fought in this legendary tank, exploring the training they received and the different combat methods perfected by the Allies, including landing from a landing craft, maneuvering in the bocage of Normandy, and fighting in the snow. Fully illustrated with hundreds of contemporary and modern photographs and detailed diagrams, this complete account provides all the technical details of the construction of the M4, its maintenance and repair, and the logistics required to support it in combat. Whether you are a collector, a modeler, or simply passionate about military history, this book will provide you with an unparalleled insight into the M4. “Period photos, preservation shots, interior details, variant schematics, archival excerpts, armament and ammunition drawings, and more . . . Make it your introduction to this legendary tank family.” —Cybermodeler

Basic techniques of assembly, painting, scratchbuilding, weathering, and detailing for building realistic armor models. Includes hundreds of photos and drawings with tips for realistic modeling and creating battle damage.

The Sherman tank was the principal US and Allied tank of World War II with more Shermans manufactured than all German tanks combined. Not only were large numbers manufactured, but there was a very wide range of variants powered by different types of engines, manufactured with different types of hulls, turrets and other details. As a result, a M4A1 tank from the Tunisian campaign in 1942 had nothing in common with a M4A3E8 tank from the 1945 campaign in Germany, even if they shared the same name. Consequently, the Sherman has proven to be an enormously popular modeling subject. Due to the enormity of the subject matter, this book is the first of three planned to deal with this tank and its many variants. It covers the early 75mm Shermans and runs the gamut from the US Army in Tunisia in 1942-43, Italy in 1943-45 and NW Europe in 1945. In so doing, it covers the broadest possible range of variants and details. The builds include: 1.M4A1, 2/13th Armored in Tunisia 1942/43. This is mainly 'out of the box', and deals with cleaning up and correcting the popular Dragon kit and painting it in desert colors. 2.M4A3, 6th Armored Division, Battle of the Bulge, January 1945: an intermediate level build, correcting and enhancing the Tamiya kit, and dealing with the issue of assembling aftermarket (separately available add-on components) link-to-link tracks. 3.M4A1, 2nd Armored Division, Sicily 1943. This is actually an earlier version of the M4A1 than the first type (2nd Armored having been the first division with the Sherman); an advanced level project using the Formations resin hull for the proper 'direct vision' early hull. 4.M4, 8th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, Normandy, July 1944: the 'super'project, including a number of advanced techniques such as swapping the suspension on the Tamiya kit, applying foliage camouflage, building and painting a turret interior and adding figures to the model. The book also showcases a number of other Shermans already built by the author to demonstrate the variety available.

Be pulled into this dynamically illustrated history of the Sherman tank, on its seventy-fifth anniversary. Be amazed by the entire scope of this iconic machine, from design to service.

The Sherman was the most widely used Allied tank of World War II and was built in larger numbers than all German tanks combined. There was also a huge number of variants, powered by different engines, and manufactured with different types of hulls and turrets. This book presents an expert guide to modelling the 75mm gun versions used by the US Army in the ETO, in 1/35 and 1/48 scale. The projects featured include an early M4A1 from Operation Husky (July 1943), an intermediate M4 during Operation Cobra (August 1944), an M4 mine-roller in the Ardennes (January 1945), and a M4A3 during Operation Grenade (February 1945).

The M4 Sherman tank was the mainstay of the Western allies between 1942 and 1945. Fast and modern it was a big success and was transported as far afield as Russia and North Africa. The American Chief of Staff claimed in November 1943 it was 'hailed widely as the best tank on the battlefield today...'. However, by the Normandy invasion of June 1944 this was not the case: the new German heavy tanks such as the Panther and Tiger were completely outclassing the Sherman. This title covers the M4 version armed with the 76 mm gun, examining developments such as the HVSS suspension, using much new archive material.

The Sherman tank was the principal US and Allied tank of World War II more Shermans were built than all German tanks combined. Not only were large numbers of Shermans manufactured, but a large number of variants emerged powered by different types of engines and with different types of hulls, turrets and other details, making it an ideal subject for any modeller. Steven J Zaloga takes on the Sherman tank in this book, providing a guide to four variants across a range of different skill levels, depicting differing colour schemes and techniques which are examined and illustrated in lavish full-colour step-by-step photographs.