M4A1 Sherman [1:72]

The kit
I can't quite remember when I bought this model, but it could be a self-reward for passing finals in February. I wanted to finish it quickly, but there were several setbacks on my way - thesis, trip to York, spending much of the time in Poznan etc. - and only today I finished this kit.

This is my 3rd Sherman so far, after Revell's 1/76 Firefly (my 2nd scale model) and Airfix' Sherman Crab in the same scale (altough it was destroyed some time ago). However they were all later versions with welded hull, while I always liked the cast hull version more (altough the Hybrid version, with cast front and welded back, is nice as well). I would like it even more if it was M4A1(76) version with long-barelled 76 mm gun, but none were aviable. I'm scouting online auctions for second hand models of this version, regardless of the hull - if I find one, I might replace the turret and use the hull for some recovery vehicle.

I heard that Italeri's models don't have the best opinion among AFV models' enthusiasts. I was surprised, because I always had those which I have in high regard... and then I realised I've only finished two of them so far - BMW R75 and Panzer I I dunno, I always thought I have more of them... Maybe because there were several kits from Italeri which I wanted to buy, but never did (IS-2, ISU-152, Marder III, Panzerjager I, Ferdinand - I still have them in my plans, but the first two are not as aviable now as they used to).

At the first glance, this model looks like a great bargain. First, it has two sets of tracks - vinyl and plastic links. So if you are not experienced with the latter you may just choose the simpler ones...
...which I didn't, and now the tracks look like sh.t The link tracks don't always fit and you have to do a lot of sanding, plus the way they are attached to the sprue makes it inconvenient to cut them out without damaging them.

But wait, there is more. There are quite a lot of gate sink marks. Some will be invisible once you finish the model, but many will recquire sanding down or sealing with putty. Quite an annoying work.

Finally, the kit comes with some basic interior of the tank: the engine, transmission and floor are all there. Altough I've found it quite odd that they didn't also add other details such as driver's and machine-gun operator's seats, I went for making this model with full interior and with all the hatches open...
...then it turned out this interior looks nowhere near to what was inside the real Shermans After all that time assembling the engine and the rest of interior, I only left the driver's hatch open. This is because there was a figure added to the model, but very basic one, with weird proportions, that only fitted in commander's hatch. I decided to chop its legs off, reassemble hands (with palms as thick as if they were wearing gloves, so I'll probably paint them as such) and place it in driver's seat. But in the end I didn't finish it. Maybe one day, but right now driver's seat is empty.

Also, the transmission cover at the front is completely wrong. Instruction shows it placed upside down, but if you put it correctly, it doesn't fit the upper hull and the rest of the chassis. It took me a lot of cutting and sealing to make it look right.

I painted it with overall olive camo, added the decals (oh, another drawback of this kit - Italeri did not give you serial numbers of the tank, but instead they provided separate numbers, each less than 3 mm tall, which they expect us to make tank's numbers with But it is impossible, because i.e. this tank's number should be "USA 160755", so you need four "5s" for both sides... but there are only two on the decal sheet ) and weathered it with thinned black paint. I also added scratches with metallic one, but I went too far with some of the damage - at one point I thought "Hold on, would a real Sherman tank last long enough to become this damaged?" I then painted it over in some places, and did the damage again, but on a smaller scale.

All in all, this might be a satisfying kit for a beginner or someone who has too many kits on shedule and wants to finish something quickly. It took me a total of three days to finish it. However be wary - just like real Sherman it looks promising when you open the box, but once you start assembling, all of its drawback will become obvious. But if you overcome them, you will be rewarded with a really good looking little tank that helped Allies win the war.