Building the Plastic Soldier Company M-4A2 Sherman

      This is largely the same kit as the M-4A1 reviewed in these pages a few days ago, I will refer the reader to the earlier article to examine the suspension assemblies matters, This kit comes with the welded hull as opposed to the cast hull of the M-4A1. Two models can be built with this kit; the M-4A1 with the 75mm cannon (with either the narrow or wide gun mantle), and the later, up-gunned version with the 76mm cannon. As you have come to expect this is an excellent kit with crisp details and superb fit (with the one below mentioned exception). It is molded in a (far less alarming) light olive plastic and shows little or no flash and only the faintest trace of mold lines. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

box art

the hull assembly ready for the suspension units

the assembled hull

more of the same

the turret parts ready for assembly

sub-assemblies ready to go......

.......and done

I think it captures the business-like look of the M-4 very well

The "wide mantle " turret

the mudguards ready for installation, 

this is the only problem that I had with this kit

notice that the inside of the corner of the mudguard is a radius.....

...........and that the outside of the hull is square

I got glue all over the place trying to stick the mudguard on before I noticed that small detail

I corrected the problem by cutting the radius away and creating a square inside corner

the 76mm version

     The only flaw that I found in this kit was the matter of the fender not fitting properly, a small matter that would have been avoided if I hadn't been overconfident and tried gluing it in place before test-fitting. The usual complaints of no decals and rudimentary instructions barely register when you are looking at five beautiful kits for $30.00US. If you play WW2 as an Allied player you could far worse than adding a box or two of these to your collection.

Very Highly Recommended,  John