Greetings all,

I have recently switched to 1:35 Armor, after years of building aircraft.

For my first actual tank subject, I want to build my grandfather's tank. Some research and input from other boards has told me he would have likely been in a M4A4 Sherman V. He was a Sergeant with the Three Rivers Regiment.

Regarding timeframe, I know that he was involved in the Sicily Landing of 1943, but was not at Ortona (injured).

I was fortunate enough to receive an email from someone who was kind enough to supply pics of TRR Sherman V's. He suggested I use the Dragon M4A4 kit, or use the new Firefly kit.

I have already placed my order for the Dragon Firefly kit, as well as a resin M34 mantlet with aluminum 75mm barrel. His suggestion was to use the narrow mantlet from the M4A1 kit, but I opted to get the resin pieces instead (resin is my friend). I've also ordered the Aber PE set for the M4A4/Firefly.

Am I off to the right start, or completely off base? Anything else I need to do to make an accurate TRR Sherman V? Because of the family connection, I would like to make every effort possible to do it right.

I will likely use Ultracast for the markings.

I'm sure I'll have many more questions as the project continues. Thanks in advance.

Hi Kevin,
I think I have answered your post on another forum board in the past.. I think that was you anyway. Welcome to the Big A, Im sure you will enjoy your time here. At any rate I think your off ot a great start and you have ordered all the right stuff IMHO. Here are a few pics of a recently completed SHerman V I did of a 1st Hussar in NOrmandy. I used basicly the same stuff as you. If you have any questions there are loads of Sherman Lovers on Armorama.
There are loads more pics in My Gallery



Cheers,
Bryan
P.S
Are you in Ottawa..thats where I hang my hat as well.

Thanks Bryan. You did indeed answer my post over on ML, but you were also one who suggested I build a Sherman III. Go figure.

At any rate, as I mentioned, I'm starting with the Firefly Vc kit, and will add to that the Legend M4 Sherman M34 Mantlet and early M3 Gun Barrel set, as well as the Aber PE sheet. Will also likely order the Ultracast resin pieces.

Great build on your Sherman. Blew me away first time I saw it. And yes, I'm an Ottawa guy as well (Alta Vista to be prescise). Haven't made it to the museum yet, but will one of these weekends.



For those of you interested in the story behind me building my grandfather's tank as my first armor project, read on:

The story goes that the Three Rivers Regiment had been involved in heavy fighting shortly after arrival in Sicily, and after a particularly nasty battle, things were very quiet.....too quiet. Using the turret scope, they scanned the horizon for activity, but could only see wreckage from the battle. As tank sergeant, it was my grandfather's job to open the hatch and take a peek. He did so, and an enemy soldier tossed two frag grenades on top of the tank as soon as the hatch opened. One of them stayed on top of the turret, the other fell into the tank. They went off just as my grandfather's torso rose out of the tank. He was thrown clear, but his right shoulder took most of the blast from the first, almost removing it from the rest of his body. His arm was left hanging by a thread. He was the only survivor from that particular tank, due to the second grenade. His two brothers also served in the TRR, albeit in another tank. From Sicily, he was transferred to hospital in Tripoli (where they were able to re-attach the arm), and returned to Canada in a body cast in January 1944, just as his regiment was pulling out of Ortona. My mother was born 9 months later.

I have my grandfather's original regimental medallion from his beret, as well as an original picture of the entire TRR prior to deployment. Obviously, these two items will be part of the display once the project is complete.

Hi Kevin and welcome to the site ...There is one thing I think you might have missed in your conversion ...The firefly had an extra hatch on the roof of the turret ,so you can't just change the gun and mantlet.. If you're stuck just P.M. me here with your address and I'll send you out a turret from Dragon's M4A1 kit. It's not the best turret but it will be better than all that work to get rid of the extra hatch.

Rick

Wow, thanks Rick. PM on it's way.

OK, one more question here.....

I received my Firefly Vc kit, and have some parts inbound to help convert it to a Sherman V. My question is with respect to the tracks. Dragon build instructions suggest either the use of the standard track or the optional "Duckbills Extended End Connectors".

Are either of these correct for a Cdn Sherman V? If not, any suggestion for aftermarket replacements?

Thanks.

kevin,
yes the EEC's are acceptable for a Canadian Sherman V but since your V will be in Sicily it is not an option. They were mostly used in NWE and much wetter conditions. I would just build the standard T62's without the EEC's attatched. HTH
Cheers,
Bryan
P.S
If you need reference shots etc just PM me and I can email you a bunch.

Thanks Bryan. I have a feeling you'll be coming to my rescue many times over the next few months.......