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M4A3 Sherman 76mm (Late)

Kit #7601

Eduard M4A3 76 mm W Sherman

This recently introduced kit from Eduard fills a huge gap in 1/72nd scale modeling.

The only other kit of an M4A3 produced in plastic in 1/72nd scale was the old Esci kit which was equipped with the 75 mm turret. It has been rumored that the Esci molds were destroyed but a recent thread on missing-lynx.com in October 2004 has given hope that these molds may have possibly survived and could be reissued

This kit is simply outstanding. The overall quality of the molding is very good with only a few areas where the detail is a little soft. We shouldn’t complain though, this is “braille scale”

This kit shares 2 sprues with the kits from Extratech. They are the ones that contain the suspension and the track. Other parts on the sprue which contains the hull are also shared. This leaves a huge quantity of extra detail parts for future use. Markings are included for 2 versions along with a nicely done set of photo-etched parts.

I have heard many complaints about the boggie assemblies being too “fiddly” and replacing them with ones from Esci kits. When constructing the Extratech M4A3E2 I found that my only complaint with them was that the return skids were out of scale and I replaced them with ones I fashioned out of brass sheet. I have since seen another modeler simply drill out the offending material under the skids and leave it at that. Either option is fine or just leave them as they are. In my opinion the little “extra” work required on the bogies is well worth it and results in a much better looking assembly than any others previously produced.

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The T-23 turret included in this kit is very well done. From what I can tell so far its shape and proportions appear to be correct. The only thing I don’t care for is the .50 mg. It appears to be too long to me but can be easily replaced .

Overall I feel that this kit is an excellent kit and well worth the money. With all the other kits being produced by Eduard and Extratech now this widens our horizons and I can see a lot more variations being constructed with a little mixing of parts. Combine this kit with the Extratech M-36 and you get another variant, the M36B1. I see a lot of possibilities out there now. I highly recommend this and all othe Eduard and Extratech kits.


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