TAMIYA M4A3E8 SHERMAN MODEL Kit Review By Jerry Dean

The Tamiya M4A3E8 Sherman tank model assembles very easily and the parts fit together very well, typical of Tamiya Armor Kits. The lower hull is made up of individual parts, but they go together very well.

The suspension and road wheels are very nicely detailed. I had to do a little extra sanding on half of the road wheels, almost seemed like the mold was slightly offset when produced. It was not very noticeable and was very easily cleaned up. The turret is molded in two separate parts, and after gluing together, it leaves a seam line around the lower rear of the turret that should not be there to be accurate. I carefully sanded this line down and used Mr. Surfacer 500 Primer stippled with a large brush to reproduce the cast look the turret should have.

For painting, I used Tamiya Acrylics sprayed through a Paasche airbrush. I added several thin layers of different shades to get the final look. Weathering was done with Tamiya Weathering Master sets. Washes and filters were completed with oil paints. This was my first attempt at using oil paints, which I think turned out very well.

All parts and supplies used to built this kit can be purchased at Mark Twain Hobby (except for the oil paints at this time).

Overall a very nice kit with excellent detail, very good fit but not overly complicated. I built this kit straight from the box, but it would definitely benefit from some additional details such as photo-etch straps on the tools and a set of individual piece tracks.

I want to thank Kevin Thompson for letting me build this kit, Brett Avants for the tips and advice during the build and John Welther for being a bad influence by getting me back into building armor models.

Jerry Dean