By Ron Hayes, England.

M4 Shermans. Considering that they are probably only slightly behind Tiger Is at the top of most armor modellers' wish lists, they haven't always been that well served in 1/35 scale by the mainstream kit makers. The Tamiya kits have there origins as far back as 1981, Italeri the same, and many of the Dragon releases up till recently were patchy - some faulty, some excellent.

Dragon being Dragon, they regularly discontinue all the good stuff (M4A1, Firefly IC) and were still fiddling around with a basically flawed Firefly VC/M4A4 in the 'Douglas Kay' version at the back end of 06. Just like Panthers, to the uninitiated eye Shermans look so simple, but because of the complexity of their production over many factories they are a research nightmare, and even masters like Steve Zaloga can get facts wrong now and then*.

So we've now got a few great kits from Dragon (Tarawa M4A2, British Sherman III - which will also convert into a, spot-on US M4, M4A3 HVSS 105mm and the various M4A3E8s), but modellers needing some more British Shermans need M4A4s. The M4A4 is only slightly behind the M4A2 in being used by more combatants than any other type, plus ARVs, Sherman Crab etc etc. The US didn't use them in action (other than the Crab), but everyone else did!

THE TASCA KIT Well it's a hefty price in the US, a bit cheaper in the UK, but still a the top and of what, pricewise, a manufacturer can get away with for a plastic kit. So it must be good, yes? Well, fear not, its not merely good it's brilliant. I bought 3 (yes 3) from Mark on the strength of the Press release, and boy am I glad I did.

HULL The first thing I looked for out of the box was the undercuts on the driver's and co-drivers' hoods, and they are there (for the first time in any Sherman kit). Very subtly done too. The hull machinegun embrasure is exactly the right shape. The hull is spot-on dimensionally and the weld beads are exactly the right size, in fact they look slightly undersize, so used are we to filling the enormous trenches in most M4 kits. The only weld that needs putting in each side is the angled edge of the hull top as it joins the turret ring just behind the front ventilators.

Nice touches are not only the extra applique armor fitted to a few VCs, but also the MG dust cover frame for both the bare hull and the applique version. That neither of these is used on a Firefly hints at a possible M4A4 spinoff kit at some point. However, having it here already means that us converters can get busy straight away! A full set of trackguards are also included as a few VCs in Normandy had partial trackguards.

The hull rear has various bits associated with British Shermans - the smoke candle holders and the tow bar for late versions, and the front has a very nice 3-piece transmission housing.

WHEELS These are the M4 Early wheel set which is 2 years old now, and are lovely renditions, the touches such as the seam running at halfway point round the bogies are another first in plastic and you can even make the whole bogie 'sprung' (as opposed to just rocking the wheels as on every other kit on the market). The only mindnumbing bit is attaching the 12 rivets per wheel on the solid disc wheels (which are almost invariably seen on Fireflies) - this will make you blind! They have to be individually cut off the sprue and attached. Hmm....

TURRET There are a few nice M4 turrets on the market now, and this one is another - in fact I will be re-filling the loader's hatch on one of my kits to 'back-convert' one to a 75mm Sherman V, as it's nice enough turret for any 75mm variant too. It's an early-mid-production turret with pistol-port, but again, applique armor is provided for a late-mid style which was also seen on early Ics. The gun and (2 alternative) muzzle brakes are very nice, the radio box behind the turret also comes with two alternative tops for early/ late versions.

There's enough etched brass to complete the kit straight out of the box. A nicely posed Commander figure is included, but for extras such as all the various stowage applied to British Shermans, companies such as Accurate Armour can provide these. I have to confess in normally trying to provide a 'warts-and-all' type of review, but in this instance can't find any. The only problem with Tasca seems to be a long lead time for any new kit, but everything they do turns out quality as they don't scrimp on the research time. Dig into your wallet and buy now!

Ron Hayes 12.2.07