M4A3E2 "Jumbo"Sherman

Manufacturer: Fine ScaleFactory (Kit #TL 020)

I remember a long timeago, a friend of mine was looking for resin Sherman tracks withthe "duckbill" grousers. He needed them for a"Jumbo" Sherman conversion he had planned. I thought itwas a good idea, but it sounded like an awful lot of work to me.Imagine my surprise to find out that this vehicle was now beingmarketed as a complete kit by Fine Scale Factory, and myexcitement when they sent one to me to build as a review kit. Iconsider myself lucky that all the review kits I have receivedhave been excellent models, so I have yet to be in theuncomfortable position of having to review a poor kit. This oneis no exception; it is fantastic.

The basis of the kit wasESCI's old M4A3 Sherman, which itself, was a very nice model.FSFmade numerous modifications to the hull, the most obviousbeing the addition of the thick armor plating, which was the maindistinguishing feature of this tank. They also modified theengine deck slightly, giving the engine grates a more"refined" look. The hull rear is heavily detailed withvery distinct bolts. I only now realised that I failed to get aphotograph of the rear of the model. Unfortunately, in using theESCI kit as a base, FSF also copied that kit's primary weakness:it's length. Consequently, this kit is about 2mm too short,although the width, and all other details, are correct for 1/72ndscale.

Other improvements to thehull include better ventilator covers and better hatches (withperiscopes added - inside and outside). The lower hull was moldedas a single piece, with the hull sides, bottom, rear and fronttransmission housing all molded together. The road wheels aredirect copies of the ESCI wheels, as are the sprocket and idlerwheels too. The wheel suspension units are based on the ESCIparts, but have been greatly improved. Other details copied fromthe ESCI kit are the tow hook, the tail lights, and the pioneertools.

As far as I can tell, theturret is either completely new, or else a heavily modifiedturret from some other kit. It uses the commander's cupola andhatch from the Hasegawa Sherman (but with the hatch opening atthe proper angle), but everything else, including the gun shield,are new and exceptionally well done. The tracks are copies of theESCI tracks, with the duckbill grousers (extenders) added.

Overall, the detail onthis kit is superb. The weld seams between the regular hull andthe added armor are just distinct enough, without being overdone.All of the turret details are molded in excellent relief. Theentire kit was molded very well, with almost no flaws in theresin; no air bubbles, no mold shifting, and almost no flash. Theonly molding flaw I noticed was the sprocket wheels: some of therecesses behind the sprocket teeth were plugged up. Very carefulwork with a Dremel and a fine drill bit, used as a router, wouldfix this up. Notice in the parts scan that my copy of this kitincluded only two right side wheel suspension units, and fourleft side units. I was in a hurry, so I ended up swapping one outof the FSF Composite hull Sherman kit, and when I build that kit,I'll steal one from an unneeded ESCI kit.

The tracks lookexceptional when completed, but about gave me an ulcer whenworking with them. I understand that it is a common practice toheat resin track segments in hot water (or other heat source) andthen bend them into shape. I have NEVER in my life been able tomake that technique work. I have tried hot water; I have triedboiling water; I have left them soaking for a few minutes; and Ihave left them soaking for a long time. And yet I have never beenable to get the tracks to bend without breaking. So I ended upsimply breaking the track lengths into individual links forwrapping around the sprocket and idler wheels, which worked justfine. I had to snip off the track guide teeth on the links whichwrapped around the sprocket wheel, because they interfered withthe sprocket teeth. In the future, I will save myself a lot offrustration by not even trying to heat the tracks, and insteadsimply break them into individual links beforehand. In fact, Ithink it looks better like this anyway, because now eachindividual link is distinct, whereas if I had bent each segmentof track, then the individual links would likely have looked bentthemselves.

Also, the sprocket wheelshave no mounting pegs, so the inside sprocket would glue directlyonto the side of the hull. I added a small spacer from plastictube, so that the wheels do not touch the hull side.

Once again, the only poorpart to the kit were the instructions. Luckily, this kit wassimple enough to not require much more than the simple drawingwhich is included, but there is a mistake on the drawing. Theinstructions indicate that the modeler has to provide his ownheadlights (I guess from an unused ESCI kit), but Jumbo Shermansdid not have headlights attached. So don't add any. You do haveto add a hull machinegun, however. I used a very thin piece ofaluminum tubing for mine (I think produced by Minimeca?) And liftrings are also needed. There should be lift rings on the fronthull face, on the rear hull corners, on the rear sides of theturret, and on the front of the turret, just behind the gunshield. Also add two small loops on the upper corners of the gunshield. It's important to note that there were very distinctwelds around the bases of the lift rings, so a good blob of glueto attach the rings can replicate these welds very well.

As seen in the photos, thetwo hull hatches are molded open. I took the opportunity to add adriver figure, but he was not included with the kit. All turrethatches and the engine access hatch are molded shut. There are acouple of other minor details which the modeler can add, such asthe small searchlight on the turret, an AA machinegun on theturret, the fine wire frames which protect the periscopes, and ofcourse, hull stowage items.

No decals are included; Iused some from Microscale. The markings, although plain, indicatethat this tank was with the 37th Tank Battalion of the 4thArmored Division, because this unit continued to use the whitestars on the turret sides long after their use was discontinuedby the rest of the US Army. I painted the model with Polly Scaleacrylic US Green, and weathered it with a light dusting of tan,and liberal use of chalks.

This was a fantastic kit,and I'd like to thank FineScale Factory for providing the review sample.

References: Sherman - AHistory of the American Medium Tank , byR.P. Hunnicutt, and The Sherman at War (2) ,by S.J. Zaloga.