M4A1 with Appliqué Armor
Conversion for Italeri M4A1
1/35 #F015
Review by Terry Ashley
This
latest conversion from Formations is designed to turn the Italeri M4A1 76mm (Kit
No.225) into an early M4A1 75 dry storage (reman) with appliqué armour.The set consists of 141 resin parts in light cream resin, three M.V. Products light
lenses and a length of twine for the steel cable plus a short length of wire
for the antenna. The quality of the resin pieces is excellent with only some
minor resin film on
some parts
and
the usual casting blocks to be removed.
There were all of three small air holes in a couple of the parts, the only
reason I mention this is it is unusual to see any so finding one is like finding
the proverbial needle etc etc.
Some of the smaller parts will require care to remove from the casting blocks and with others such as the lifting eyes it could be easier to remove the resin film before cutting them off the casting blocks.
The parts come packed in a number of small ziplock plastic bags with these then packed inside a larger plastic bag and unfortunately a few parts were broken in the mail and maybe a more solid cardboard box would offer a bit more protection? Thankfully the broken parts were still in the plastic bags and were easily repaired with some super glue. This is definately not a common problem and I think I was just unlucky as all other sets were perfect in this regard.
The kit is quite extensive with the full upper hull casting, full 75mm turret with M34A1 gun mount and appliqué armour plus a set of early M4 suspension with horizontal return roller bracket plus many other parts.
The Hull:
The side Appliqué armor plates are included and have excellent weld seams around the plates and for the individual sections to conform to the cast hull and the front MG aperture has a nicely detailed ring included. The hatches and rear engine deck are separate parts as are all other parts such as the lifting eyes, lights, ventilator cap, rear intakes and all the fuel filler caps for good detail definition.
The front hatches are nicely detailed on both sides and there is the full set of the excellent pioneer tools as included in previous kits and available separately as set No.F018. There are also optional parts such as the gun travel lock mounting and other small fittings so check your references to see if these are applicable to the model you are building.
At the front is a nicely cast Type 2A 1-piece transmission cover that has
the casting numbers and underside drain plugs included as well as two very
thin
front fender sections with nice details including the side mounting brackets.
At the rear are the early type exhausts and air cleaners as well as rear
fender extensions if you want to fit these?
Some of the Italeri kit parts are used such as the engine deck intake cover
and rear hull plate with modifications as indicated in the instructions and
kit light guards but you may want to change these for guards from any of the
available etched M4A1 update sets from people like Aber, Fine Molds, Eduard and Royal
Models.
Some other minor modifications are required on the kit parts but nothing that
should pose any problems and again the instructions indicate where these are
needed.
The Turret:
The is the early low bustle 75mm turret with M34A1 gun mount and appliqué armor
and is very nicely cast with the side pistol port, top ventilator and casting
numbers included and has separate parts such as the periscopes in either open
or closed position, the lifting eyes, front vane sight and very fine MG support
clip behind the hatch.
The separate hatch ring features casting numbers and the two hatch halves have
details inside and out.
The bottom section is a separate part that after shaving off the excess resin
from the casting process fits perfectly into the indentation in the lower edge
of the turret.
The M34A1 gun mount is again excellent and features casting numbers on the
gun and rotor shields with the fit of the gun shield to the turret being superb
and holds in place without the need for glue (but of course you would glue
it in place). The gun is very straight with a slight indentation at the muzzle
and the fit of this and rotor shield is equally good and is testament to the
quality of the castings from Formations.
The instructions are in the form of seven ‘letter’ sized pages with diagrams and text notes of the construction sequences that are quite clear and shouldn’t pose any problems during construction.
Conclusion:
Another superb conversion set from Formations with excellent details everywhere
and the fit of the resin parts is as good as on many mainstream plastic kits.
A must have conversion for Shermaholics.
Highly recommended.
Check the Formations website for details of other update sets available and thanks to Rob for the quick turnaround time with my order for this set.
Page created 26 December 2003