Introduction:

This conversion set from Formations provides the full upper hull for the late big hatch 47° composite hull which is basically a combination of welded M4 rear hull and cast M4A1 forward hull and is designed to be used with virtually any available Sherman lower hull from Dragon, Italeri or Tamiya with only minor modifications.

The kit:

The set consists of 82 parts in light cream resin and a length of copper wire with the upper hull in one large casting and all additional items as separate parts for good definition and allowing variation depending on the model being built.

The quality of the casting is first class as we have come to expect from Formations with very few if any blemishes such as air holes or warping. This is especially noticeable on the large hull casting which is perfectly square with the only cleanup being some minor excess resin along the lower edges of the casting that are easily removed.

There are what appear to be small air holes on some larger castings but these are all internal on my parts and will disappear when painted unless you go poking about with a sharp stick to expose them unnecessarily.
The usual casting blocks have to be removed but this is easily done and you should note that the large flat casting blocks on the undersides of the engine decks do not have to be removed. Once you have hollowed out the engine deck recess in the hull the casting blocks on the engine decks slip into the cut-out as they are.

The openings for the crew hatches, turret ring and engine desk have quite thick 'fillers' that will take a bit of effort to remove but this helps to keep the hull warp free during casting and transit so the extra effort in removing these is a small price to pay. Just note not to cut the resin in the engine deck opening right to the edges but leave a small step for the separate engine deck to sit when fitting in place.

The detail on the hull is excellent with fine weld seams included between the cast and welded sections as well as on the welded rear hull and around the smaller detail such as the fuel filler guards and turret splash guards. There are also fine casting numbers included on the front cast section and the sides of the turret splash guard as well as the numerous drain holes partially included which can easily be fully drilled out for a better appearance.

Resin hull casting

There are some alternate parts provided such as the two engine decks with different style air intake grills but these are all but hidden under the intake cover in any case and hardly noticeable and both decks are a good overall fit into the hull cutout without any trimming required.

Alternate crew hatches are provided which are the same size but one set has the inner latch brace included and this hatch can only be used if showing the hatches open as the this brace fouls the hull if you try to position it closed. The other hatches do not have this inside brace and are used for closed hatches with just some very minor trimming around the hinges for a good fit. There are additional resin periscopes housings and outer periscope with separate covers provided to add to the hatches and elsewhere as required.

Other detail items included the rear mounted round air cleaners and exhausts, separate grouser box intakes as well as the ventilator covers, tow shackles, lifting eyes, tail lights, fire extinguisher handle, tow cable clips and fender extensions front and back. There is also a three part siren for the front plate that will need care to assembly but does have more detail than a one piece casting.

There are also a couple of cal.30 MG barrels provided which have nice cooling jacket detail but one was a little warped and using any of the available metal cal.30 barrels would be a better option here.

Conclusion

This is another superbly cast set of the later composite Sherman hull with excellent surface details and plenty of additional parts so as not to rely on kit parts.

Depending on the donor kit there will be different degrees of trimming and fitting required to attach the new hull but as most kits have basically the same dimensions thankfully this will be minor in most cases and nothing above the capabilities of anyone buying this conversion set in the first place.

Highly recommended 7.5/10

See the Sherman Subject Page for additional reviews of Sherman related kits and accessories.

Resin parts:

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Check the Formations website for details of other update sets available and thanks to Rob for the review sample.