Eduard 1/35 M4A1 Sherman Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

A few months ago, Eduard released their first armor kit under the limited edition Profipack line, that one being the King Tiger kit (Academy) with Eduard photo-etch and decals. That release was a bit puzzling given that the photo-etch and decals were almost identical to the original release. That isn't true this time around!

Here we have the Tasca M4A1 Sherman (Mid-Production) kit originally released as Tasca 35010. Eduard has taken this outstanding kit and made it better. The basic kit is molded in olive green styrene and presented on 14 parts trees plus one small tree of clear parts and four sections of rubber (vinyl) T51 track. The kit is supplemented with a nice fret of photo-etched details and decals for four subjects. When you look at the parts diagrams in Eduard's excellent instruction booklet, you'll see a number of parts not used in this build and that is because Tasca tooled their Sherman molds to support several versions with some simple mixing and matching. Among the features and options in this kit:

• The instructions clearly show you which parts are needed to build each of the four subjects included in this release
• Hull interior has bulkheads dividing engine and fighting compartments hinting at interior/engine options coming from Tasca or aftermarket
• Choice of transmission covers
• Positionable crew hatches
• Detailed suspension and running gear
• Nice selection of pioneering tools with photo-etched brackets replacing molded-on details
• Choice of main gun mantlets
• Subtle casting texture on hull and turret
• Photo-etched fenders for one subject
• Laminate hull armor for two subjects
• Detailed M2 machine gun on commander's cupola

The subjects included in this release:

• M4A1, 3016307, H13, 66 Armored Regt/2 Armored Div, Jun 1944, 'Hellcat'
• M4A1, unknown, I6, 5th Army, Italy, 1944, 'Bull O The Woods'
• M4A1, 3036754, G2, 3rd Bn/66 Armored Regt/2 Armored Div, Jun 1944, 'Goldie'
• M4A1, unknown, 11, 13 Armored Regt/1 Armored Div, Anzio, 1944, 'Frantic'

This kit is right up with what Eduard Profipacks are supposed to be and provides some nice value-added over the stock kit. Never mind that the basic Tasca Sherman is a beautiful kit, this release provides some nice updates/unique details to render any of the four subjects featured in this release though you can also use these parts to render other subjects with the wealth of great titles out there for reference. You'll want to get one (or more) of these kits in your build queue soon!

My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample!

References:

• Sherman Modeler's Online Reference