Pakistani M4A1E4 Sherman |
| By James Wechsler |
| Started: | Jan 16, 2006 | | Updated: | Mar 15, 2006 |
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Over the last month or so, I’ve been writing reviews of a number of Formations sets for M4 Shermans. These reviews are of sets I plan to use to build a Pakistani M4A1E4 Sherman, circa 1965.
Pakistan was one of the largest post-war users of Shermans, acquiring about 547 as noted in ‘The Sherman Tank in US and Allied Service’ by Steven J. Zaloga. Pakistan fielded a number of variants but most were M4A1 and M4A3 re-manufactured tanks.
The particular variant that I’ll be modeling is an M4A1E4 with the E9 ‘double duckbill’ suspension modification. The E4 designation is one given to tanks that had the 76mm M1 gun retrofitted to the 75mm turret. This was first done during WW2 (much like the fitting of the 17 pounder by the British) but with the availability of newly manufactured 76mm Shermans, it wasn’t used very often. However, to save costs compared to changing out an entire turret, this modification was made during the post-war re-manufacturing of Shermans for sale to foreign countries, including both Pakistan and India!
The E9 modification involved moving the VVSS suspension outboard about 4 inches so an inner and outer row of extended end connectors (duckbills) could be fitted. This resulted in a track almost as wide as that used on the HVSS equipped Shermans. This modification was also developed during WW2 but was not implemented due to the availability of HVSS Shermans. Like the E4 gun modification, the E9 suspension modification was used for post-war re-manufactured Shermans to save costs compared to switching to an HVSS suspension.
The Pakistanis made extensive use of the Sherman in their wars with India (and India also had about 200 Shermans) including their 1965 war where the Shermans were used in a supporting role for the more modern M47 and M48 Pattons. They were even used in the 1971 fighting but only in small numbers (about 40).
What items am I going to use?
Of course I’m going to use the Formations items I’ve been reviewing. Here’s the list:
1. F015 M4A1 with Applique Armor for Italeri Kits
2. F055 M4/M4A1 Sherman Lower Hull
3. F045 Early High Bustle 75mm Turret
4. F039 76mm Sherman Gun Barrels
5. F053 Late Single Piece Cast Double Brake
Transmission
6. F041 Pressed Spoked Sherman Wheels w/Idlers and Spare
This covers most of what’s needed. However, there are a few more items needed to complete the project.
1. RHPS T54E1 US Metal Chevron tracks.
2. RHPS EC-2 Extended End Connectors (Duckbills), 2 sets.
3. Tiger Models TMD353023 M4 Sherman Vision Block TC's
Cupola.
4. Aber 35a34 Sherman HVSS Fenders.
5. Eduard TP028 Light Guards.
In addition, I’ll be using a number of items from the spares box such as the Italeri VVSS bogies, a Dragon muzzle brake from their M4A3(76) Sherman, and drive sprockets from a Tamiya Sherman. I plan to scratch build the E9 suspension modifications and I’ll scrounge around for the other miscellaneous pieces.
Up Next: The Lower Hull |
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| Conclusion | Mar 15, 2006 |
Well at that’s left is to use a little white glue to attach the model to the base.
I’ll conclude this blog by saying that I truly enjoyed this build. Using the Formations parts really simplified the build and allowed me to concentrate on the conversion and finishing work.
Also, thanks to those... more |
| The Base | Mar 14, 2006 |
I didn’t want to make too complicated a base for this model but I did want to represent the terrain that it would operate in. I cut out a 5 inch by 9 inch piece of scrap plexiglass as the base.
The rocks are molded using the Scenic Woodlands rubber molds and standard old Plaster of Paris. If you... more |
| The Figures | Mar 13, 2006 |
| I decided to add only the commander and loader figure. In looking at the reference photos I was surprised to see the crew wearing what looks like British infantry uniforms! Go figure (get it? Bad pun)? Well I just happened to have a nice Tamiya set of British infantry. So with a little cut and paste... more |
| Final Assembly | Mar 9, 2006 |
| So it was finally time to put it all together. Really not too much to do. I put the tracks on first. My guess at 80 links turned out wrong and the standard 79 links was the correct amount. One item that worked out really well was the Formations adjustable idler. I described this in detail in my... more |
| The Tracks | Mar 7, 2006 |
| Putting together the tracks for the model is first and foremost a math problem. There are 5 parts per link. The link itself, two end connectors, and two extended end connectors (duckbills). A standard hull Sherman has 79 links per track but with the E9 modification, it looks like I’ll need 80 links.... more |
| Weathering - Pigments | Mar 6, 2006 |
| I have to admit that I’ve become a huge fan of pigments. I’ve got a bunch from a number of different manufacturers. I tend to use the Mig Pigments the most because I like how they adhere to the model. Generally, I use them dry because I haven’t been in love with the results when I mix them with either... more |
| Stowage | Mar 4, 2006 |
OK, I admit it, I’m huge fan of stowage. For my tastes, stowage is what gives the model life and a sense of context. The amount of stowage I use often varies depending on the tank’s use. But I always try to add something.
For this model I had to make an educated guess on the stowage. There are... more |
| Weathering – The Wash | Feb 25, 2006 |
| The photos of the Pakistani Shermans in action show them to be rather well weathered. Most of the weathering seems to be dirt and dust accumulation but there also seems to be notable fading and streaking. The Indo-Pakistani border area is a desert and mountainous area so the conditions tend to really... more |
| Painting - Step 2 - Camouflage and details | Feb 18, 2006 |
| I really struggled with the camouflage. In the Osprey book on 76mm Shermans, there’s a very nice rendering of a Pakistani Sherman with a nice, feathered tan stripe camo scheme. I thought it looked very cool. But later in the book there’s a photo of this tank and the camo scheme seems to be hand painted... more |
| Painting – Step 1 – Basics | Feb 13, 2006 |
| I started the painting process by painting the entire model flat black. After that I went back with Testor’s Model Master Green Drab and did the panel fading. I made sure to leave the areas around panel edges and joints less covered than in the middle of the panels. I then sprayed the lower hull and... more |
| The Hull Details | Feb 10, 2006 |
Most of the work on the hull details was pretty straight forward since the Formations set is pretty complete. I used the Eduard photoetch set TP028 for the light guards and siren protector. I made the grouser vent covers from some photoetch mesh.
In addition, I added handles to each of the fuel... more |
| The Turret | Feb 9, 2006 |
Assembling the turret was a pretty straight forward job. The Formations high bustle turret requires little work and most of the extra effort was to make the changes necessary to convert it to a late version.
Unfortunately, Formations doesn’t make a late, vision port cupola. Fortunately, Tiger Models... more |
| The E9 Suspension Revisited | Feb 6, 2006 |
Yesterday Brad Butkovich posted some great photos of the E9 suspension spacers. These are much better photos than I had when I made the spacers. From his photos I could see that I had a few errors. Here’s what I could see as being wrong:
1. The spacers have a small flange mounted to the
underside... more |
| The Fenders – Part 2 | Feb 4, 2006 |
Now that the fenders are installed, I needed to make the support brackets. It seems that the post-war remanufactured Shermans didn’t use the ‘C’ channel supports seen on HVSS Shermans (and included in the Aber set). Instead, they seem to have used a simple rod bolted to the fender and hull.
To make... more |
| The Fenders – Part 3 | Feb 4, 2006 |
| The final step on the fenders is to put on the support brackets. Not too tough a job since the method I used in the last chapter gave me parts that are pretty much ready to install. In my references, the brackets are always mounted at the same distance in from the edge of the fender. Their location... more |
| The Fenders – Part 1 | Feb 3, 2006 |
I knew that getting the fenders on this kit was going to be a little tough. The cast hull is not completely straight on the side and therefore I was going to have to be careful to get everything lined up.
I like to put the front fenders on first and then work backwards. That way, the front fenders... more |
| The VVSS Suspension | Feb 1, 2006 |
| The VVSS suspension from Formations is a really great set. The entire housing and return roller bracket and wheel are one part. It only takes a little clean up and they’re ready to use. To that, you simply add the springs and bogies from the Italeri kit. I used the Formations stamped roadwheels as... more |
| The E9 Suspension – Final Mounting | Jan 29, 2006 |
| I mounted the VVSS spacers and used a tiny amount of putty to fill the gaps. No big deal. Then I mounted the idler spacers. The photos I have show that the spacers were welded to the hull so I laid in a tiny strip of 0.01 inch styrene. I then softened it with Tentax liquid cement and used a small... more |
| The Transmission cover and Upper Hull | Jan 24, 2006 |
Before I mounted the E9 suspension spacers, I wanted to fit the transmission cover and the upper hull. I didn’t want to worry about breaking the smaller parts on the spacers while mounting and fitting the larger pieces.
With the trimming and test fitting I’d done while assembling the lower hull,... more |
| The E9 Suspension & Idlers – Test Mount | Jan 20, 2006 |
| This is a short chapter just to show a photo of the spacers test mounted. I wanted to see if they would look about right before I mounted them. I gave them a quick shot of Olive Drab, some light drybrushing, and a wash in raw umber oil paint just to see what they’d look like. It’s easier to fix them... more |
| The E9 Idler Spacers | Jan 19, 2006 |
| While the suspension spacers are a pretty simple modification, the idler spacers are not. I had read that the idlers were moved outboard by simply welding on an additional set of idler mounts over the original ones on the tank. However, as I examined the detailed photos I have, it became clear that... more |
| The E9 Suspension Spacers | Jan 18, 2006 |
The Pakistani Sherman I’m modeling has a suspension modification to allow an inner and outer row of extended end connectors (duckbills) to lower the ground pressure and improve off-road performance. This modification was given the experimental designation of E9.
Mainly, this modification involved... more |
| The Lower Hull | Jan 17, 2006 |
| I’m not sure why I always start with the lower hull, probably because I actually read the instructions in the kits when I was a kid and now I’m stuck following that order. Regardless, I like building from the bottom up. I’ve built a lot of Shermans, about 17 so far, and one of the most frustrating... more |
