Takom- M1 Super Sherman

History

The venerable Sherman tank has had several iterations through WWII and beyond- with its last combat use purported to be in the Nicaraguan Civil War in the late 1970s and as training vehicles in Paraguay up to 2018. Israel was provided with some 250 tanks back in the 1950s from France, mostly M4A1E8 versions armed with 76.2mm M1 guns- thus earning them the name M1 Super Sherman. These were delivered covertly right onto Israeli beaches in time to fight the Sinai campaign in 1956. They had about 180 tanks ready for service as this war broke out. It served with the IDF well into the early 1980s. It's successful use by the Israelis was a testament to their ability to take obsolete armor and refit them into formidable opponents to Russian-based armor like the T-34-85 and T-54/55 examples.

Initially powered by a Continental R975C-4 radial gas engine and featuring a cast hull and Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS), it was soon found that the larger gun overburdened the engine and the narrow tracks proved challenging in the desert environment. A Cummins 460hp diesel engine and Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS) were eventually adopted, while the cast hulls which were difficult to maintain and manufacture were replaced with welded versions. These modified WWII veterans allowed the IDF to stem the tide until more modern armor could supplement the defenses.

The schemes featured in this release from Takom are centered around Six Day War versions circa 1967.

What's Inside

There are 14 light gray styrene sprues inside the packed box- as well as separately packaged turret, lower and upper hulls. A clear sprue, PE fret, copper cable, decal sheet and metal gun barrel round out the contents. Let's get into it...

Sprue C (x4) contains all the parts for the track links, as well as the jig to assemble the tracks

Sprue D (x2) contains parts for the road wheels, return rollers, idler, and sprockets. The final drive face, grab handles, antenna mount, fuel filler caps, and spare links are also present. Detail is impressive, with markings on the tires and final drive as well.

Sprue E (x2) contains parts for the suspension and bogie assemblies, axles, rear tow shackles and brackets, and parts for the air cleaners. Slide molding is evident for the small headlights and bogie parts.

Sprue J has parts for the lower turret half (with subtle cast texture),  gun breech, canvas parts for the mantlet cover, plastic gun barrel and flash suppressor, and barrel travel lock parts.

Sprue L contains the parts for the cupola, rear mud flaps, and other tiny bits.

Sprue N contains the pioneer tools, slide-molded (hallelujah!) .30 caliber mantlet gun and .50 caliber machine gun with ammo can, hatches, front tow brackets and clevis, and track guards.

Sprue P contains fenders, exhausts, transmission cover (also with cast texture), large searchlight, rear end plate, air cleaners, parts for the rear deck engine cover and grills, and a jig for bending the PE light guards. 

Sprue R is for the stowage- including a stretcher, machine gun cover, pail, and assorted packs and rolls.

Sprue S is a small sprue with parts for the rear phone box and smoke grenade tubes.

The lower and upper hulls come packed separately as does the turret top. More cast texture on the top hull and turret are evident.

Q is the clear sprue with periscope lenses and light clear covers. It is bagged separately from the PE fret with the light guard bits and screens for the air inlet covers. A replacement metal gun barrel and copper tow cable is also provided.

There are decals for 4 different schemes provided in the kit. They include:

• Maneuver Exercises, 1961

• 10th Armored Brigade, 16th Etzioni Jerusalem Infantry Brigade, Jerusalem 1967

• Jerusalem, 1967

• 29th Tank Battalion, 16th Etzioni Jerusalem Infantry Brigade, Jerusalem 1967

Conclusion

This will be my first Takom Sherman build- and it looks to be quite the detailed kit. There are some very small parts on the sprues which may prove challenging to inexperienced builders. Any ejection marks I spot are on interior surfaces of parts which should not be visible and no interior means that the option of having open hatches might be moot since there is nothing inside to show off. Looking forward to cracking into this one!

Highly Recommended for Intermediate to Advanced builders, pending full build.

Thanks goes out to Takom for this review kit.

Reviewed by Michael Reeves, AMPS Albany

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