Esci/Italeri/Trumpeter M4A1 76mm
www.onthewaymodels.com
by Francesco Giovagnorio
Edited by Himself
Manufacturer: Italeri (ex-Esci) 7003 email: fgimail(at)gmail.com

I had an Italeri M4A1 Sherman to build and I knew I could not build it OOTB because of the well-known accuracy problems, so I decided to use a turret from a Trumpeter M4A3 76mm on it to make the 76mm version. I know the Trumpeter turret is not the best one out there because of the very large tank commander hatch, but it was the only one I had.

The Italeri hull needs many small details to be added, like brush guards and handles, while the turret is missing the lifting hooks. I know there would have been much more to modify, but I decided to leave the rest as it is. Turret MG is unusable so I covered it with putty to make it look as if it was covered to protect it from dust.

The tracks have no "duckbills", so it is not possible to replicate a vehicle used during the winter of '44 nor a vehicle with extensive sandbags protection (every pic of M4A1 76mm I have seen, taken after the fall of '44, shows track extenders in place). So, this is a vehicle fighting during late summer 1944.

Extra stowage and sandbags were made from DAS pronto.

Tank crewman and GI are from Italeri 6120 WW2 American Infantry.
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