Dragon Models

1/72 Beutepanzer (Sherman) M4A2 75

Kit Number: 7373

Reviewed by  Jim Pearsall, IPMS# 2209

MSRP: $18.95 Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Thanks to Dragon USA for providing this nice kit to review. The Vehicle: The M4 Sherman is usually thought of as an "OK" AFV, not superior to anything the Wehrmacht used in the 1944-45 period, but there were so many of them that they won encounters in spite of themselves, or through the cleverness of the crews and commanders. Since the US supplied 4250 M4A2 Sherman's to the Soviets, it's probable that at least a few fell into Wehrmacht hands. Which is why Dragon has released their M4A2 Sherman with German markings and camouflage. The name Beutepanzer does not refer to the good looks of the Sherman. The cognate word here is not "beauty" it's "booty". As in captured, plundered, taken captive. Aye, and the tank commander has a peg leg and a parrot, too, me hearties. The Model This is another of Dragon's use of modular molds to produce several versions of one model. There are 7 sprues plus a small fret of photo etch and the DS100 tracks. All of the blue areas are parts that are supplied, but not used. This includes most of the parts on the A and D sprues. The spares box loves this, and that extra .50 caliber machine gun (B5) is most appreciated.

The only problem I had with construction involved parts location. Note that there are 3 sprues named "A". They are differentiated by use of a black capital A, small a and a blue capital A in the instructions. The sprues themselves all have a capital A. Therefore it became a task of organizing which sprue "A" you were dealing with when looking for a part. Perhaps a small piece of "sticky note" paper on the sprue would help decipher which was which. I may try that next time. Construction: This isn't my first Dragon Sherman. I've done the M4A3 105 with HVSS and the Firefly 1. Each one gets easier, as my experience level goes up with the Dragon kits and instructions. Dragon's slide mold process turns out parts that fit beautifully. I used filler only on a seam where the lower turret ring meets the turret bustle building this kit. I painted and assembled the suspension and wheels, and mounted them to the chassis, which I also painted before assembly, since the suspension and underside were left in OD, while the rest of the vehicle was painted in Wehrmacht standard colors. I left the bogies unglued, to allow them to adapt to the tracks. Dragon has supplied the lights, hatches, grab irons, and travel lock on the glacis and turret as separate parts. This allows great detail, instead of those little lumps found on armor kits made back in the 70s. It also means that there are about a bazillion little parts, any of which may feed the carpet monster. Exactly why the shovel is a separate part when the axe, wrench and sledge are molded onto the rear deck is still a mystery to me. On the other hand, the shovel is nicely molded and a fine piece of workmanship. Once I had all the small parts installed on the hull and turret, it was time to paint the upper part of the tank. I sprayed the entire vehicle, except for the suspension and bottom Testors Model Master ® Sandgelb. I then added splotches of Panzer Schokoladebraun and Panzer Olive. I sprayed the tracks with Testors' Metalizer ® Steel, then dipped the tracks in a mixture of burnt sienna acrylic thinned with alcohol. I also used this mixture to add weathering to the tank and blend the colors. I then added the rear hull plate and wheel assembly, which was painted only Sandgelb and installed the tracks. I have noted the Dragon DS 100 tracks. They look like the old "rubber band" tracks, but they take paint beautifully and you use standard model cement on the tracks. You may need to be a little careful not to glue the tracks to the hull or suspension. This is the voice of experience. The hull top fits tightly and cleanly to the suspension and lower hull. It was tight enough that I had to be careful when doing this step not to knock off some of those details I had sweated over. On the other hand, once it was in place, it fit so nicely, I was again impressed with the engineering that went into this kit. Speaking of tight fits, the turret installation is much tighter than I am used to. The turret goes on, but there is some effort required to traverse the turret. It almost feels glued on, but it's just close tolerances. Decals Cartograf. That says it all. The only problem I had was finding those tiny white unit markings on the light blue backing sheet. Everything went on as I wanted, stayed put, and looks great. It also helps that there are only 4 crosses and 3 unit markings. Overall Assessment Recommended. Here's a truly multi-national AFV, going from the US to the Soviets and then to the Germans. Detail is good, fit is great, and although it's "just another Sherman" it's an interesting one. A side note: Dave Morrissette put this out for review, and no one seemed to want to do the kit. After looking up what "Beutepanzer" meant, and seeing the markings, I can't understand why no one else was interested in the "German Sherman"! Thanks to IPMS/USA and Dragon USA for this kit.