Tasca

1/35 M4A1 Sherman Late

Kit Number: 35-012

Reviewed by  Chris Mobley, IPMS# 42891

MSRP: $99.95 Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com This kit continues the releases of 1/35 Sherman variants from Tasca. My first impression after opening the box was pretty enthusiastic looking over the details. The kit includes 409 parts in OD color, 7 clear plastic, a small photo etch set and vinyl T48 tracks that are two pieces per side. There is also a sheet of Cartograf decals for three choices of markings. The instructions are in two parts, one for the previous mid version kit and a supplement for the late version this kit represents. The assembly starts with the lower hull and suspension and construction is different from any other Sherman I have built. Most kits have the majority of the hull premolded together. This kit has you assemble the entire structure, which while it may seem like extra steps, I think it looked and worked out a lot better. Fit was absolutely beautiful. The only marks from the molds are on the inside of the hull. The details on the bottom are nicely done as well. The instructions do call out what bolts to remove for doing a welded version. The suspension is very well done and once assembled is operational. Not only does it move side to side but also a tad bit up and down as well thanks to some rubber pads inside the housing. The instructions also point out where to add rivets on the road wheels should you be so inclined. I was not so inclined myself. One thing to pay attention to with the suspension is the arms, they do have a slight difference to them depending on which side you mount them and the road wheels will not fit properly if you get them mixed up. Trust me on that. Throughout the instructions it calls out various options for the different versions and directs you to the supplementary instructions for the late version. The best thing to do is plan ahead and high light which options you are going to go with and highlight as well where you need to deviate to the supplemental. I went ahead and crossed out any items I was not going to use. There is also a lot of Japanese on the sheets but most can be figured out from the small amount of English or figuring out the drawing. Construction of the upper section is just as with the rest of the kit so far and seamless. The details are crisp and the hull has a slight texturing. There are no locating holes for the tools but I personally preferred that as the hole sometimes are bigger than the tool. Putting the tools where they go is not a problem just using the instructions or reference photos. The turret is also well done and fits together with no problem. The only area that might have been improved is that a metal barrel would have been better than the two-piece, especially with the price of the kit. There is no interior breech detail for the gun. The decals are typical Cartograf wonderfulness. The decals come off the sheet with very little to no clear areas around them so silvering is no issue at all. They had no problems laying down smooth and reacted well to setting solution. Overall this is an excellent kit that offers a great looking finished model with out extra effort to clean up or fix kit related problems. My thanks to Dragon Models USA for the review sample