GPM

1/25 M4A3 Sherman Tank

Kit Number: 188

Reviewed by  Greg Perry, IPMS# 45865

MSRP: $14.50 Website: www.gpm.pl This kit represents the famous Sherman tank. I am not a Sherman tank expert but the title of the kit says it is an M4A3 version. I don't know if that's accurate, but who am I to argue. The model comes in A4 book size and is hand drawn with some computer drawn revised parts. Instructions are provided in English, German and Polish with 4.5 pages of construction illustrations. The model was printed in olive green but not all parts are the same shade. Different pages were printed with different shades of green which results in the fenders, mantlet and appliqué armor being slightly darker. Even though there are some color issues, the built tank looks good and the printed texture (faded paint and shading) add immensely to the end result. For a hand drawn kit, the fit was very good. There were a few build issues due to some illustration and parts labeling issues, but nothing too complex that some studying couldn't resolve. Some of the rolled parts were printed on regular card stock and should have been printed on regular thin bond paper. I had to de-laminate these parts (remove a layer of paper from the back) to get them to roll tighter. Build time was a little over two months, due to these issues and the overall complexity of the road wheels and the track. In addition to the printed parts, the additional materials are needed to complete the model: 1 mm cardboard, 0.5 mm cardboard, Bristol board (thick card stock), and various diameters of bead wire and plastic stock. Many options are provided for this kit. Racks for sandbags are provided. Crates, a bucket, road wheels, track sections, jerry cans, and drive sprockets were provided along with a Confederate type flag. Since I will eventually be putting this tank on a Dragon Wagon trailer, I left it relatively plain Jane with few options.

The addition of English instructions was great and helped me comprehend the drawings and illustrations to build this model. I really did enjoy this build, but found that its intermediate difficulty rating was appropriate. As such, I will only recommend this kit to those with some paper model building experience.

I would like to thank IPMS with the opportunity to provide this review and also thank GPM for publishing such a great model. Happy cutting!