Kit: No. 61888
Scale: 1/35
Manufacturer: Dragon, imported by Dragon Models USA, 626-968-0322, www.dragonmodelsusa.com
Price: $28.97
Comments: Injection-molded, 236 parts (20 photoetched metal, 2 cast metal, 3 vinyl), decals
Pros: Dragon’s best Sherman kit, lots of accessories and detail parts included
Cons: No crew figures

Dragon’s latest Sherman kit is the Red Army M4A2 (76). This diesel-engine variant, armed with a 76mm gun, was supplied to the Soviet Army under the lend lease plan.

I was awed by the variety of accessories inside the box: a turned-aluminum gun barrel, photoetched parts, clear parts for the lights and periscopes, a wire tow cable, and a vinyl mantlet cover. You also get two types of bogie wheels, two styles of bogie units, open machine-gun muzzles, and positionable fuel-filler caps. The only thing missing is a crew figure or two!

Following the instructions, I started with the suspension. Most photos of Soviet M4A2 (76)s I’ve seen have the later, up-swept roller arms, which I used.

Next I assembled the lower hull, and it captures the features of this version. I didn’t encounter any problems, and the bogie units went on easily.

Moving to the upper hull, the kit’s all new tooling accurately depicts the M4A2. All the hull hatches are separate, and all the hatch periscopes can be installed in the deployed position. The engine-grille doors have internal detail. Photoetched parts come into play here; they’re included for the headlight brush guards, periscope guards, tow cable clasps, and fender supports. (Most of these parts are also supplied in plastic).

The turret turned out to be my favorite part of the kit, and it’s the best late-style Sherman turret in kit form. The turret is made of two main parts and captures the shape convincingly. The commander’s cupola is neatly designed, with separate clear parts for the vision ports.

Test fitting the nicely detailed vinyl T-49 three-bar-cleat tracks showed that they were too long, so I adjusted them by cutting off two links per side.

I used several shades of olive drab Polly Scale paint to finish the model. Decals are provided for two World War II Soviet vehicles, and they went on nicely over a gloss coat.

Squadron/Signal’s Armor Walk Around Number 1: M4 Sherman, was a useful reference for this kit. The completed model scales out accurately.

I have every M4 Dragon has issued, and I’m impressed with the effort they put into this kit. This is the company’s best Sherman to date. I built mine in just 24 hours, and I highly recommend it to all armor modelers.

– Jim Zeske