The ultimate World War II Sherman tank was the M4A3E8. Its improvements in armor, armament, internal protection, and suspension directly addressed weaknesses in earlier Shermans. It reached the U.S. Army in Europe in December 1944 and went on to serve in many postwar armies.
The “Easy Eight” variant of the Sherman has been a popular subject with kit manufacturers since the 1960s. But Tasca’s release creates a new benchmark for accuracy and detail.
The parts are cleanly molded in dark olive plastic. Details and options represent a WWII version with T66 steel track. Both the suspension and tracks are posable. The commander’s cupola is molded in both clear and olive-colored plastic. Photoetched-metal parts are provided for periscope and headlight guards. All hatches are separate parts. Alternate gun barrels are included, as is Tasca’s signature fuel/water can set. There are no crew figures, though.
I started construction with the lower hull. Tasca takes a different approach here, as the lower hull comprises numerous flat plates. I found they all attached to each other positively — no problems at all.
The exhaust deflector builds up accurately from several curved parts to capture the unique shape. It’s designed to roll up under the rear hull plate, like the real thing.
Moving on to the suspension, there is a fair amount of work here with all the wheels and bogie units. The 11-part HVSS bogies look complicated, but they build up quickly and easily — and if you build them correctly they will be movable, providing a suspension that can be articulated. If you don’t plan to articulate the suspension, glue them into their flat position; this keeps them from moving when you install the tracks. Be careful with the wheel axles; they are a very tight fit.
The T66 tracks are two pieces per link and designed to be workable. Small pins link the tracks, which are then trapped by the inner track pad. Tasca has neatly designed them so the ejector-pin marks are on interior surfaces! I spent a fair amount of time assembling the tracks: There are 77 links per side. When you do the math, that’s 308 parts — whew!
The turret assembled quickly without any problems. Unlike many other 76mm Sherman kits, Tasca’s tank captures the mantlet profile. You get a choice of two 76mm barrels, one with a muzzle brake, the other just the protective collar. The turret-mounted M2 .50-caliber machine gun is a nicely detailed beauty with a hollow cooling jacket and a choice of barrels.
I painted my Sherman with various shades of Tamiya olive- and sand-colored paints. Decals are given for five WWII vehicles. The decals are neatly printed, particularly the stars, which have no overlapping decal film. These applied well with a bit of decal solution.
My primary reference was Squadron/Signal’s “Walk Around” title M4 Sherman, by Jim Mesko (Squadron/Signal, ISBN 978-0-89747-410-8). Also very helpful was M4 (76mm) Sherman Medium Tank, 1943-65, by Steven J. Zaloga (Osprey, ISBN 978-1-84176-542-6).
I completed my M4A3E8 in 30 hours. It’s the best Sherman kit I have ever built, with crisp detail and superb engineering, and arguably the best Sherman kit available today. This one’s not for the novice, but experienced armor modelers who enjoy WWII subjects will want to add this Sherman to their collection.