Part 1: First Look

MSRP: $49.95 Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com How do I start an objective review when I look into the box and immediately get irritated? I'll try it this way and see how it goes. Dragon's latest Sherman release in their growing Premium Edition line is this M4A3 76(W) kit. Dragon continues to release kits of different Sherman tanks by mixing and matching parts from different kits and sometimes adding newer items. The majority of these parts are from the previous release of their Late PTO Sherman. The thing I immediately got put off about was that Dragon has, once again, replaced the styrene front fenders with etched brass equivalents. I would still prefer the choice or just give me the plastic ones. I hate bending that fender and then trying to make it join to itself. Also, this isn't a bad note but an observation. This is listed as a premium edition kit. I am not sure how Dragon warrants Premium Edition titles. Their M-51 Isherman had all kinds of goodies, the bedspring armor T-34/85 had gobs of them too, and the Battle of the Bulge M4A3 had loads of stuff plus two figure sets as well (this kit wasn't even labeled Premium Edition). While I'm on my rant, I will bring something good out. Dragon REALLY needs to look into releasing their new DS Vinyl track as separate items like AFV Club does. The T-48 Track with duckbills are absolutely gorgeous. The last three Dragon kits that I have reviewed and had this DS track were absolute gems. They glue well, are well defined and take paint great. The duckbill is a neat idea and the only issue with doing this as an Israeli Sherman is that they didn't use much of the rubber padded track. You also get two upper turrets to choose from. They only give you one lower turret so you will have to find another lower turret if you ever want to use the other for some project. You also get nine sprues of grey styrene consisting of 494 parts, one sprue of clear styrene consisting of 18 pieces, a small PE fret, a small decal sheet to mark five vehicles, one length of braided steel wire, vinyl track and the instruction booklet. Overall this looks like it will turn into a nice representation of an M4A3. While Dragon continues to release newer and better armor kits, they really need to consider completely retooling their Lower hull mold. This lower hull still suffers from two major flaws. Both are usually hidden after assembly but it still needs to be mentioned. The first is the final drive housing, it sits too far rearward and the transmission cover has too much of an overhang on the left and right sides. The second is the join between transmission cover and lower hull. There are eight bolts that join these two pieces and have never been included. Both are easily fixable but after building the Tasca Sherman and Firefly, I have gotten spoiled. I am planning to build this as an Israeli M4A3 Sherman without the French modifications. The majority of M4A3 Shermans in Israeli service were modified by adding the Continental engine and therefore the rear decks were configured for this modification. Though it may be conjecture or hypothetical, I am sure that Israel had at least a few M4A3 that were not so modified. With the increase in IDF related literature hitting the market I am sure to eventually prove this build could have been done. Special thanks go to Dragon Models for another neat kit and the ability to stock some of my spares bins up and to IPMS/USA for a place to show off this kit. This kit could be purchased at any well stocked local hobby shop or on the internet.

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