Unlike the other warring nations, the US decided to pin all its armor requirements on a few tanks. For the light tank, it was the Stuart, and for the medium tank, it was mostly the Sherman that was used. There was no heavy tank produced by the United States unless one considers the M26 Jackson to be that tank.

The Sherman first saw combat with the British at El Alamein and based on the experience there, a few modifications were made. American forces used it with the North African landings of late 1942 and though out-gunned by some of the German tanks it faced, there were a lot more Shermans around. In fact, it is the numbers that made the difference. While the Germans tried a number of different tanks and mods, all were built in relatively small production runs and never in the quantity that they really needed.

Steven J Zaloga has produced a super book on the  M4 with the 75mm gun.

The introduction consists of a brief historical background and then goes into the various kits in 1/35 scale that have been produced, giving the strengths and weaknesses of each one. No section on tools and materials as heaven only knows one can only read about that a few times without one's eyes glazing over. By this time, we all know that these books are done by masters and that's why we buy them.

There are four build articles in this one:

1.  Early M4A1 in Sicily; 1943. The Dragon kit is the basic kit with lots of aftermarket and it is listed as Intermediate.

2.   M4 Sherman; Paris 1944. The Tamiya kit is the base model with even more aftermarket stuff on this Advanced build. Information on a base is included.

3.  M4 Mine Roller: Battle of the Bulge 1945. Again, the Tamiya kit is the basis, but this time in 1/48. Usual aftermarket stuff and intermediate/advanced skill level.

4.  M4A3, Germany 1945.  This time it is the Dragon kit along with the Italeri kit and the usual additional stuff. Once again, an intermediate/advanced skill level.

The book ends with the usual research and museum listings as well as the usual color page, something I think Osprey could dispense with and no one would complain.

All of the articles are superbly written and include not only a goodly number of in-work images, but many pages of the completed model. I'm sure that if one was so inclined, any of these could be duplicated with just care in construction.

Another fine addition to the Osprey Modelling series and one you be sure will offer you a good value.

November 2006

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