1:35 M4A3 (76) Sherman

A star in a circle and a star without a circle

The American markings of the Second World War are not one insignia but several forms of it, and the difference between them decides whether a model matches the given campaign. The plain five-pointed star was used from the beginning, whereas the star inscribed in a white circle appeared at the time of the landings and was meant to make recognition from the air easier. The circle was moreover often painted only as a broken arc, so that it would not look like a target. With it went the registration number, painted in narrow blue-gray lettering on the sides of the hull, and the division insignia on the fender.

What a stencil needs for it

The manufacturer reports a pair of sheets with insignia and the wheel discs. It is exactly here that a mask is irreplaceable: the circle around the star has to be concentric and of even width, otherwise the whole insignia looks crooked, and freehand not even an experienced painter will manage it. The points of the star in turn need sharp tips, which a brush that has run will round off. The recommended procedure is simple: onto cured olive green comes a thin gloss intermediate coat, onto that the sheet, then a weak coat of white in two or three passes and lifting off before the paint has fully cured. A heavy layer of white makes a ridge under the edge that can later be seen in backlight.

The version with the 76 mm gun

The M4A3 with the 76 mm gun was an attempt to answer the German machines against which the shorter 75 mm barrel no longer sufficed. The vehicle was given a roomier turret derived from the unfinished T23 tank, a longer barrel with a counterweight and, on later series, wet ammunition stowage, which reduced the risk of fire after a hit. Its recognition feature is precisely that larger turret with the protruding rear, which changes the silhouette of the tank in side view more than anything else.