1:35 M4A1 Sherman

The Sherman with a cast hull

The M4A1 was the first production form of the Sherman and the only one that carried a fully cast upper hull. Its rounded sides without welds give the machine a soft, almost organic shape and a builder notices it as soon as he starts painting: on a curved surface every transition of shade behaves differently from a flat plate. The vehicle went through the fighting in North Africa, in Sicily and in Normandy, and in the version with the 76 mm gun it accompanied armored formations to the end of the war.

Why the discs are masked and not the tracks

The suspension rests on three pairs of bogies sprung by coil springs. Every wheel has a metal disc and around it a rubber tire, which on a model is darker than the surrounding olive drab. The boundary between the disc and the rubber is a precise circle a few millimeters across, and that is a job a brush will not manage even on the third attempt. A track, by contrast, has no such boundary. It is finished with pigments, rust and polished edges, so a mask would be no use there.

Contents and use

The manufacturer states a single sheet of insignia for these goods and, with it, wheel masks. The sheet is laid on a matured base coat, gentle pressure is enough and it should be peeled off before the paint has fully cured, otherwise there is a risk of the rim of the finish lifting with the mask. The curved side of the cast hull calls for special attention. On a curved surface the stencil has to be laid from the center outwards and pressed down gradually, otherwise it lifts at the edges and the spray runs underneath. It helps to warm the sheet with hot air from an ordinary hairdryer, as the film then follows the curvature more willingly. The reward is an insignia that follows the shape of the casting and does not sit on it like a patty. Neither the model nor paints are in the box.