Send us some pics of what you’ve got... can’t find any 1/48 here 

I have built 4 Hobby Boss 1/48 Sherman's with the idea of using them as car loads. I really enjoy them, as they are easy builds, cheaper in price and lend themselves to aftermarket pieces. Here are some pictures of ones I built. 

Regards,

Greg

www.youtube.com/trainbros89

THanks AMC! I hit my hobby lobby today and picked up the last 2 1:48 scale Sherman’s that they had.  I thought I was out of luck when I  went to the model section and didn’t see anything marked down. However, I then checked the general clearance section in my store and sure enough they were there for 6.99 each. What a steal.  It’s for reasons like this that this forum is a must stop place when I surf the Internet. So glad I caught your post yesterday.  You can never get enough tanks for flat car projects! 

"The kit uses sprues A, B and the lower hull from the previous kits with new sprues for all the M4A3 parts with the kit consisting of 158 parts in light grey plastic, a small etched fret with 14 parts and a set of vinyl tracks plus the decal and instruction sheets."

Over 170 parts, plus painting - I don't begin to have all the hours available to build even one of these little tanks. I'm just going to stick with my Corgi diecast Shermans. Trainbros89's completed models really look great, though.

Tamiya makes a lot of great 1/48 armor kits. Agreed the time to build them is not everyone’s cup of tea but they do make the Stuart light tank, and figure sets. Tamiya makes some German and American troops “on maneuvers” that can be converted to personnel in non combat poses. Germans? Build them unarmed and paint “PW” on their backs and put them to work under US MP guards!

Bandai made slightly simpler kits 20-30 years ago. These sometimes show up at hobby shops on consignment and are seen on trade tables at scale modeler shows and contests. The figure sets are really good with weapons, canteens, packs etc, molded separately. One of my goals is to use some of these details as “junk on the bunks”  in my troop sleepers. British figure sets are great to get some WW-1 style Brodie pattern helmets for that 1941-42 look.

Eagle Moss was supposed to make the Sherman antecedent, the Grant/Lee in 1/43 - did they ever do it?

There are a bunch of armor and figure  kits by Bolt Action and WarHammer... they are 1/55 - close enough. A collector friend of mine is selling a big collection of these (estate) done by a very skilled modeler. If anyone is interested call me at (817) 335-9440 and I will put you in touch with him. He has a lot of US and British (which can be Canadian!) AFVs and figures  in addition to German and Russian.

Just a few thoughts for you military minded guys. 

ALSO.....Atlantis model and Toy is about to reissue some old Aurora 1/48 scale tank kits. These are much more simple kits....maybe 15 minutes to build. But they still great flat car loads. You can Google Atlantis model and get full info. Thx

breezinup posted:

"The kit uses sprues A, B and the lower hull from the previous kits with new sprues for all the M4A3 parts with the kit consisting of 158 parts in light grey plastic, a small etched fret with 14 parts and a set of vinyl tracks plus the decal and instruction sheets."

Over 170 parts, plus painting - I don't begin to have all the hours available to build even one of these little tanks. I'm just going to stick with my Corgi diecast Shermans. Trainbros89's completed models really look great, though.

Thank you for the compliment! 

The Aurora tank line had the M-26 Patton heavy Tank, used at the very end of WW-2 and used very successfully in Korea. There was also a fuel truck and a tracked carrier of some type as I recall. 

Also in the Aurora line was the British Centurian Tank which Canada bought 274 of with 77 in Germany and 197 in Canada in the 50’s and 60’s. They could be visiting here for maneuvers with the US Army.

Atlantis re- releasing these is good news.

There were few technical differences between the late WW-2 M-26 and this one. The M-46 was basically a 1949 rebuild of the M-26 so these could be used as flatcar loads for any period 1944 to the early 6o’s. None of the other tanks are available yet, according to my search of the website.  

I met the former surgeon general of the Army who had been an armor officer in Korea. He spoke very highly of these tanks and said they had no trouble dealing with the Russian T-34s which previously gave our Shermans a lot of trouble in Korea.

If you're looking for tanks for flat car loads Menard's has a die cast camo tank for $2.99.  I bought 12 of them for future loads and repaints.

Those are modern M-1A1 Abrams tanks correct for the 80’s to today, they definitely need repainting to me they look pretty underscale but if you are not particular about that... they will be fine!

The real ones are pretty big at 32 1/2 Ft. Long with the gun forward or 8” in  1/48.

Immediately prior to U.S. entry into WWII, 1939-1940, was the U.S. shipping any armor to GB, or Europe,and, if so, what?

Prior to the US entry Sherman tanks were shipped to GB and they were used in North Africa.

I am not an “expert” - quick check of the Internet places the Grant and Lee tanks in action in North Africa in May of 1942. These were the same basic chassis as the later Sherman, but had a casemate mounted main gun and a funny little turret on top with a 37mm gun. It’s the one Bogart is driving in SAHARA and Dan Akroyd drives through the paint factory in “1941.” These tanks were not as good as the Shermans would be, but at that time they were the equal of  or better than what the Germans had in North Africa. Tigers came later and very few to N. Africa. Eagle Moss was going to make it in 1/43 but afaik never did. 

From what I read we pulled 250 new Shermans out of US Army units and got them to the Brits to use at El Alamein in October ‘42. Britain also got a ton of our Stuart light tanks which they renamed the Honey, Tamiya makes a Stuart in 1/48 FYI.

Well, 1942 comes after 1940, so Stuarts might be seen on train flatcars, heading for a port, in 1940, the date l adhere to,  but not Shermans?  I read a quote from a German officer who claimed they had better equipment, but we buried them under an avalanche, a quantity, of cheap and quick to make Sten guns, jeeps, etc.

Griff,

I've built a lot of the Tamiya 1/48 kits and I have never seen a Stuart in that series.  Do you have a model number?  I had to get a couple of Stuarts from Master Fighter in Europe.  One is done up as a Honey, see below.

Also, to the best of my knowledge, Tamiya never made a Grant/Lee... still looking for a 1/48 supplier for those... any information appreciated.  Thanks.

Price

colorado hirailer posted:

 I read a quote from a German officer who claimed they had better equipment, but we buried them under an avalanche, a quantity, of cheap and quick to make Sten guns, jeeps, etc.

Highly time frame dependent.  Until the Tigers got to N. Africa, the M3/M4 mediums were more than a match for any German tanks there.  In the '39 - '40 time frame, the Luftwaffe fighters were quite superior; by late '43, such was no longer the case.  The German navy never really had much of a chance:  the vaunted Bismark  was no match for any US fast (i.e. modern) battleship; their cruisers were temperamental, and their destroyers were both out-numbered and out-moded.  In 1945, the Heer was still highly dependent upon horses for transport.

Surely, they had individual success stories, but they not couldn't make enough of them to matter, they tended to be delicate and overly complex mechanically as well as logistically inefficient.

There is an old saying:  amateurs study tactics; professionals study logistics.  It wasn't the Shermans that won the war in Europe:  it was the Liberty ships, the Duece-and-a-halfs, the field telephones, the gas pipelines, the field kitchens and K-rations, the field hospitals, Rosie the Riveter, our RRs, and the fact that we supplied not only our army but also the Allies in both Europe and the Pacific with everything needed in super-abundance while causing our economy to thrive at home.

Not too many people realize that, just over a week after D-Day in Normandy, we invaded Saipan and the Marianas in the Pacific with a yet larger invasion force.

The German officer's comment, while containing shades of accuracy, smacks of the same sour grapes as the Lost Cause to the Confederacy.

any 1:48 tanks that aren't kits?  I have no building skills and need fully constructed stuff.

😎

Harold

Nice 1/48 models of both the Stuart ( honey) and Lee tanks are available from blitzkrieg miniatures. I recently purchased from them and was very pleased to fill an important gap in my small collection. They are highly detailed resin kits with few parts. It is amazing at how they can mold the entire hull and track into one piece.  No decals though but all you need are stars from your Tamiya kits. Very pricey - about 25 pounds plus shipping.

Shadow; nice Stuart builds. Those are real craftsman kits - resin I believe?! Tamiya does or did make them in 48th. I will need to check on Squadron Shop's website. Afaik no one has ever made an injection molded kit in 48th of the Lee/Grants.

Harold; Corgi makes some nice very scale built up armor and soft skin stuff in 1/50 scale. They have done several different schemes of the Sherman, and halftracks. They are 1/50 so close enough. They also have a beautiful M-48, the primary tank used in Vietnam. Eagle Moss makes a great builtup line but in 1/43, again close to 1/48 but you be the judge. I saw the Shermans listed and they were supposed to make the Lee/Grants but I think they stopped with the Shermans. I have several of the Corgi Shermans and they ain't cheap but look around. Eagle Moss has made more European WW-2 stuff. You could always have a couple of German vehicles captured with war bond posters on 'em. I'll cruise the Internet and see what I can find.

   Griff

Quick internet search: I found a die cast dealer named OB's and they have an extensive list of the Corgi 1/50 Shermans in a wide range of schemes, $40.95 each, M-48 is $49.95, US Halftracks $39.95. The Flying Mule is a big vender of Eagle Moss stuff and  they list NO US tanks, but they to have US M-8 and M-20 armored cars, I have an M-8 and it's quite nice. Eagle Moss makes more German and British stuff.

Bob,

I have looked at Blitzkrieg Miniatures before.  The problem is that they are designed as 28mm war gaming pieces.  Strictly speaking 28mm scales out closer to 1/56 so these tanks at least in my eyes look small when placed next to 1/48 Tamiya kits.  Also notice on the Blitzkrieg website that they market 28mm for both their 1/48 AND 1/56 “equivalent” lines...

I guess I’m really picky because I even see (and dislike) the difference in size between 1/48 kit built Shermans and the pre made 1/50 Corgi Shermans...

Price

Lol Shadow! I can appreciate your comment. I have an O scale friend (with an inner loop of vintage Lionel!) and he will not have 1/43 vehicles on his layout. I only do a shoe level Christmas layout myself and I cannot pass up the nicer medium price 1930's - 40's civvy vehicles in 43rd, and I do mix up the armor. I even put my Dinky toy childhood Daimler ambulances in my ambulance convoy, I imagine those are about 1/55 but I have always been an ambulance aficionado and collector, love my old Dinkys. 

I come from a background that for many years I was a "serious" scale IPMS guy mainly in airplanes in 1/48 so I appreciate the purist standpoint.

Another buddy of mine has an original ****'s Gate bridge and other tin buildings, gigantic vintage figures, 1/48 figures, a Plastic Mastodon in 1/24 scale, Dept. 56 buildings, tootsie toy vehicles, you name it. My serious O scale friend in paragraph 1, perhaps surprisingly, describes that guy's layout as "magical" - and it is!  I love it!  The only rule is that there are no rules except the ones we make for ourselves! Have fun with it!

A nice Labor Day project to take the mind off of the hurricane down here in Florida.  Some minor model imperfections, but for $6.99, an incredible model. 

Looks great!!!!

Thanks Dave and thanks for turning us on to his deal.  Now to pick up some flat cars at the next train meet! 

Very nice! Is that a Korean War era scheme or WW-2? Corgi has a similar scheme on one of their factory pre-built ones.

I believe that paint scheme was used on a few tanks during the Korean War.

Neal Jeter

Thanks Griff. Yes it was a Korean War paint scheme. Towards the end of WW2, the Sherman’s were upgraded with a new HVSS suspension that this model has. When the Korean War started, these were repurposed and the troops painted them like tigers, dragons and other creatures to scare the north Koreans and chi coms.  This is the prototype that I was attempting to copy - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/...9496794581885/?nic=1

Pretty scary painting a model yellow after spending five hours laboring over it but  for 6.99 I figured I’d go for it. Looking forward to building  the second one I picked up. The model comes with a  less outrageous  tiger front decal scheme. I plan on using that one next. Then, it’s time for flat car mounting.

A few years ago, AMCDave told us about the re-release of the old Revell snap kit

Revell Combat Crushers Quake Sherman Tank Plastic Model Kit

They were pretty cheap at the time, but are accurate 1/48 scale models. Not a lot of detail, but easy to build and look really good when painted properly. Maybe someone has a stash of them, or maybe they will be re-re-released again.

https://www.amazon.com/Revell-...lastic/dp/B00DVNFWLU

RoyBoy posted:

A few years ago, AMCDave told us about the re-release of the old Revell snap kit

Revell Combat Crushers Quake Sherman Tank Plastic Model Kit

They were pretty cheap at the time, but are accurate 1/48 scale models. Not a lot of detail, but easy to build and look really good when painted properly. Maybe someone has a stash of them, or maybe they will be re-re-released again.

https://www.amazon.com/Revell-...lastic/dp/B00DVNFWLU

This is one.

Your basic welded hull Sherman - well painted no decal film... perfect factory fresh flatcar load.