MTH flat cars w/ shermans

BLUE,

     Yes the cradle just pops off. Use something flat like a butter knife, put a paper towel underneath so to leave no scratches. I did not like the cradle on the earlier versions either.

JohnB. 

Does anyone have an MTH product number?

20-95301

When I saw the thread title I thought it might concern a flatcar loaded with guys named "Sherman".

(Of course, in this part of the country, the name "Sherman" is still not regarded with affection by some of us.)

Love those Shermans   These are the older ones that Jim Sutter made me buy

Ben. Those Sherman’s need a caboose!

The Shermans are from the 40's. This extended vision caboose is from the 70's. Too anachronistic for my taste.

My! What a very long barrel you have there Grandma!

Big Jim posted:

My! What a very long barrel you have there Grandma!

Could be a model of the M4A2 76W.  Even then, the gun (M1A1?) is not quite right.

These are great! Glad I ordered them, 1 4pk & the 2 single cars....... I may get the other 4pk. Thanks for the pics

There was an article in our local paper about the Korean War. They had a picture of a Sherman tank in action in Korea.  Long gun (turret is slightly turned) and markings look like the same as the MTH tank.

I have been looking for a 1/43 or 1/48 Sherman or Patton tank to put on a custom flat car.  I believe MTH uses a Solido model, but I can't locate one.  Does anyone have a suggestion?  Thanks,

Does anyone know who makes the tank loads - and are they die-cast metal?

fwiw: the main guns don't look right to me either - towards the end of WWII M4 Shermans were outfitted with high-velocity 76 mm cannons - but they had a muzzle brake on them.

I'm still waiting for a call that my Ambulance set is in but from the last run a few years ago.

Die Cast Direct carries 1/43 Jeeps, half tracks, trucks and other die cast military vehicles (except a tank that I can use).

The bottom of the tank says WarMaster, 1/43 M4A3 Sherman.  I don't think it is diecast metal.  It's definitely not as heavy as a Solido diecast Sherman tank. 

Neal Jeter 

Thanks, Neal.  I searched for this tank with no luck.  I don't care if a tank is completely die cast, I just don't want a kit (be careful fellow Forum members, , I ordered a 2 1/2 ton truck advertised as die cast.  Only the frame was die cast and it was a kit).

John

Here are some of my custom flat cars with military loads.  The flats are postwar Lionel I picked up for $5 apiece at a train show.  The Jeeps are also a show find and the half track and V2 rocket are from Die Cast Direct.  The V2 is 1/72 scale because a 1/48 model would be over two feet long!  I also chose this rocket because it looks similar to an Honest John rocket I saw while on duty with the MA National Guard. 

Here's mine. I got 6 tank flats and 2 ambulance flats . For now I only unboxed 1 of each

Steam Crazy

     MTH used Hobby Master 1/48 Sherman tanks in the past, this run they used Solido Shermans which they said were 1/43. If you look at Ebay's listing of die cast Sherman tanks you will find the in the 1/50th scale. Does not matter 1/50 is real close to 1/48. The Solido ambulances are 1/43. Use eBay as a source you can find many Solido items there.

Paul,

     During WW II Sherman 76mm cannons had muzzle breaks as well as no muzzle break. I have a book "Sherman Tank in Action" that shows both. Again this run of MTH flatcars with Sherman tanks were Solido.

D500, 

     The Sherman tank was named after General William Tecumseh Sherman the same guy who burned Atlanta and  marched to the sea to capture Savanah. Sorry to bring that up.

JohnB

Thanks for the tip, John B.

John W

Not a historian but William Tecumseh Sherman. George was his evil twin .

hokie71 posted:

Not a historian but William Tecumseh Sherman. George was his evil twin .

Opps

John and others, am still not sure, are the Sherman tanks MTH used in the latest run made out of die-cast metal - they'd be heavy if they are? And, what are the tracks made out of? I have an older Solido model that is very heavy and has metal tracks ~ must be close to 30 years old though.

Outside of our barracks 1st Batt. 67 Armored Regiment, Ft. Hood, we had a Sherman on static display - it had the old 75 mm short-cannon on it, which is what they started outfitting the tanks with originally...the Sherman was an infantry support tank - predicated on 1930s design - when tanks were meant to smash through infrantry bunkers and machine gun nests. By the time the US entered the war it was already obsolete compared to the refined Panzers and evolved tank warfare of armor on armor. Sherman's superior numbers (and speed & agility) and dominant US air cover compensated - but a LOT of men paid the ultimate price for the inferior armor and low-velocity 75 mm cannon.

Steam Crazy:

"The V2 is 1/72 scale because a 1/48 model would be over two feet long!"  I respectfully disagree with this assertion.  The V2 rocket's total length was almost 46 feet.  This is exclusive of launch pad (Brennstand) and/or transport dolly (Meillerwagen).  This means it would be a little less than an actual foot long rendered in 1/48 scale.  I have a 1/48 scale V2 without launch pad or dolly and it fits quite nicely on a 50' Weaver flat car. 

The Shadow

JohnB and other experts,

So the cannon on this tank is not too long?

Thanks 

I am not an expert, but photos I have found on the internet make them seem plausible.

Found this a WWII photo archive site

At Omaha Beach - that is not me.

Destroyed Sherman WWII. And I found many more.

The MTH tanks muzzles are plastic so a guy could simply cut them off to the desired length with a Dremel. Also the machine gun needs to be removed as they would not have shipped them that way.

Joe

Shadow, I agree with you.  I made some kind of arithmetic error.  I should have let my wife, the math teacher, do the calculations!  Whatever, the 1/72 scale, 7.5" V2 model fits nicely on the 10" Lionel flat car.  I got that right!

John

Steam Crazy,

I agree the 1/72 scale model looks good on the shorty flat car.  Nice job on the chessboard test paint scheme.

The Shadow 

Thanks for the compliment, but I can't take credit for the paint scheme.  The model came assembled and painted.  It's available in OD too, for a more subdued look.

John

T4TT posted:

JohnB and other experts,

So the cannon on this tank is not too long?

Thanks 

T4TT,

     I do not claim to be an expert either but I have put together a WWII military train using assorted O scale flat cars and Corgie, Solido, Hobby Master Sherman tanks, M10 Tank Destroyers, Half Tracks, 2 1/2 Ton Trucks etc. I also assembled some 1/48 Kits that had die cast frames which are real nice. Getting back to your question based on the pictures from my book Sherman in Action Squadron/Signal publications and the pictures Blue Streak posted I would say they look close. If they are too long it is only by a fraction of an inch. I wonder if anyone can post some actual pictures of the tanks that came on the latest run of MTH Sgerman flatcars. Also some measurements, especially the cannon from the gun mantel to the end of the barrel. WarMaster is the brand name Solido is using. The Solido tanks on my military train are probably 15 to 20 years old. I am sure over that time period Solido has cut some of the production costs using more plastic and less metal. Let's give MTH some credit for putting relatively good scale Sherman tanks on a nice 50 ' scale flatcar. Much nicer than the military stuff Menards puts out but then costing much more. If I had any siding left I would pick one up.

JohnBf

Guys, I gotta ask this question: is worrying about the length of the cannon barrels "picking nits"?  If it looks good, isn't that all that matters?  I know the answer, for some of you, is "no".  I respect that, but - for me - "good enough" is less stressful but still satisfying.

John

no worries, it will take me just a few seconds to dremel the end of he cannon and touch up with some green paint.  I just like my toys to look as much like the prototypes as possible, within my abilities and financial means that is.

To me, the catalog picture of the tanks as the picture depicted above shows something different from the actual production model. Something was changed in the model's production. I could live with the toothpick cannon - but not if the tanks and tracks are made out of plastic.

Paul,

     On the Solido Sherman tanks I own (15 to 20 years old) the metal tracks used to oxidize and would have a coating of dusty white powder look to them. I took them all off cleaned them with a soft wire brush, spray painted them with Rustoleum. Never had a problem again. If the new version has plastic tracks may not be a bad thing. Even if the tracks are plastic I would repaint them. Silver tracks do not go on a Sherman. Again I think the MTH product is fine with the tanks they used.

JohnB

D500 posted:

When I saw the thread title I thought it might concern a flatcar loaded with guys named "Sherman".

Won't see these guys on MTH Premier product.  Maybe Railking … or Lionel Legacy.