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M4A4 Sherman Tracks


TimDarrah

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For my up coming birthday, my Wife bought me "Race to the Rhine - Liberating France & the Low Countries" by Leo Marriott & Simon Forty from RZM Imports ($30 & it's a great book). Any way, there are some photos of the Sherman Crab, that got my juices flowing, so I hauled out my Resicast #35.133 Sherman Crab Mk. I. I have built several DML Sherman's and hate the tracks. I have also tried AFV Club's tracks and have the same feeling. Both sets kicked my butt and even though I built the kits very nicely, the tracks let them down.

 

So are there are any aftermarket tracks for the M4A4 that are easy to build?

 

Thanks,

 

Tim

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Yes, AFV Club makes a vinyl set for the M4A4 extended body tank. They are AF 35028, but are reportedly a little tight so make sure you adjust the idler wheel inward so they fit right.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Track-Links-1-35-AFV-Club/dp/B004GB1WXS

 

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AF35028

 

additionally, the old MP Models made a hull conversion to make the old Tamiya M4A3 and Italeri M4A1 into long body M4A4. It included a piece of styrene tracks that were to extend the kits' regular vinyl tracks to fit an extended body.

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Thanks Rob for the idea. I'll look for them..

 

By the way, I have also tried Accurate Armour resin tracks without success.

 

Tim

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Rob,

 

Just ordered them from MegaHobby, ordering from them directly was cheaper than Amazon, which coordinated the sale with MegaHobby anyways. Also bought a couple other sets to have on hand.

 

Thanks bud.

 

Tim

 

P.S. How is your Pz IV J coming along?

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Tim

The MP kit was great for its time but is outdated.

Ive used tracks from old Taniya and Academy kits and at one time we could order a extra set of tracks from tamiya?

Tim

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Once you get the tracks, make sure that they will fit around the suspension. You might need to cheat by moving the sprocket and idler wheel inward to insure there is room or they might fit as is.

 

As far as the Pz IV J, the instructions were a big help. The seller listed it as incomplete because there were a few parts missing, namely the air intakes. Once I had the instructions, I determined that only two parts of the air intakes were missing. The rest of the air intakes parts were there. Then I happened to look inside one of the Eduard PE sets he threw in the lot of kits. Inside one of the Eduard packages, the two missing parts had been stored. So it was a complete, albeit started kit.

 

The old Dragon tracks are a real pain and it's what has slowed the build down. It would probably be done if I had a set of vinyl tracks.

 

Do you know if the kit is one of the old Gunze Sangyo kits or an original Dragon kit?

 

I found someone selling a version of a Panzer IV with magic tracks and bought that one hoping those types will go together easier.

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Thanks guy for the info

 

Tim

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Tim,

 

Have you looked at the Panda Plastic tracks? They are individual link tracks, but they go together pretty easily. When I used them, I built my own jig, and I didn't have any trouble putting them together. They were definitely not a nightmare to assemble as some other brands have a reputation to be.

 

http://shermantracks.com/index.html

 

Good luck!

 

Mike

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Wow Mike, I hadn't heard of them before. Looks like I'll be spending some $$ with them soon.

 

Thanks for the heads up

 

Tim

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Happy to help Tim. I can't remember who originally developed them, but Panda bought them probably 6-7 years ago. I got my sets from Rob Ervin when he still had Formations, and I believe that Rob had a hand in developing some of the tracks. I don't think you'll be disappointed with them.

 

Mike

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Tim

The MP kit was great for its time but is outdated.

Ive used tracks from old Taniya and Academy kits and at one time we could order a extra set of tracks from tamiya?

Tim

 

Definitely long past its prime, but the short section they included to extend either Tamiya or Italeri tracks could be useful if someone has them in the spare parts box.

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Dragon DS track still rules in my book. However, The AFV Club extended tracks work well also. If your base Dragon Sherman does not have an adjustable Idler, it is fairly easy to convert it to one. Should give you plenty of room.

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