Dragon 6548 1/35 M4 (105) Sherman Howitzer

This is a plastic model kit, which comes unassembled and unpainted. So glue, model paints and other basic modelling tools are additionally required.

Features:
- Newly tooled machine gun pintle mount
- Newly tooled rotor and gun shields
- Newly tooled engine deck w/splash guard
- Newly tooled U-shaped groove, ventilation cover made from photo-etched metal
- Newly tooled aiming-stake rack
- New spare track on rear armor plate
- Two types of cupola provided as option
- Mantlet end-pieces designed as separate parts to fully replicate details
- M4 105mm turret produced w/side-mold technology
- Turret secondary ventilation fan
- Mount for turret canvas recreated in delicate detail
- Rear hull detail accurately produced
- Pistol part produced w/slide-mold technology
- Detailed loader's hatch
- Periscope, cover and mount details are accurately represented w/separate parts
- Upper-hull w/weld-line detail authentically produced
- Hull side plates are accurately produced w/correct horizontal upper edge
- Slide-molded 105mm barrel is produced
- Turret-lop MG pedestal w/accurate design
- Late MG and barrel storage brackets w/great detail
- On-vehicle tools are realistically produced
- Two types of sprockets provided as option
- Finely rendered headlight and horn guards
- Detailed hatch-periscope units w/clear parts and guards
- Tow hooks w/fine detail
- DS T48 track w/EEC (Duckbills)

More than 50,000 examples of the famous M4 Sherman tank were built in the USA, meaning only the Russian T-34 was produced in greater numbers during WWII. Throughout production a great number of M4 variants were spawned, among them a tank armed with a 105mm howitzer gun. The rationale behind this vehicle was to create a tank able to provide fire support missions against hardened targets such as bunkers or buildings harboring enemy soldiers. The 105mm howitzer-armed tank could carry 66 rounds of ammunition, and it operated with a crew of five men. These howitzer tanks were used by both the US Army and by the USMC in the Pacific theater.

Dragon has created a new 1/35 scale kit of an M4 (105mm) Sherman, of which 800 were produced at the Detroit Arsenal from February-September 1943. Although a variation of the M4 Sherman tank with VVSS running gear, the kit offers many newly tooled parts. Brand new components in the kit include the engine deck, gun shield, spare track links and a rack for holding aiming stakes. The kit is highly detailed, with even the rifling inside the muzzle of the 105mm slide-molded plastic howitzer barrel fully rendered. To finish off the exemplary detail on this tank kit, Dragon includes T48 track links with extended end connectors (EEC, more commonly known as "duckbills") made from DS. This is an important variant of the M4 Sherman, and Dragon allows modelers to create a fine 1/35 miniature of this very vehicle straight from the box.