Jakko
Well-Known Member
With Churchill almost finished, I find myself in need of a model that's quick and easy to build, if only to prove to myself that I can complete a model in under a year 
About three months ago, I purchased this kit at a model show:
Takom's brand-new M4A1 (76 mm) VVSS. Considering the general quality of Takom kits, I think it's a suitable one to build without a lot of hassle. First, though, a look at and in the box. Starting with at, because the first thing you'll notice is:
That box is more than twice the depth of an Asuka one, while all of them contain one Sherman … When you open the box, it gives the impression that this is mainly because Takom doesn't appear to be very good at designing sprues so they fit neatly in a certain size of box, and so just opted for a bigger box. But for that price, you can't complain: €34.95 is ten to twenty euros less than you pay for an Asuka Sherman around here (depending on the exact version). And as we will see, you're getting your money's worth. Largely because of this:
The first photo shows a set of VVSS suspension with two types of wheel (both late types, with larger hubs for stronger ball bearings), the second photo shows set of HVSS suspension and some extra details (you get two copies of each of these sprues). So, you buy a VVSS Sherman and actually get all the parts you need to make an HVSS Sherman instead — except that the only tracks included are these:
(Times four.) VVSS only, then, not HVSS. But the latter can be bought separately from several different manufacturers, so you can easily use the HVSS bogies for a different model. Now, Takom also has an M4A1 (76 mm) HVSS, which presumably lacks the VVSS sprues. But with a bit better planning, they could have saved this trouble, because it leaves me with the impression that the only reason for those HVSS sprues is because they also include the drive sprockets, periscope flaps, etc.
Also noteworthy is that the upper hull is packaged separately with a piece of bubble wrap on it. Here without its plastic bag:
It turns out that the bubble wrap is because of this:
Very good to see that they're doing their best to prevent those two pins from breaking off. After taking these photos, I put the hull back into its bag with the bubble wrap back on it.
There are also some notable accessories in the kit:
Two diferent extra armour plates and a set of sandbags for the hull front. Of course, you can only use one of these, but I find the sandbags especially noteworthy because you don't often see this in plastic. I haven't been able to find the upper of the two armour plates in photos of real Shermans yet, but the bottom one is from a well-known picture of an American tank. Unfortunately, that tank was a slightly different variant than what's in this kit … The photo of it clearly shows it to have the round, two-piece loader's hatch while the kit has the later, oval, single-piece hatch (aside from which, on the real tank, the crew had swapped the commander's and loader's hatches).
But that's only relevant if you want it to be for your model, of course
In any case, in addition to all of this you also get an aluminium gun barrel (as well as a plastic one), a copper-wire tow cable and etched parts for things like the headlight guards. What's more, the kit also has two gun shields: with and without the canvas cover, though the instructions only mention the latter.
A very complete kit, really, and as I mentioned earlier, it also looks like very good value for money.
About three months ago, I purchased this kit at a model show:
Takom's brand-new M4A1 (76 mm) VVSS. Considering the general quality of Takom kits, I think it's a suitable one to build without a lot of hassle. First, though, a look at and in the box. Starting with at, because the first thing you'll notice is:
That box is more than twice the depth of an Asuka one, while all of them contain one Sherman … When you open the box, it gives the impression that this is mainly because Takom doesn't appear to be very good at designing sprues so they fit neatly in a certain size of box, and so just opted for a bigger box. But for that price, you can't complain: €34.95 is ten to twenty euros less than you pay for an Asuka Sherman around here (depending on the exact version). And as we will see, you're getting your money's worth. Largely because of this:
The first photo shows a set of VVSS suspension with two types of wheel (both late types, with larger hubs for stronger ball bearings), the second photo shows set of HVSS suspension and some extra details (you get two copies of each of these sprues). So, you buy a VVSS Sherman and actually get all the parts you need to make an HVSS Sherman instead — except that the only tracks included are these:
(Times four.) VVSS only, then, not HVSS. But the latter can be bought separately from several different manufacturers, so you can easily use the HVSS bogies for a different model. Now, Takom also has an M4A1 (76 mm) HVSS, which presumably lacks the VVSS sprues. But with a bit better planning, they could have saved this trouble, because it leaves me with the impression that the only reason for those HVSS sprues is because they also include the drive sprockets, periscope flaps, etc.
Also noteworthy is that the upper hull is packaged separately with a piece of bubble wrap on it. Here without its plastic bag:
It turns out that the bubble wrap is because of this:
Very good to see that they're doing their best to prevent those two pins from breaking off. After taking these photos, I put the hull back into its bag with the bubble wrap back on it.
There are also some notable accessories in the kit:
Two diferent extra armour plates and a set of sandbags for the hull front. Of course, you can only use one of these, but I find the sandbags especially noteworthy because you don't often see this in plastic. I haven't been able to find the upper of the two armour plates in photos of real Shermans yet, but the bottom one is from a well-known picture of an American tank. Unfortunately, that tank was a slightly different variant than what's in this kit … The photo of it clearly shows it to have the round, two-piece loader's hatch while the kit has the later, oval, single-piece hatch (aside from which, on the real tank, the crew had swapped the commander's and loader's hatches).
But that's only relevant if you want it to be for your model, of course
In any case, in addition to all of this you also get an aluminium gun barrel (as well as a plastic one), a copper-wire tow cable and etched parts for things like the headlight guards. What's more, the kit also has two gun shields: with and without the canvas cover, though the instructions only mention the latter.A very complete kit, really, and as I mentioned earlier, it also looks like very good value for money.
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