Dragon 1/35 British Sherman Mk.III Mid Production, Sicily | 6231 Dragon

Features:

– One piece round transmission cover newly tooled in delicate detail
– Casting marks realistically rendered on transmission cover
– Casting numbers on transmission cover finely reproduced
– Sand shields exquisitely recreated with photo-etched parts
– New slide-molded gun barrel
– New photo-etched light guards
– New 24-bar engine-deck grill newly tooled to accurately depict real one
– New bolt arrangement on rear plate
– Towing eyes newly introduced
– One-piece WE210 “Double I” block DS tracks reproduced by slide mold
– New Cartograf decal
– Early 75mm turret based on actual army schematics
– Commander’s hatch with periscope assembly
– Locking arm for pistol-port hatch
– Gun rotor with crisp screw-head detail
– Locking mechanism on commander’s hatch finely recreated
– Accurately modeled rolled-plate driver’s hood and antenna bracket
– Rolled-plate bow-gun mounting socket
– Antenna base finely reproduced
– Driver’s and radio operator’s hatch assemblies include clear periscope and flap
– Two types of rear splash guard
– Separate engine-deck panel and grills
– Hull side plates accurately reproduced with correct horizontal upper edge
– Delicately detailed rear storage on turret
– Photo-etched stowage rack
– On-vehicle tools delicately recreated
– Realistic weld seams on Sherman hull
– Hull details such as varying plate thickness and uneven cut in splash guard accurately portrayed
– Fuel caps on engine deck can be assembled open/closed
– Bolted connecting plate for gun shield attachment looks completely integral after assembly

The industrial might of the USA guaranteed production of thousands of M4 Sherman tanks, with many being given to Allies under the Lend-Lease Act. Great Britain was one major recipient of Shermans (17,184 vehicles in total), and Dragon’s latest release depicts one such vehicle. Kit No. 6231 is a Sherman Mk. III Mid Production vehicle, the British nomenclature referring to an M4A2. The British operated more than 5000 of these diesel-powered Sherman III tanks with 75mm guns during WWII. Many of these Shermans participated in Operation Husky, the large-scale Allied amphibious invasion of Sicily that commenced on July 9, 1943. This operation involved 160,000 Allied soldiers fighting against 300,000 Italians and 40,000 Germans. Combat lasted around six weeks, and once the large island had been captured, it offered a useful stepping stone for the invasion of Italy itself.

Building on the success of Dragon’s earlier Sherman Mk.III, this latest kit has received a great number of newly tooled parts befitting its status as a Mid Production variant. Indeed, such a variant has never been produced as a 1/35 scale kit before, so this release should be particularly welcome. The highly accurate kit benefits from multimedia materials to replicate particular details, for example photo-etched parts and new DS tracks. Naturally, high-quality Cartograf decals provide markings for a range of British tanks that served in Sicily. This tank is a very useful addition to the M4 kit family, and is bound to have Shermanaholics salivating with pleasure!