Author Topic: M4A3E8 UCV  (Read 38923 times)

Offline Claymore

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M4A3E8 UCV
« on: April 13, 2015, 02:39:25 AM »
Having liked GTX's and kerick's idea of a modern-day M4 Sherman, I have done a bit of doodling to see what I might come up with - and can support from the stash without having to spend too much.  Although I say it myself, I quite like to look of what I have come up with. 

What we have is an M4A3E8 Urban Combat Vehicle (UCV) mounting a GAU-12 (25mm) rotary cannon and TOW missiles.  I really liked the idea of bar armour but it would be a real swine to make so would probably go for ERA should I decide that additional armour is the way forward. It should be fun to come up with a suitable backstory too...

What do you think?

« Last Edit: April 13, 2015, 02:41:02 AM by Claymore »
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Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2015, 02:57:52 AM »
Off to a good start.
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Offline Logan Hartke

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2015, 03:07:14 AM »
Very cool! I'm really looking forward to this build. I love the look of the ERA on the front of the Sherman.

Any chance of rubber side skirts of any sort?



You could also do a dozer blade for urban ops if you have one in the stash.

Cheers,

Logan

Offline Claymore

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2015, 04:11:26 AM »
Very cool! I'm really looking forward to this build. I love the look of the ERA on the front of the Sherman.

Any chance of rubber side skirts of any sort?

You could also do a dozer blade for urban ops if you have one in the stash.

Cheers,

Logan

Cheers. Great ideas Logan, many thanks!  :)
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Offline Kerick

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2015, 07:46:51 AM »
That looks perfect! I second the side skirt and dozer blade options. Check what the late model Bradleys used during OIF IIRC. Sheet plastic would be  all you need for that. How about bottom armor for IED protection? The Abrams had an MG for the loader but I don't think the Bradleys or LAV did. I'd have to look into that.

My only other thought was the gun and TOW added to the Sherman turret. That would look interesting with the sights,etc poking up.

Offline Claymore

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2015, 05:54:17 PM »
That looks perfect! I second the side skirt and dozer blade options. Check what the late model Bradleys used during OIF IIRC. Sheet plastic would be  all you need for that. How about bottom armor for IED protection? The Abrams had an MG for the loader but I don't think the Bradleys or LAV did. I'd have to look into that.

My only other thought was the gun and TOW added to the Sherman turret. That would look interesting with the sights,etc poking up.

Thanks and thanks again for the suggestions.  I'm going to lose the bow MG and extend the ERA across the front and I think I have a dozer blade somewhere that might do the job.  I'll have a look at the side skirts but don't want to hide too much of the HHVV suspension detail.  I also want to keep the modified M2 Bradley turret to emphasis the modern look rather than redesign and squeeze things into the existing Sherman turret. 

Right, I now need to do some digging around and see what I actually have and whether or not this thing is going to actually get off the drawing board!  ;)
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Offline LemonJello

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2015, 07:58:52 PM »
You could also add something similar to the TUSK upgrade that M-1s and M-3s received - armored stations for the commander and loader hatches with an MG apiece for in-close self defense.

I like this idea a lot, much better than anything that I came up with after reading GTX's suggestion.

Offline Claymore

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2015, 08:35:49 PM »
You could also add something similar to the TUSK upgrade that M-1s and M-3s received - armored stations for the commander and loader hatches with an MG apiece for in-close self defense.

I like this idea a lot, much better than anything that I came up with after reading GTX's suggestion.

Thanks, all great food for thought!  :)
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Offline Kerick

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #8 on: April 13, 2015, 09:00:22 PM »
TUSK! That's what was nagging at the back of my brain! (A very dusty and disorganized place)

Offline Claymore

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2015, 10:33:38 PM »
Well I have looked out the two primary donor kit for this build and there is good news and bad.  The good news is, to my pleasant surprise, that the Bradley I had hidden away in the stash is already partly up-armoured - hoorah! The bad news, however, is that I don't have an Easy-Eight Sherman and therefore, will have to convert a standard M4A3.  So out came the credit card and hello to AFV Club's HVSS conversion kit - I also ordered a set of AFV Club T-84 tracks to complete the transformation, although annoyingly, they didn't arrive with the rest of the order (angry email already dispatched!)

I already had an AFV Club RWS set knocking around and I'll see if I can incorporate it into the build for added nastiness.  I haven't yet found the old GAU-12, I know is lurking somewhere from an old LAV-AD kit but I'm sure it will eventually turn up.  The reactive armour I am going to adapt from an old M60 Blazer that is slowly decomposing in the corner. 

Finally, I have been looking on-line to see if I could get my hands on a M113 Dozer Blade set (Verlinden do one) as I think it would be just about the right size for the Sherman and would give a more modern feel than the WW2 versions that are around.  Unfortunately, said kit is like the proverbial rocking horse pooh.  I eventually tracked down a couple of outlets in the US of A but whilst the kits themselves were fairly inexpensive ($16-18), there was no way I was going to spend almost twice as much again to cover shipping costs.  I can only assume for that kind of price the delivery is teleported direct to your work bench or parachuted in from orbit.  All very annoying and a bit of a waste of time - I will have to scratch build something suitable instead - all very annoying and a bit of a waste of time!  If anyone out there knows of a secret supply of 1/35 scale M113 Dozer Blade kits, please give me a call!

« Last Edit: April 18, 2015, 10:36:45 PM by Claymore »
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Offline Frank3k

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #10 on: April 18, 2015, 11:22:30 PM »
Can't help with the dozer blade, but while reading your message I noticed the Bradley and the M151 box behind it. It looked like the Bradley had a huge, articulated 50-70mm gun turret!

Offline Claymore

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #11 on: April 18, 2015, 11:28:49 PM »
Can't help with the dozer blade, but while reading your message I noticed the Bradley and the M151 box behind it. It looked like the Bradley had a huge, articulated 50-70mm gun turret!

 ;D Lord, so it does!!  ;D
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Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2015, 02:37:12 AM »
Well I have looked out the two primary donor kit for this build and there is good news and bad.  The good news is, to my pleasant surprise, that the Bradley I had hidden away in the stash is already partly up-armoured - hoorah! The bad news, however, is that I don't have an Easy-Eight Sherman and therefore, will have to convert a standard M4A3.  So out came the credit card and hello to AFV Club's HVSS conversion kit - I also ordered a set of AFV Club T-84 tracks to complete the transformation, although annoyingly, they didn't arrive with the rest of the order (angry email already dispatched!)

I already had an AFV Club RWS set knocking around and I'll see if I can incorporate it into the build for added nastiness.  I haven't yet found the old GAU-12, I know is lurking somewhere from an old LAV-AD kit but I'm sure it will eventually turn up.  The reactive armour I am going to adapt from an old M60 Blazer that is slowly decomposing in the corner. 

Finally, I have been looking on-line to see if I could get my hands on a M113 Dozer Blade set (Verlinden do one) as I think it would be just about the right size for the Sherman and would give a more modern feel than the WW2 versions that are around.  Unfortunately, said kit is like the proverbial rocking horse pooh.  I eventually tracked down a couple of outlets in the US of A but whilst the kits themselves were fairly inexpensive ($16-18), there was no way I was going to spend almost twice as much again to cover shipping costs.  I can only assume for that kind of price the delivery is teleported direct to your work bench or parachuted in from orbit.  All very annoying and a bit of a waste of time - I will have to scratch build something suitable instead - all very annoying and a bit of a waste of time!  If anyone out there knows of a secret supply of 1/35 scale M113 Dozer Blade kits, please give me a call!

Don't despair too much on the M1 Bulldozer Blade Kit for the Sherman.  There was as second blade kit that mounted all of the equipment on the transmission/final drive covers.  That kit is very similar to the Russian BTU Bull Dozer Blade Kit that is often seen mounted on T-54 and  T-55 tanks.  CMK makes one in resin and Trumpeter included it in one of their T-54/55 BTU kits.  The other option would be to find the Academy M4 (105H) kit that includes the M1 Blade Kit, I know you just love spending more money. 

But, why stick with the traditional M1 blade kit?  There is another option with the M9 Bulldozer Blade Kit that comes with one version of the Academy M60A1 and the bulldozer blade parts are sold as an individual kit.  Here is a link to an on-line review of the Academy M9 Bulldozer Blade Kit at Internet Modeler.  Verlinden produced an M9 Bulldozer Blade Kit in resin.  Not sure if it is still in production or available via a store front/e-Store but it is worth checking into and it may be available for less cost to you on your side of the pond.  Legend offers the same M9 Bulldozer Blade Kit in resin.  So your chances of finding the BTU or M9 are possible greater than trying to locate the M1 Bulldozer Blade Kit. 

My personal preference if this were my project would be to look for the Russian BTU blade kit or the M9 Blade kit as both of these kits mount on the front of the vehicle and keep the tracks and running gear free of impediments.  From the vehicle maintenance stand point it is easier to work on the vehicle tracks and road wheels when there is nothing extra that has to be removed before performing track and wheel maintenance or battle damage repairs.  The blade kit mounts to the front of the vehicle, all of the fixtures are in one place and it is easily mounted or removed from the vehicle.  The only sniggle I can foresee is the method you take on mounting the blade kit to the transmission/final drive covers. 

Google Search Results for Academy M60A1 with M9 Bulldozer Blade Kit

Google Search Results for Academy M9 Bulldozer Blade Kit

Google Search Results for Verlinden M9 Bulldozer Blade Kit

Model Kits Plus For Sale - Dozer Blade search results Might be your best option to find a bulldozer blade kit. 
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Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #13 on: April 19, 2015, 03:11:07 AM »
Can't help with the dozer blade, but while reading your message I noticed the Bradley and the M151 box behind it. It looked like the Bradley had a huge, articulated 50-70mm gun turret!

That might not be such a bad idea but instead of the RWS with larger weapon perhaps mounting a 57mm auto-loading gun system in place of the original Sherman main gun.  More ammunition, more better.  Fighting in an urban setting is not going to get you many opportunities to fight tanks and most of the gun work would be in poking holes in structures and destroying the soft skins and light armor used by the opposing faction. 

Perhaps you could arm your Sherman UCV with a 57mm gun system instead?  There are at least three possible 57mm gun systems that might work for this conversion:

Bofors M54 57mm anti-aircraft gun system - Basically a jumbo 40mm Bofors AA Gun. 
Bofors 57mm Bofors Naval Gun SystemSimilar to the M54 but with water cooling jackets on some Marks. 
Russian AZP S-60 57 mm cannon used on the ZSU-57-2 self-propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun System and S-60 57mm Anti Aircraft Gun, Towed
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Offline Claymore

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #14 on: April 19, 2015, 05:41:33 AM »
Cheers Jeffrey,

I have looked at the M9 Dozer Blade for the M60 but it is just too big - the M60 being at least 1/3 as wide again as the Sherman.  Although having said that, I may still order one as a fall back should all else fail - accepting that it would have to be heavily modified. 

What I am really after is the dozer blade for a M113 APC not the WW2 vintage M1 blade which is sold with the 105H.  The M1 Blade is a non-starter as it side mounted and looks more at home on an industrial earth mover rather than a combat vehicle.  The T55 BTU blade is perhaps an option but I suspect it will still be too wide - the M113 blade it really needs to be - or scratch build. 

Regarding the RWS, there is no intention to mount a larger weapon in the RWS (the picture just looked like it was a massive gun system); the standard RWS will only be mounted as a secondary weapon system if there is space to do so. The primary weapon (replacing the Bradley's 25mm cannon) for the UCV is still going to be a GUA-12 rotary cannon.  I want the whole feel of the UCV to be of an old WW2 M4A3E8 dragged into the new century.
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Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #15 on: April 19, 2015, 05:45:09 AM »
PM sent
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline Claymore

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #16 on: April 19, 2015, 09:09:59 PM »
Deconstruction - don't you just love it! The act of smashing a perfectly good model to pieces in order to, hopefully, make something better...

All of the old VVSS running gear has been removed as have all of the extra add-ons. Much to do...

« Last Edit: November 02, 2023, 10:32:44 PM by Claymore »
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Offline Kerick

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #17 on: April 19, 2015, 11:40:05 PM »
I was just goofing around and decided to look up the Israeli Super Sherman. The suspension would be right and the turret looks interesting.
The welded hull version will make adding the ERA much simpler. I'll be watching this with great interest!

Offline Buzzbomb

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #18 on: April 21, 2015, 06:10:12 AM »
Ahh lovely.
A stripped down pre-loved model ready for a rework.

Looking forward to how this evolves

Offline finsrin

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #19 on: April 21, 2015, 08:44:37 AM »
Ambitious project:)
Appreciate pictures from the start so we we can follow build.

Offline Claymore

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #20 on: April 23, 2015, 05:56:52 AM »
M4A3E8 UCV

So, here we have our M4A3 now sporting a full HVSS undercarriage and designated M4A3E8. As the conversion kit came with a new nose piece, I have also installed it as the old one was quite badly marked from having had track lengths glued to it. Unfortunately, still no sign of the T84 tracks (second email sent to the supplier)... I haven't yet removed the add-on slabs of side armour but probably will to make it easier to mount the ERA.

Pass the razor saw, there is work to be done!

Offline Claymore

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #21 on: May 02, 2015, 09:00:37 PM »
I have been doing a little bit more on the UCV as the tracks finally arrived the other day. You know what they say about being careful what you ask for? Well here is a case in point. The AFV club T84 tracks are good but OMG what a pain to put together! Each link has 4 separate components and the main track pad has 6 x tiny spindly bits that break off if you stare at them too long!  Several hours later and I have yet to complete a single track...

However, on the brighter side, I found the GAU-12 barrel group and it is installed on the Bradley turret. Also a friend managed to find a Verlinden M113 Dozer Blade for me - quite complex but should do the job nicely.
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Offline Kerick

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #22 on: May 02, 2015, 10:50:52 PM »
Good news!
I've never brought myself to try individual track links. I've seen lots of real tracks so I know how repetitive that would be. I suffer along with the molded track. More power to you for doing that!

Offline Claymore

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #23 on: May 02, 2015, 11:19:06 PM »
Good news!
I've never brought myself to try individual track links. I've seen lots of real tracks so I know how repetitive that would be. I suffer along with the molded track. More power to you for doing that!

Some are better than others but they are a real must if you want to get that realistic track-sag.  As it happens though, the HVSS Sherman's tracks are pretty taught and straight due to the 5 return rollers.  :)

Hot off the press: One track done (320 separate pieces)... phew!  :o
« Last Edit: May 03, 2015, 04:24:26 AM by Claymore »
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Offline Frank3k

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Re: M4A3E8 UCV
« Reply #24 on: May 03, 2015, 12:12:42 AM »
I have been doing a little bit more on the UCV as the tracks finally arrived the other day. You know what they say about being careful what you ask for? Well here is a case in point. The AFV club T84 tracks are good but OMG what a pain to put together! Each link has 4 separate components and the main track pad has 6 x tiny spindly bits that break off if you stare at them too long!  Several hours later and I have yet to complete a single track...

That was my experience with the AFV Club "workable" M3 tracks. I ended up gluing them, once I got the track lengths finished and "stable".