Assault gun Sherman

[Kerick]

If I do decide to build a Sherman with no turret and a 90mm gun I may play roulette with some of the road wheels. Are the welded, pressed and dish style wheels interchangeable? The back story may include something about spare parts being in short supply and having to use whatever crews can get a hold of.

To the mods, feel free to move this to a better thread when available.

[raafif]

Yes, the wheels are interchangeable on the VVS suspension.

I have seen a couple of Sherman SP models - the best is below.

[Kerick]

That’s a great pic!
I bought a Tamiya M4A3 late model version kit yesterday. I was hoping for a cast hull but that seems hard to find. No problem, it’s a whiff. I’m going to order a turned Aluminum barrel for an M36 Jackson.

[GTX_Admin]

Stahlhelmmodels did produce an "Assault Sherman" conversion model kit but I think they are defunct now:

[Mig Eater]

Stahlhelm Models shut down awhile ago and sold the masters to Bolddivision, which now sell the Assault Sherman conversion.



I have an unreleased version of the Stahlhelm Assault Sherman that has a welded hull and extra concrete armour, it was on my short list of options for this GB but if Kerick's going to build a Sherman TD I'll do something else.

[Kerick]

I’m seriously considering it. I have a Tamiya welded hull Sherman kit and I’m going to order the gun barrel soon. The problem is I’m still working on completing home improvement projects so that’s really eating into my time. If you want to build one go right ahead. I’ll guarantee it will come out different than mine! I was poking around in the spare parts box and found lots of spare Sherman parts folks have given me. There are lots of different road wheels to choose from. Also turret cupolas and different hatches so lots to work with. First decision will be to make it look like the turret opening was welded over or was this a new build with a continuous top. I’m leaning towards option one.

[Kerick]

Thanks for moving this. I have the Tamiya kit, spare parts and an M36 gun barrel on the way. Looks like I’m in.

[Claymore]

Perhaps something along the lines of this early whiff?

[Kerick]

I started on this project yesterday. I took a turret from the spares box with the two full size round hatches and cut the top off. I cut the bustle off, cut the top of that off and glued it to the back of the turret to round it off. I don’t know the maker of the kit but the plastic was very brittle. Lots of sanding to do!

[Kerick]

Here's a couple of pics of what I was talking about.
The spare parts from various donors. There will be a mix of road wheel types, idler types and maybe the sprocket types.



The turret hatches so far. I'll probably add a plastic disc over the turret hole then the cut off turret top.

[Buzzbomb]

Well for my 5.5 Cents worth, I reckon the turret top looks quite fine as it is. I perhaps would cut off enough of the front to give clearance to the fuel caps and then fair into the splash ring with some epoxy putty.

Would give a nice point of difference to similar builds

[Old Wombat]

Well for my 5.5 Cents worth, I reckon the turret top looks quite fine as it is. I perhaps would cut off enough of the front to give clearance to the fuel caps and then fair into the splash ring with some epoxy putty.

Would give a nice point of difference to similar builds

Exactly my thoughts, too! 

[Kerick]

Good idea!
I’ve already rounded off the back corners of the turret and blended it in with the bustle segment. That buys a little more room by the fuel caps. I glued scraps of plastic into any gaps to minimize filler. Working on trimming out the bathroom today and hopefully install the vanity and sink. That will make SWMBO happy. A half functioning bathroom is a PITA.

[Dr. YoKai]

A half functioning bathroom is a PITA.

Speaking as someone who has installed a couple of toilets, and went streaking* to the hardware store when our "professional handyman" got the wrong size fittings, aye. (But it beats half functioning bowels. )

The build looks good, and I like the concept.





*In the sense of "I went quickly" not "I ran naked".

[Kerick]

I’ve been looking over the running gear. How do you paint all these parts that go together to make up the suspension?  Especially the rubber tires on the road wheels without slobbering up everything else.

[Mig Eater]

Don't glue the wheels in place so they can freely rotate, then when painting the wheels you can paint the bottom of wheel and then rotate it to paint the other side etc.

[Kerick]

Don't glue the wheels in place so they can freely rotate, then when painting the wheels you can paint the bottom of wheel and then rotate it to paint the other side etc.

I kind of figured that. If I airbrush I’ll have to rotate them too. PITA. I was thinking of assembling the six suspension units, paint everything and glue them onto the hull. It would be easier to handle them that way.

[Kerick]

The turret is cut, sanded a glued in place. I’m pretty sure I have the road wheel situation straightened out. I’m just trying to decide if I should leave the road wheels off until I have painted them. Then assemble the suspension unit and attach to the hull.
The problem now is the gun barrel. I’m going for a 90mm gun from an M36 Jackson. I may have to order a turned aluminum one to get what I’m looking for. We shall see.

[Kerick]

Made some great progress! I used the gun barrel my friend gave me, possibly from an M47. I removed the muzzle brake since the Jackson never had one, but kept the fume extractor and will just work it into the backstory. I cut a hole in the glacis plate and covered it with extra armor. The road wheels are sorted with four of each type, and even the idler and drive wheels will be different. I had to drill out the Italeri idler wheel to fit the Tamiya poly cap—broke the first one and nearly broke the second due to brittle plastic. The bow gunner’s hatch will stay, as I don’t want to mess with it; I’ll say they kept it for gun maintenance access. The story is that it’s a knocked-out tank brought back to life by rear-area depot mechanics using whatever parts they could find. I might even vary the paint to show the contrast between brand new parts and recovered, reused ones.
I wrote this and then had AI look it over and make improvements. At least it seems to know grammar and punctuation better than me! Blasted thing deleted the picture however!
So here's a pic. More pics when there is more to show.

[Claymore]

Looking good! 

[finsrin]

Great concept, great start 

[Buzzbomb]

Yes this is looking quite good.
Plus giving me ideas

[Kerick]

Most of the rest will be routine. Mostly running gear, filling in the sponsons and such.

[Kerick]

Painting road wheels……..boring…….
Glued the top and bottom together.

So my idea is not so crazy after all!

https://www.tankarchives.com/2025/11/russo-american-tank-destroyer.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNDA5OTYyNjIzMDg1NjA5AAEeRx4U5er6DzpgftNHRMomXAqeUy2UNISe5j5FK3qNmw0PH0C69x5OaQNmrKY_aem_TaNK2y1X5s-T7i6L-hE_uw&m=1

[Kerick]

Road wheels are done. I even painted the idler and drive wheels separately while I was at it.
Between snow shoveling and working with my son to get trim back in place I managed to screw my back up royally. I've taken a few days off to recuperate and am feeling better. It's nice to not have a little gremlin following me around stabbing me in the buttock at random intervals. I have used this time constructively to do some work on the Sherman.