Heller 1/72 Sherman M4A2

This kit was bought in September 2024 to be displayed as part of my WW2 French countryside ambush display.

Box front and rear:

Instruction sheet:

Parts sprues, really nice detail:

Rubber tracks - two versions (rubber block and steel):

Decal sheet - printing is not quite perfect:

[May 17th 2025] Started to built the Sherman to go alongside the Firely in the WWII - French countryside ambush diorama.

Working on the lower hull and wheels/suspension first:

[May 18th 2025] Completed suspension and working on the upper hull, turret etc.

Main upper hull and front glacis plate:

Turret completed and stowage items added:

Side by side comparison with the Dragon 1:72 M4A4 'Firefly':

This was a nice kit to build - no nasty areas which needed massive amounts of repair work, and detailed enough without being really fiddly to work on. It probably took about 1/4 - 1/3 the time the Dragon kit did, but I wouldn't say it was 1/4 - 1/3 the detail.

The big downside, which hasn't been tackled yet, is the vinyl/rubber tracks. Not looking forward to those.

Primed in light green:

Top coat olive drab:

• Vallejo Model Air - N41 Dark Olive Drab

Painted at the same time as the Dragon 1/72 Sherman Firefly:

Stowage and accessories painted:

Gloss coat added prior to applying decals:

Decals added. These are not the greatest. The printing is not brilliant, and one of the colour layers is quite clearly offset, leading to stray white borders where there shouldn't be any.

Also added the vinyl tracks. These are awful, as usual. They were fitted (ends fastened with superglue) and then painted with Vallejo Surface Primer - Black. They will get weathered and painted later.

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