Researching for Accuracy

September 20, 2026

One of the first areas I wanted to detail on these Shermans was the suspension system. Although this party of the kit is nicely modeled, some omissions were made to facilitate production casting in Polyurethane resin. Thinking about it when you look at many models in smaller scales we have an omnipresent view which accentuates the upper surfaces, but as a result the lower areas of the model are not always as prominent. However it is very different when viewing the real vehicles as we are typically at ground level looking up and that lower area is far more visible. The M3 and much of the M4 series used three bogie assemblies per side consisting of a central casting that held two road wheels on suspension arms, vertical volute springs, a return roller and in the M4 series, a track support skid. There were four stages in the development of this assembly but visually they are very similar in appearance. This type of suspension is known as the Vertical Volute Springs System and this is the system that will be represented on this model. I have included a photo of a page from the WWII US Army maintenance manual TM 9-748 showing all of the components in the VVSS bogie for clarity.

I have been fortunate to watch a few M3 Stuarts and M4 Shermans traverse relatively soft ground and I am amazed how fast damp soil will collect on certain parts of the running gear. To illustrate this detail I have included a wartime photo of a muddy M4A3 and a close up of a restored Sherman Firefly that was parked on the square in Bastogne during the 80th Anniversary.

I want to replicate this subtle collection of earth on these models and to do it justice I decided to remove the resin web that was cast in the center of the track skids to facilitate the removable of parts from the silicone production molds. This was actually pretty easy to do using an electric hand piece and a carbide milling bit. The preassembled tracks have enough flex in them that I was able to put a piece of 3/32nd brass tubing in between the skid and the teeth of the track to provide clearance for the hand piece bit when milling out the resin web. After the inside of the skid was cleaned up I simply removed the tubing and the track returned to rest on top of the skid. While working on these kit components I noticed the omission of several nuts and bolt heads that I wanted to add to each of the bogie assemblies. That ended up being straight forward by using plastic moldings originally made by the well know model railroad company Grandt Line. Each one was super glued in the correct location and when painted and weathered will enhance the realism of the running gear. I had to scrounge thru my parts to find enough for all three models so I decided to order some more only to find out that the company is now owned by San Juan Details. The order is hopefully on the way so I will have parts for my next round of tank detailing.

I know that there are some fantastic kits ranging from 1/48th to 1/16th that may be far more detailed, but these tanks were specifically designed to work with the pre painted metal figures currently available in 1/30th scale. This is not to imply that any one is better than the other, but this one works for its intended market and most of the hard work is already done. I think that when these kits are detailed and finished they will look every bit the part too. As far as when I build my own Sherman, I think I will construct some German village building facades to depict a tank with supporting infantry entering an older town, maybe with a medieval town gate, but that is still up the road a bit… more soon…

Below: Surviving monument tank in the square at Bastogne, Belgium.