Veterans Day Tribute, 1/35 scale Tamiya M4A-3 ”Easy Eight” Korean War

Started by Louis Gardner · 20 · 5 years ago
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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 6 months ago:

    This is a model that I have been wanting to build every since I first saw it hit the shelves. I have a personal connection with this one as my Dad served in the Korean War as both a US Army "Tanker" and a "Grunt".

    I chose to add this one to the "Nose Art" GB since it has a rather fearsome looking "Cat" face on the front slope, which should qualify as "Nose Art"...

    So now I have gathered up some reference materials, and plan on this journey as soon as I finish up a few other builds which should be done soon.

    My Dad served in both the older Sherman tanks



    and the M-26 Pershing's while in Korea.


    Our Memorial Day Holiday is to remember the fallen service men and women who never came back home.
    Sadly we lost Dad back in 2012.

    Before I start this build, I will do a comparison review between this Korean War version and the earlier WW2 "Europe" version of the kits.

    So please stay tuned, I'll try to get going on this one very soon. I wanted to get the build journal started today, as this day has a special meaning for many... me included.

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    Craig Abrahamson said 6 years, 6 months ago:

    I remember when you first mentioned this one, Louis...lookin' forward to it. buddy.

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years, 6 months ago:

    Thanks Craig... 🙂

    I hope to get busy with it soon. I especially wanted to get the build journal started today for obvious reasons.

    Jaime, here's the tank I promised you... 🙂

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    Jaime Carreon said 6 years, 6 months ago:

    And so you did! Can't wait to see this one...

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    Louis Gardner said 6 years ago:

    Man oh man... Time has flown by.

    My good friend David LS,

    @dirtylittlefokker

    has inspired me to get busy with this one in the very near future. He posted some pictures as part of his "On this day" articles that struck home with me. I started talking about some of the things my Dad experienced at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea.

    As soon as my builds are posted from the 100 Years of the RAF Group Build, and I write a nice kit review on this Sherman, I'll get busy with it.

    So please stay tuned for future updates. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll get busy with this one.

    Thanks my friend for the kick in the posterior to get going... It was just what I needed.

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    david leigh-smith said 6 years ago:

    What a great time to build this, Louis. A fine tribute on the upcoming anniversary of that awful battle.

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    Jeff Bailey said 6 years ago:

    Yes, indeed!

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    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 9 months ago:

    Hello again everyone... just a short note to let you know that things will start happening here very soon. Last night I finished taking the pictures to do a kit review on the WW2 version


    and follow it up with a review on this "Korean War" kit as well, since it was based on the first release of the model.

    Then if things go as planned it will be "full speed ahead" at the Iron Werks.

    Thanks for stopping by.

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    James B Robinson said 5 years, 9 months ago:

    Louis @lgardner, I will be closely following you on this. I have the WWII version sitting on the shelf. Been toying with some Dio ideas for the future.

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    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 9 months ago:

    Thanks James !

    I have been seriously thinking about building up my WW2 version as "Fury" for David Leigh Smith's Imodeler at the Movies GB.



    In addition I have the DML / Dragon earlier Tiger tank boxed as "Tunisia Initial" version so I can build up the dreaded foe of Brad Pitt's "Fury" tank for the GB.

    Here Tiger 131 which is the only operational Tiger tank in the world.

    It was used in the movie "Fury" and this is how it looked on film.

    Please stay tuned for updates. Launch pattern initiated, all systems "GO". T-minus ... and counting.

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    Jeff Bailey said 5 years, 9 months ago:

    I'm mentally counting down for you, Louis. I have the ET version and it looks like a great kit. Besides the track and canvas shield on the gun, there aren't many visible differences in the 2 versions that I can see. Wait, there seems to be differences regarding the placement of the machine guns on top. And that's easy to understand because they sometimes locally added things that the crew or their maintenance guys felt could help. But the basic vehicle seems the same.

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    James B Robinson said 5 years, 9 months ago:

    Fury had crossed my mind Louis, but a few other things caught my attention and my intent is to do a more involved dio with the M4 that doesn't depict the movie. Got about 5 hours on the bench late today. Feels good to get back to it. MTC

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    Chuck A. Villanueva said 5 years, 9 months ago:

    Good stuff Louis, it may motivate me into breaking out the Sherman I have in the stash as i do not have an armor project going at the moment. Either way looking forward to this project as you ramp it up. And I have an earlier version, I believe its an E2 with older style road wheels.

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    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 9 months ago:

    Hey there Jeff ! @mikegolf
    It is a great kit, both the ETO and the Korean War versions. They share a lot of common parts between the two. The main visual differences you hit right on the head. The tracks, main gun canvas cover and the positioning of the MG's on top. I have also done some research and just like you mentioned, the maintenance troops would make "field mods" as needed... so if you're planning on building a super accurate Sherman, it's best to gather as many references as you can beforehand. These things differed even between units !

    I'll be pointing out the differences between the two kits in my kit reviews.

    Thanks again for stopping by... and please stay tuned for updates.

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    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 9 months ago:

    James @jamesb

    The Sherman lends itself very well to a diorama scene. There's plenty of options and your imagination is the only limit ... It will be a good choice, and I'll be looking forward to seeing it take shape if you decide to post it on here.

    I'm hoping to get some much needed bench time soon... I'll bet it was great for you today !

    Thanks my friend... 🙂