Trumpeter's sister brand I LOVE KIT is to release a 1/16 M4A3E8 Sherman tank!
Fans of the legendary M4 Sherman will be cock-a-hoop with the news that I LOVE KIT is to bring us a 1/16 ‘Easy Eight’ variant. The nickname stems from the US wartime phonetic alphabet – E for Easy – and the vehicle’s ‘Enhanced 8’ part of its designation. The M4A3E8 entered service late in World War Two and employed a larger 76mm main gun, a horizontal volute suspension system (HVSS) and wider track links.
I LOVE KIT’s product (61619) depicts an early model ‘Easy Eight’, and offers 30 styrene parts runners, separate upper/lower hull and turret components, and individual track links. Also provided via the included Detail Up set, though, is a turned metal main gun barrel (and machine gun barrel), 90-plus photo-etched metal parts and 3D-printed track link guide horns. At more than 2,200 parts overall, this will be a highly involved project for any military modeller.
Decals for three US Army Olive Drab tanks are provided:
• Unknown unit, Germany, March 1945
• Eskimo 41st Tank Battalion, 11th Armored Division, Germany, March 1945
• Flat Foot Floogie, 41st Tank Battalion, 11th Armored Division, Germany, March 1945
The length of the finished model is 471.6mm and the width 186.2mm. It will be available later this year, for £239.99, via UK importer Bachmann Europe: www.bachmann.co.uk
