Modeling the Sherman Header Image
Suspension

Each manufacturer has a distinctive approach to the Sherman VVS.  The parts have only been trimmed with a sprue cutter because I want to show the amount of clean-up necessary for each suspension unit.

The Tamiya suspension uses the least number of parts and is the easiest to assemble and align.  The weakest parts of the suspension unit are the road wheels.  The steel portion of the wheel is a bit small with the rubber from the rim outward being too thick.  The road wheels are hollow from the inside.  With no separation between the suspension arms and the main body casting, the detail looks a little flat.  The skid is also overly thick.  All in all, if you are looking for a quick build, the Tamiya suspension would be passable.

The Dragon bogie offers better profile road wheels and a separate suspension arm assembly.  The road wheels are molded without a central mold line in the tire but are not perfectly flat across the tire surface so that some additional clean-up is necessary.  There is an additional piece that forms the inside of the road wheel, but as you can see, it doesn’t fit very well.  The Dragon unit is the poorest fitting of the three and requires the most clean-up.  For some tips on how to improve the Dragon suspension refer to this page here.

The Tasca suspension unit is the most difficult to assemble and goes together much the same way as the prototype.  The road wheels are the best of the three with a very well fitting inside wheel center.  The track skid is much thinner with the mounting bolts molded on.  Because the arm assembly moves up and down, Tasca supplies a sheet of rubber that must be trimmed and fit inside the bogey casting to maintain the correct height.

Tracks

Each manufacturer provides several styles of continuous tracks.  For this comparison I have selected their T48 rubber chevron tracks.  The green line is the outline of an actual connector and two links.  From this comparison, it is obvious that the Tamiya track is quite thin in cross section.  Both Dragon and Tamiya tracks are supplied in one piece while the Tasca tracks require two lengths per side.  Both Dragon and Tasca have molded their tracks with spaces between the links, Fig. 205 while Tamiya tracks are solid between the links, Fig. 204.  The space between the links is more difficult to produce and seems like a good idea; however, there is additional distortion of the link as the connector is deformed while bending around a curve, Fig. 205.  This becomes even more pronounced if the tracks are overstretched.  So in some regards, the Tamiya tracks maintain a slightly better link to link relationship when bent around a curve.

Dragon T48 Tracks Paul Budzik
Tamiya T48 Tracks Paul Budzik
Tasca T48 Tracks Paul Budzik
Tamiya T48 Tracks Paul Budzik
Dragon T48 Tracks Paul Budzik

Links

AFV Database

Armor Modeling and Preservation Society

Armorama

Military Modeling

Military Vehicle Technology Foundation

Missing-Lynx

Modeling the U.S. Army in WWII

Perth Military Modeling Site

Prime Portal Sherman Tanks

Sherman Minutia Website

Sherman Register

Toadman's Tank Pictures

Track-Link