I think this is the tank that’s in the decal sheet…
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I’ve never seen anything in writing making subdued (black) stars SOP in WWII, I believe covering them up was a crew or lower level unit practice. Many photos of late war M4’s show absolutely no markings or white insignia with paint just slapped over them. Again, if someone has more info, please step in.
Just a side story, I was stationed in Germany with the US Army in 1969, all our vehicles were OD with black stars, serial #’s and unit codes. When I was transferred to Vietnam in 1970, I was surprised to see all the vehicles had white markings! A lot of tank and track crews obliterated the white markings just like their Dads did in WWII.
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Any particular reason why stars went from white to black?
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I have a question… is a little off topic but what is a decent calliopi kit?
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Superstition and legend says that the stars made excellent aiming points for German gunners. Traditionally, gunners are taught to aim center-mass of the target, not at any one point.
Lanmo Model (Heavy Hobby) make a new 1/35 calliope kit. It is very nice but I have yet to find an easy way to assemble it. It’s less like a kit and more like all the parts to scratchbuild one.
I do agree it was probably a visibility thing more than anything else, an OD tank sitting in a shaded wood line is difficult to see, if you put a couple of big white stars on it, not so hard to see. Of course on a Sherman the stars were usually near center mass, so that didn’t help.
If Fubars question is why the black markings in the 60’s, visibility…in Europe, the perceived enemy would have been Soviet, thought to have good optics and air recon assets, so make yourself harder to see. Not so big a deal in Vietnam, enemy had no armor or air and they could hear us coming from miles away, so if our vehicles had no markings or large “Snoopy” cartoons (yes, I’ve seen that), it didn’t make a huge difference. If NVA was close enough to hit you with an RPG, he already had eyes on you.
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Here’s a tweaks list I created for various Sherman kits including the earlier RFM M4A3 HVSS without interior. Sherman 1/35 Kit tweaks list - Google Docs
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Actually the NVA did have armor. They first brought PT-76’s to battle in overrunning an SF camp at Lang Vei near Khe Sanh in early 1968. They tried again at another camp a year or so later, but there were M48s nearby that spanked the PTs. The ARVN ran into NVA armor in Laos in 1971 and tank for tank did better than the NVA, even if the operation itself was a CF. In the 1972 Easter Invasion, the NVA used massed formations of armor n(T-54s, T-34/85s, & others) both in the north and south drives.
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Yeah, I know about the PT-76’s and the later use of armor. But it was never a viable threat on our operations.
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As i finally begin this project i wanna thank everybody for the help and info! The first thing i started with was getting the hull assembled. Are there any websites that have decent interior shots? I tried prime portal and some miscellaneous stuff on pinterest but that’s it.
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There are lots of interior photos on the Sherman Minutia website here: Sherman minutia homepage
Thanks for the help!
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Figured it out! Apparently they are 30 cal barrels! I just watched a video on how to change the barrel on an m1919a1 and it makes sense
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Looks excellent. Great job.
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Thanks!
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A few more questions…
They really kept the tripod inside the tank? I thought the interior would already be cramped enough
And what object is part R73 supposed to be? I can’t find and pictures if it and it doesn’t look like part of the radio equipment
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Here’s a TM for the late-model M4A3, which probably answers a good deal of questions like these 
The tripod was indeed stored “On floor next to wall under ass’t driver” (see page 9). Not sure what R73 is, but it looks like some kind of junction box.
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