Hi Mike,
While I hear ya on the gratis part, you might want to pick up the deck and rear lower hull off ebay - cheap parts can come from either an Italeri or Academy M4A3 of any description. (TBH you can probably get a whole Italeri kit for peanuts - look for the “jumbo” or their M36B1 to harvest…)
Keep us posted either way!
Another option is to get the Academy M36 kit that includes both decks and rear ends. Although I do not know if the parts will fit properly. I can measure them if you want, I have the kit.
Mike,
I should have the extra Italeri parts if you want them. I am building Marine Sherman with wading stacks so they are extras. Just let me know if you do.
Wow Tank that would be great. PM sent!
Thank You!
Thanks for the offer Nikos!
Ken, I know that dude with the MB conversion.
He’s good to go and has a basement filled with kits in every conceivable scale.
Well I guess I am somehow living right:
Tonight I went thru my Sherman Spares and found a full set of Academy road wheels WITH the rear side wheel fillers and WITH the correct thickness rubber on those road wheels! Honestly I have no idea where these came from!
Onward and upward! - Question: Here is a general Sherman suspension question that, volunteering at the Patton, I must have had at least 10,000 opportunities to check on and never did.
Does the rear idler wheel also have a rubber tire pressed onto it? Or is it just a plain steel wheel? (In other words, do I paint the rim black or leave it OD?)
Based on these two photos from my files, I would say, no it does not have a rubber tire.
What say the group?
Idlers have no rubber tire.
The M36 was converted from an M10A1 and had the Ford GAA gasoline engine. The M36B2 was converted from the M10 and had the GMC 6046 diesel engine, but these were not completed until after V-E Day and appear to have all been built with overhead armor and E9 suspensions. Thus, if you are looking at a photograph of an American M36-ish vehicle in service it is an M36. If the vehicle in a photograph *doesn’*t have overhead armor or an E9 suspension, it is also an M36. (Some M36s and M10s had theater and unit improvised overhead armor.)
In other words, the AFV Club kit has the wrong engine deck and rear hull for an M36, OR is missing turret armor and has the wrong suspension for an M36B2. I seem to recall questions about the hull shapes as well, but I will not claim that is true. If you want an accurate M36 the best route may be to take the turret and innards from this kit and add it to a Tamiya M10 hull (which has been confirmed to be correct) along with an engine deck and rear hull conversion.
The supplemental armor bosses were dropped during production of the M10/M10A1. With all M36s beyond the first 300 converted from existing M10A1s or M10s, bosses may or may not be present.
KL
Were there M36 with E9 suspension? I find this photo confusing, unless what I consider a fuel cap on the rear of the engine deck is something else:
The photo is of Korean troop training
yes is wrong
Clearly, yes. The engine doors are for a GAA and the stains on the exhaust deflector are split to the sides rather than centrally located as they would for a 6046. The registration number is from an M10A1 block and several orders of M36s kept their original registrations.
All manner of vehicles had E9 kits installed in late/post-war overhauls. Small numbers, but a variety.
KL
Never thought of checking the exhaust stains. Thanks for the input. 
Finally; A close up reference photo of that rear idler wheel:
Killing some time waiting for the new engine deck to arrive.
Focusingfor now on adding some missing details to the driver’s area and to the radio operator’s. Added some wiring, the driver’s laterals and linkages, gear shift, large brake links. Then added the power tray and false antenna load to the SCR radio, plus 4 can 50cal. ammo storage. More yet to do!
I plan on building this one with hatches open so I hope at least some of this work will be visible when I am done.
p.s. That interior started out as pure white but you know how quickly combat vehicles get dirty in the field. I wanted that “lived in” look!
With my shaky hands it took all day to build up these six bogies (12 parts each) but now the Jackson is finally up off its’ belly and onto its’ feet!
Who else glues the first road wheel in place so the tension in the rubber band tracks does not lift it up off the ground?
Now for a little clean-up/touch-up and then on to painting those road wheels.
Yup! 
Jackson is now not only up on his feet but has his shoes on as well
M36 JacksonThat’s the Italeri wheel set I am using. that has detailing on BOTH sides of the wheel! Plus they have the more correct tire thickness. (Yes, I threw in a couple of older spoked road wheels to indicate a repair.)
I am going to go with the AFV rubber band tracks on this model. If this were a German vehicle I would use individual link track to create the necessary slack but I feel with the US “live” track the additional possible detail just it not worth the effort. Besides the top run of track where any slack might show is covered by the M36 skirting. I did paint the side tooth connectors and have so far weathered the track just slightly using dry pigments.
I would suggest warming the track with a hair drying before applying as they are rather tight right out of the box even with a 70º room temperature!
As to individual US track links, here is a Dragon, Sherman Firefly I am currently working on that has individual link tracks. While I certainly enjoy the slight sag of the top run (not visible on the Jackson) and the slack showing below both the drive sprocket and the idler wheel again I have to say “is it worth the effort”? On the Firefly I would say definitely yes, but for the Jackson not so much.
Firefly
The above Firefly track would portray a Sherman at rest. When driving forward the top run is almost flat (though usually vibrating up and down) and all the slack collects right in front of the first road wheel just below the drive sprocket.
