It is looking really goo,d wade!
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It’s a very early M34A1 mantlet. Those two eyes were soon replaced by holes with thread cut into them, and closed by slotted screws, so that an eye could be screwed into them when needed.
Does your kit include an M34 gun shield? If it does, I’d just use the hooks from that. They’re welded to the upper lip of the mantlet (the part that bolts to the turret), one leg to either side of the third screw in from the side along the top edge (or, to put it another way, there are two screws in the middle between the lifting eyes).
Yep.
The early type, with the round nose, and not the later sharp-nosed one.
The headlights on Shermans are removable, to be stowed inside the tank when there’s a risk of them being damaged (like by gunfire).
- No springs and hold-open devices on the drivers’ hatches.
- The socket for the headlight plug on the left (the little tube attached to the inboard side of the headlight guard) appears to be parallel to the glacis plate rather than vertical like on the right.
- The bolted strip at the top of the differential cover has the bolt heads proud of it, not recessed into holes.
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Do they need to be bent, then? I don’t know what this M4A4 kit’s instructions say, but the VC kit does not indicate you should bend them:
Which is correct, because on the real tank, these strips were just that: flat strips with holes near the bottom edge. They were then laid against the hull side and welded into place — that’s what the little raised lines of plastic moulded near the lower edge of your model’s upper hull represents: the welds for these strips. Assuming your kit is like the VC kit, you should just glue the strips to the hull side, against those little raised lines.
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Thanks. I think the kit does have the M34 shield, need to verify but had some hooks I was thinking about using.
Will have to study the differential covers to see which one/s I have.
I knew about the headlights being stored, most Marine Sherman any type had them removed for that reason.
Good catch on the bolt strip, need to look into that one.
Thanks again for the information.
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Jakko, thanks!
Misunderstanding on my part, I didn’t realize the lower edge of the strip is below the bottom of the hull sponson. I thought it was flush.
The box art shows the strips bottom edge below.
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Easy mistake to make, I agree. On the real tank, the sand shields bolt to these strips by simply sticking bolts through the holes and putting washers and nuts on them on the inside. This replaced an earlier method that required a lot of little steel blocks welded to the underside of the sponson.
The good thing about the RFM kit here is that it has those welds already moulded on, that makes it just about impossible to install the strips too high or too low.
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Hello everyone! Just joined the forums here.
I will be building the Tamiya 1/35 M4A3E8.
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European Theater version or Korean War version? Welcome to the forums. 
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European WW2.
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Welcome aboard Michael. 
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Welcome to the Forum, that is a great kit for shermania!
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Looks amazing Wade!
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The three piece is the correct shape? Can I just fill the recessed area or do I need a different part?
Does that mean just not adding part G11?
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You need part J16, the one-piece. All Asuka kits I’ve seen that include the three-piece transmission housing also have the early one-piece, so for your kit, you can just use that one.
Yes, but also carving the latches off, indicated here with yellow arrows:
This because in your photo of the real tank, you can see the driver’s hatch lying pretty much flat on the hull roof. The latch only allows it to open to a noticeable angle.
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Thanks for the clarification/information. I was planning to use j16 but the nose shape comment had me going astray.
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Was reading a lot of the posts here and looking at pics and am really impressed with the level of knowledge and modeling skills you guys have. I just decided to get back into the hobby last month after an 8-year absence, so I picked a Tamiya kit on purpose and was planning on just building what’s in the box - no photo etch or after-market tracks/stowage. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew until I get my confidence back. I hope that will be okay for this event.
I cracked the box open last night and plan to get started this evening when I get off work. Will post some progress pics at various stages once I have something substantial to show.
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That is perfectly acceptable for any build here in general or campaign (lest the rules state otherwise).
Model on.
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You are doing the right thing in my opinion. Getting reacquainted and comfortable with basic modeling skills will pay dividends down the road. Many of the newer state of the art kits can be intimidating. Many are over engineered with numerous small and fiddly parts. Throw in some PE and it can be overwhelming. Don’t know your skill level, but as you ease back into the hobby take your time trying to master all the new products and techniques. My advice would be to focus on one or two at a time until you feel you have a good grasp of them. Trying to do more than that generally ends with mediocre results and growing frustration at the inability to make satisfactory progress in improving your skills. Welcome back and good luck.
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Hard to go wrong with a Tamiya kit, especially a newer one like you have. And any level of experience is welcome here. I myself am normally a wingy-thingy guy, so armor is definitly NOT my specialty. But I do have a thing for good old General Sherman.
Michael 
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