Wade’s World Review - Ryefield Model’s M4A4 Sherman #5119
With Sherman’s it’s the rage to compare Asuka/Tasca vs Ryefield these days. Here’s a couple of threads to help with that. YMMV
missinglynx: firefly-vc-asuka-vs-rfm
The Ryefield Model’s kit…
5 Price MSRP $70, Online Vendor $56, Ebay China Direct ~$51 plus 3 to 6 week wait for arrival, I paid $56 received in 3 days from Spruebrothers.com
Factoring what’s possible with what’s included, this kit is a fantastic value!
Metal barrel with rifling, spare plastic one piece barrel with rifling, clear periscopes, photo-etch fret & working individual link tracks & six decal options that cover five nations.
4 Instructions Overall very good, build sequence could be improved.
5 Molding Quality Outstandingly good for 1,000+ parts. No short shots, no sink marks, minor depressions in a few parts to sand flush, a little plastic fuzz on parts occasionally. Sharp crisp detail. Very faint mold seams, exquisite!
5 Plastic Quality Nearly perfect! Easy to clean parts, soft but holds up to Tamiya Extra Thin Quick well. Perfect for Testor’s Liquid Cement too
5 Parts Clean Up I got tired of cleaning ~1,000+ parts but the parts are well designed for easy clean up. Tracks assemble without visible punch marks. Very faint mold seams to remove. Light treatment of Liquid cement can remove faint mold seams in difficult spots.
3 Ease of Build Good, there’s a few tips like making the suspension fixed that will help or carefully planning your approach to assembly. However, 1,000+ parts is a formidable assembly. Building in a timely manner requires some focus and grinding forward with the suspension & tracks.
I didn’t mind the 660+ parts of the tracks but I didn’t like the suspension bogie assembly 
. Fixed assembly, non-workable will help but the the suspension is full of (imo) gimmick BS that adds little to the model.
If one doesn’t lock the bogies down and pulls the track tightly the rear and front wheels may cant slightly due to the moveable slop in the bogies.
While I haven’t build a Tasca/Asuka Sherman, I think based on instructions they have a more hassle free & gimmick free design.
Approximate construction time for this RFM kit was 45 to 50 hours, about double what I expect my Asuka Firefly to take.
5 Accuracy Shermans (all) = Not my monkey and not my circus.
Looks enough like a Sherman, those guys wearing the black Hugo boss designed uniforms would shoot first and probably not ask questions.
Information provided by those well versed in the nuance of Sherman:
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Sits too high on working suspension with springs, probably by ~1.5 to 2 mm my estimate. Use spacer as Jacko suggested to address. Easy fix.
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Main gun ~6 mm too long. (I refuse to shorten a short gun on a M4A4 Sherman per religious values as written in the Book of Armaments)
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Wheels? per Face-palm er face book
Real Aficionados can find something etc.
#1 is visible and worth addressing in my (limited Sherman) experience. It can be addressed with parts in the box so Ryefield still earned a FIVE etc.
4 Fit Very good, almost perfect, but it needed a more Molak Stucco Putty, Q-tips w/Mr Color Leveling Thinner than any prior Ryefield Model’s kit I’ve built. However, I’m generous with paint thin Molak Stucco Putty on just about everything. The rear turret filet needed attention on my build beyond paint thin putty.
Happy enough with the fit but pay close attention or issues may occur. Get sloppy with on parts clean up…it will likely 
blow up in one’s face.
I didn’t like the absence of a interal brace for the lower hull. My kit was more fiddly to fit together than expected because of a slight bow in the lower side plates. Model sits flat so it obviously wasn’t a deal breaker. Assembled without tape or clamps but can easily see it might be necessary in some cases.
5 Doesn’t Require Aftermarket - I used 3D parts for front & rear light guards and one periscope guard. The kit has PE, while the Sherman may have used flat periscope guards at some point, I have no idea, I think the flat PE periscope guards look…stupid. They could be made round(ish) with lots of TLC & and thinned Molak Stucco Putty but definitely not worth the hassle with a quick fix 3D part available & 4 plastic guards (round) in the kit.
Discovered four plastic periscope guards in kit. They aren’t mentioned in instructions.
I had an aftermarket .50 cal M2 on the workbench but was happy with the kit MG. I’m almost NEVER happy with kit MG’s. The MG cooling jackets holes can be reamed or drilled for improvement. That was my choice over the aftermarket .50 cal.
5 Details Built Out of the Box - Outstandingly good in my opinion but I’m NOT an aficionado for Shermans going wirh first impression. With drilling out MG jacket etc and basic care this should be a good out of the box contest build for IPMS shows…for a ~1,000+ part kit.
46 out of 50
46/50 = 92%
Highly Recommended for the modeler that’s completed several AFV kits. This wouldn’t be a good first or second AFV build kit in my opinion.
I would buy and build this kit again so it scores well for repeatability.
Test fit…every tank should have a lantern & wok…
