Gaming Models, for those of you that are unfamiliar with their work, produce a line of 15mm vehicles cast in a lightweight resin. Coverage of U.S. equipment includes the core tanks, half-tracks and a nice choice of landing craft, all in 15mm. Included in this range is kit number US-011, the M4 with 105mm howitzer.

Basically this is a standard M4 Sherman tank with the 75mm gun replaced with the 105mm howitzer used by the artillery branch. The result was a tank with low anti-armor capability, but excellent anti-infantry and bunker busting capabilities. These 105mm-armed tanks were distributed throughout the armored divisions, providing a powerful piece of direct fire artillery to the line units.

The Gaming Models kit comes in the standard five pieces -- hull, tracks, turret and gun tube/mantlet. Assembly is quick and easy, with all the parts fitting together cleanly. Only a minute amount of flash is present. Detail is excellent, with all the features right down to the gas cap being clearly and cleanly cast on the vehicle.

The vehicle passes the scale test as well. This is perhaps not surprising as our scaling standard -- the same person, Brian O'Leary -- developed the O'Leary scale and the master model for casting. Just to run the numbers, though, the kit is 2.1" long, 0.95" wide, and 1" tall. I compared these figures to the dimensions given in R.P. Hunicutt's definitive work on the subject: "Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank." The results are not surprising. The tank is 93% of length and height, and 98% of width. Just for fun, I checked the track width -- the distance between the centerlines of the two tracks -- and found the distance dead on target. The largest variance in the above numbers here is 0.15" (length). All of these fall within the variance we grant the sculptors for 15mm, especially the height, which is much better than I've seen from some other manufacturer's kits.

Do I recommend this kit? Given the relatively few numbers of 105mm-armed M4 tanks you are likely to need, Gaming Models is an excellent choice. Not only is the casting excellent, but at $5, the price is hard to beat. (Bibliography: Hunnicutt, R.P. 1978. "Sherman: A History of the American Medium Tank." Presidio Press. p 539, 547.)

Overall grade: A.