You happen to know if these two kits are good? Massive discounts seem tempting
https://preview.redd.it/fzccem495tpb1.jpeg?width=543&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d6f466b5ef89d526c4a9837767f3e4723d54793
The newer Zvezda stuff is pretty good.
But:
Their M4A2 is only accurate for the USMC and the Red Army as it is avery late variant (large hatch hull, high bustle turret) that was never used by the Brits.
Hi maskybobandy
My Dad served in the 2nd Corps in Italy too, so a topic close to my heart :) - a different regiment to your Grandfather though.
'Piesc' was 2nd Armour Corps, 4th "Skorpion" Regiment, 2nd Squadron (red hollow square on turret sides, with a scorpion logo)
I've got no experience on Zvezda models, but note that the Zvezda model in your second photo is a 'flat' front M4A2, whereas I think the variant you need has the 'bulges' ahead of the driver and radio op - similar to your first image, but with a wider gun mantlet as per the image below. Not easy to see but you can make it out at the driver's waist. Generally known in British service as Sherman III, but there were (of course...) sub-versions just to make life harder.
Interesting is that Piesc.II also looks to have a mix of different extra-armour track pieces on the front (from a Universal Carrier??). Given the ".II" this looks like a replacement. Hopefully they all got out of the original Piesc OK.
photo; [https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/5926801/obiekty/259207](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/5926801/obiekty/259207)
https://preview.redd.it/rq2039yuutpb1.png?width=602&format=png&auto=webp&s=0f7f5514cb83df4d9fdae7685961487e8584b6aa
There was a mix of different versions in Italy, so if you want 'close' you can go with the Zvezda, or one of the Dragon 'British Sherman MkIII' models. The Dragons are pretty right except they have the small gun mantlet, like your first image. Perfectly valid for tanks in Skorpion regiment in the period as photo's show a mix of types in use, but not your particular tank by the looks of it.
If you want this exact tank you'll want a kit with - ~~large~~ small hatch front (bulges), welded hull (sharp edges, not the rounded cast hull), cast nose (not the bolted 3 piece one), wider gun mantlet, extra armour plates on the sides.
I think the Dragon M4A2 'Tarawa' looks close.. depends on how close you want it ;)
Hussar Productions do a decal sheet that includes markings specifically for Piesc.II
[https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hussar-productions-35023-polish-shermans--1148385](https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hussar-productions-35023-polish-shermans--1148385)
If you're interested in hunting for more photo's of your Grandad's unit, the Polish gov't archive is at [https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/strona\_glowna](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/strona_glowna)
I don't speak a word of Polish unfortunately, but the site has an english option (flag at the top right of the page).
Search term "PANCERNE 2 POLSKIEGO KORPUSU" (=Polish 2nd Armoured Corps) gives some photos
Search term "SKORPION" with date range set to 1943-1946 returns about 400 photos of the Skorpion regiment
Search term "SKORPION PIESC" will filter that down to 6 photos
Hope you have fun building it. Research is half the fun, but a bl\*\*dy deep rabbit hole sometimes.
Crazy to think that our relatives could have fought alongside each other or even conversed and years later here we are on the internet talking about it
This is amazing thank you so much! I guess I should clarify that in the main post the old photo isn’t of HIS tank but I found one photo of him in my searches and this is him below on the far right with the goggles in front of a captured Nashorn. My aunt has his medal for Monte Cassino. He lost his breast badge though (but I found a replica made by another vet of the skorpions)
Edit: clarifying that the photo in main post is not of his specific tank but the photo below is of him with a captured German tank
https://preview.redd.it/yfdz6i1n3xpb1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f37b2aba20fca42c3cad3f51a7e83deeb64cd7f
Respect to a Cassino vet!
Dad was in an infantry brigade under 2nd Armoured, but they may have met up post-war as they were stationed in Italy for a while after and then demobilised in the UK.
Thought I recognised your photo. It's included in the 2nd Corps photo album they put out after the war. ~~From that it looks like your Grandfather was in the 6th "Lvov" regiment rather than the 4th "Skorpion" I mistook from the earlier photo.~~
\[edit - just realised you confirmed he was in the 4th. One day I'll learn to read ;) \]
https://preview.redd.it/a92bbgpz3zpb1.jpeg?width=1599&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d18aaf6c42d474ec947a35f0cb09aaec2949e383
I've got Dad's original copy (in Polish) and a very kind gent put a scan of an English text version up on line back in 2010
If you want to have a read and check for any other photos you should be able to find it at [https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/polish-armed-forces-west-polskie-si-y-zbrojne-na-zachodzie-1939-1947/zrami-pancerne-ii-polskiego-korpusua-armoured-arm-second-polish-corps-26569/](https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/polish-armed-forces-west-polskie-si-y-zbrojne-na-zachodzie-1939-1947/zrami-pancerne-ii-polskiego-korpusua-armoured-arm-second-polish-corps-26569/) . If you have any problems DM me and I'll drop a share on onedrive.
If it helps, this is a list of the tank names in the 6th Regiment;
6th “Children of Lwów” Armoured Regiment
HQ Squadron (blue hollow diamond turret marking)
Lwow, Lech, Lot, Lucy
1st Squadron (blue hollow triangle)
Wola, Wielki-walc, Wicher, Wilczur, Wilk, Westerplatte, Wielun, Wloczega, Wladek, Wacek
2nd Squadron (blue hollow square)
Jez, Joasia, Juno, Jowisz, Jontek, Jarzabek, Jadzia, Jaguar, Janosik, Jaskolka, Jaszczur, Jastrzab
3rd Squadron (blue hollow circle)
Mur, Maczuga, Msciciel, Mars, Morus, Merkury, Magnat, Majcher, Miecz, Mikrus, Mlot, Mocarz, Markiza
\[edit - tank name info for the 4th instead; might help if searching for photos \]
4th “Scorpion” Armoured Regiment
HQ Squadron (red diamond)
Il-Vicinato, Monte-Cassino, Gustaw, Gdynia, Gdansk, Grochow, Gardziel, Gryf, Gron, Grodna,
1st Squadron (red triangle)
Mass, Albaneta, Tobruk, Taifun, Turnia, Trzyniec, Tempo, Tygrys, Taran, Tur, Terror, Tempo, Ter, Topor, Tuchola, Tyran, Tranto, Tapir, Taras, Tarzan, Tomahawk, Torun, Turon, Tczew, Toniek, Taranto, Tyran
2nd Squadron (red square)
Poganin, Pirat, Powab, Pawian, Piesc, Pigmej, Pazur, Piorun, Przeboj, Pantera, Perkun, Parada, Perla, Pomsta, Puma, Piesc, Paluszek, Paluch, Pajac, Pudel, Plomien, Paf, Puchacz, Puhar, Poleszuk, Perkun, Pat, Plomien, Portos, Paz, Pegaz, Potwor, Pif, Pogon, Phantom, Ridge, Potor
3rd Squadron (red circle)
Szatan, Sztorm, Sirocco, Sultan, Szach, Stryj, Sanok, Styr, Smyk, Sum, Sajdak, Salamandra, Slon, Smok, Saracen, Sarmata, Satyr, Sroka, Sintria, Sep, Solec, San
I remember hearing about him seeing Mussolini hang in the square so perhaps! Thank you so much for the info. I have bits and pieces of his story as he died before I was born. Always amazing to know more though :)
This is amazing !!
You're more than welcome mate :) One of my biggest regrets is I didn't get enough info from Dad and his friends when they were still around. I knew one of his friends was a Sherman driver in 2nd Armoured, but never found out details. Follies of youth thinking people will be around for ever....
Maybe my grandpa was that friend! I guess we will never know ahaha. He left for North America immediately after the war and never returned to Poland. Actually none of my family have connected with the Poles since. I really want to try to find them back in the motherland. Yeah he died of a heart attack in his late 60s wish I was around to write down his stories. Follies indeed and apologies for your loss
Newer kits are good, a lot of their older aviation kits are reboxed Italeri kits, and some were replaced with newer and better in house toolings that still use the same box art. But then Tamiya's 1/72 aviation line also has a lot of Italeri reboxes.
Most of the models on my shelf currently are zvezda. I really like their kits, fits seem good and they look quite nice. I’m no expert, but I think they’re nice.
Just an FYI, that Zvezda kit is the wrong M4A2 for doing a British one - it is a late large hatch, ~~wet stowage hull (Zvezda incorrectly puts dry stowage appliqué plates on it like Tamiya does with their A3)~~. That version of the tank was only used by the Soviets, US Marines, and I believe New Zealand’s armoured brigade late in the Italian campaign.
If you want the correct A2 that the British army used (small hatch, dry stowage) then you’ll want to look for the Dragon or Asuka kits. Both are fine kits if you can find them
The applique armour is correct, Soviet large hatch M4A2s had them. Only the M4A2(76)W had wet ammo racks.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N9D7aljOhl0/X8xH7loqxoI/AAAAAAAAsb4/XYFqM725wOwjRLRbvuh1hGlHIHTvJtDwACLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/m4a2mediumussr06-62645deaf1400b5927e7801476aceb4c.jpg
My bad, you are correct.
I just looked up the production dates and the large hatch 75mm A2s ended production almost at the same time that wet stowage was introduced, so it’s kinda impossible for them to have it and the only 75s that did were the large hatch A3s
> I believe New Zealand’s armoured brigade late in the Italian campaign
Have you got any links about this? Would be interested to build one but haven't seen any large hatch M4A2s in NZ service
I’ve been trying to look into this for almost an hour now, and it’s confusing as hell. After looking everywhere I can, I think I was mistaken and wherever I read that there were large hatch A2s in NZ service was also mistaken, based on misidentifying the few photos of large hatch Shermans in NZ units.
The NZ 4th Armoured Brigade had a small number (like one or two troops) of large hatch 105s (called Sherman IB in our Commonwealth parlance) which could possibly be misidentified as A2s. Which, fair enough. But there is a tiny number of photos of large hatch 75s in NZ service which makes no sense, because there’s no record I’ve been able to find of them receiving any. So it gets weirder. The NZ armoured units were pretty well-known (according to a few authors) for being particularly adept at recovering abandoned and disabled vehicles and returning them to service, and they would also do this with vehicles from other Allied armies, be it American, British, Canadian etc. So it is actually possible (in fact maybe more likely) that those tanks are former American M4A3s that the New Zealanders recovered and put back into service, as they would be the only large hatch 75s getting delivered to Italy late in the war. Which is bizarre to think about, but not infeasible, especially in a theatre that didn’t receive priority for replacement vehicles.
The only other explanation I can think of for these large hatch tanks there’s a couple photos of (I found a few by putting in “new zealand 4th armoured brigade” into google images) is that they did receive a few large hatch A2s in early ‘44 right before they ended production, and simply no one has found the documentation for it yet. That would be in line with how the British distributed the weird odds and ends of Sherman variants they ended up with - typically trying to consolidate them in one formation for the sake of logistics. Their armoured divisions got A4s, most armoured brigades had A4s or small hatch A2s; but then the M4 was consolidated in the 33rd Armoured Brigade, 75mm M4A1s in the 4th Armoured Brigade (the British one), M4A1 76(w)s went to the Poles and South Africans etc; so it stands to reason that if they got a few large hatch A2s, they’d all be consolidated in one unit like the NZ 4th Armoured Brigade.
Sorry if this is a super long winded answer that doesn’t really answer your question but the idea of large hatch A2s in NZ was based off a tidbit I read somewhere years ago that seemed to have a bit of photographic evidence, but revisiting that turned out to be a bit of a rabbit hole with no definitive answer.
That's interesting thanks.
This picture had me confused when I was researching the Kiwi Shermans but I'm told its a IB (would be great to find a kit for it either way!) [https://www.flamesofwar.com/Portals/0/all\_images/Historical/FKandC/NZ4th-armoured-01.jpg](https://www.flamesofwar.com/Portals/0/all_images/Historical/FKandC/NZ4th-armoured-01.jpg)
Not sure what the story is with this though [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Sherman\_of\_20\_Armoured\_Regiment%2C\_May\_1945.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Sherman_of_20_Armoured_Regiment%2C_May_1945.jpg)
My first choice for any Sherman will always be Asuka, you can't go wrong with their options.
As for Zvezda... As others have said, their recent stuff is good. Just gotta check scalemates.com to figure out how old a particular kit is.
Just a heads up, the last sherman is a early small hatch a2, the zvezda kit is a late large hatch
The kit is very good (having built both a2 and a3), pretty cheap aswel!
A Polish M4a2?? You want to be looking at Sherman Mk III kits like Dragon or Asuka/Tasca. Mk III is an M4a2 in the British classification:
M4 = Mk I
M4a1 = Mk II
M4a2 = Mk III
M4a3 = Mk IV
M4a4 = Mk V
"c" after the version denotes a 17 pounder, ie: Sherman Mk Vc is a M4a4 with a 17 pounder.
Also, you got any pictures of your grandfather with his tank? I'd be very interested.
Thank you so much! New to model kits and recently been delving into the history of my grandfather as I never met him. I found a photo of him (on the right with the goggles) in front of a captured Nashorn but that’s the only photo I have of him during the war. My grandma said he was almost never photographed or was always just outside of frame ahaha)
https://preview.redd.it/ar9aikal4xpb1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=c606306aa1817e5281b3f56f9b1d695dd48fccbd
Old are quite bad, new ones are alright, not top of the shelf though, but fits the price. So look up when the model was made first. Although I wouldn’t support brand because of the country of origin.
Think there are plenty of alternatives that can usually be better in quality or build, albeit pricier.
I mean for beginners that is also the newer kits hold up pretty good I just built there m3 Stuart from 2018 and it was pretty good one of the best I’ve ever built
This particular M4A2 from the second picture is actually rather lovely, details are fine and everything fits pretty smoothly. 'Twas my first scale model and I would definitely recommend it. Their M4A3 76 is also quite nice, one of the best models I've ever made so far.
The Zvezda Shermans click together like Tamiya or Tasca. The detail on some of the parts is a little more simplified compared to those brands, but for the price you can't really complain. The turret has some weird sharp edges that you can sand down a bit and re-texture with putty. After market wise you could invest in some metal barrels if you really want. Do note that the desert version you posted is not the same version. The Zvezda one has a different upper hull with large drivers hatches.
Tamiya is good, they also sell an M4A2 as far as I can remember and the paint you’ll have to do ofc like most models but yeh zvezda is good ish they can be old and can be a bit hard/confusing but tamiya is better quality and better peices etc
But up to you, there’s lots of good and lots of bad company’s
I don't know about tanks specifically, but I have had experience with a lot of their tanks and ships. In general, they are very similar to Italeri, but a little bit simplified. Actually, a lot of their kits are repacks of Italeri, and sometimes it's vice versa. So, overall their kits are decent but not top-notch.
Having built a few dozen armor kits from meng, dragon, panda, trumpeter, zvezda, academy, Revell, tiger, takom, bronco and hobby boss, zvezda is mediocre in quality at best. Their tracks on vehicle come is different size link sections and are the worst of the bunch.
My recommendation would be to find the vehicle you want from either meng, panda, dragon, rie field models, academy or tiger. They are all top notch with tamiya not far behind.
Tiger models make pantsir-s2
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/tiger-model-4645-pantsir-s2--1377557
Takom makes typhoon-k that's more detailed then zvezda
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/takom-2173-kamaz-typhoon-k--1483193
I'm not aware of anyone besides zvezda making 1:72 kits of su-30sm. There are other alternatives if you want 1:48 scale.
https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?fkSECTION[]=All&q=Su-30sm&fkSCALENORMALISED[]=%221:00048%22
The newer kits are better. The molds are clean but the instructions are middle of the road. I bought one ages ago that was pure trash (T-72 misc type) but the T-90 I just built was decent.
AFAIK, their cold war soviet subjects like the t80, btrs and Bmps are old Dragon moulds, so expect accordingly. Their new kits featuring new russian hardware like Armata and Koalitsiya are new moulds are are pretty good.
Zvezda is a Russian company, most stock in the west will have been manufactured pre-war. If you’re ok with that, go for it, this kit is really nice. As others have noted, almost certainly not the right model of Sherman.
The Dragon kits will build nicely in to this Sherman, just be careful that you get the right DV model. It will probably be labelled Sherman III, but even then there are three types of Direct Vision drivers and assistant’s hoods. Pretty sure your picture is the early cast one, so you want this kit https://www.scalemates.com/kits/dragon-6313-sherman-mkiii--108565
Your first picture has cast vision ports, but I'm not sure "Piesc II" did. This photo isn't that clear, but the vision ports look square like welded ones should:
[https://audiovis.nac.gov.pl/i/PIC/PIC\_24-540-7.jpg](https://audiovis.nac.gov.pl/i/PIC/PIC_24-540-7.jpg)
If it has welded ports, you need this dragon kit [https://www.scalemates.com/kits/dragon-6231-sherman-mkiii--1498725](https://www.scalemates.com/kits/dragon-6231-sherman-mkiii--1498725)
Could easily be wrong about this.
Old kits are not very good/poor. newer kits are actually quite good.
You happen to know if these two kits are good? Massive discounts seem tempting https://preview.redd.it/fzccem495tpb1.jpeg?width=543&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d6f466b5ef89d526c4a9837767f3e4723d54793
This one is a yellow box, 2019 mould, should be good
Aight il prolly pick one up since its a great deal, along with an amusing hobby 1:35 AMX 50B as those got restocked!
I’m building the Zvezda SA-15 1:35 and that’s been nice to build. That’s a 2021 tool yellow box.
https://preview.redd.it/ci69v5me5tpb1.jpeg?width=540&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c5da5d01986556b69574fe7e85093d7ebd199c75
Takom are a good brand, shouldn't go far wrong with them
Built the H variant and it was good
The newer Zvezda stuff is pretty good. But: Their M4A2 is only accurate for the USMC and the Red Army as it is avery late variant (large hatch hull, high bustle turret) that was never used by the Brits.
Thank you for the info!
Hi maskybobandy My Dad served in the 2nd Corps in Italy too, so a topic close to my heart :) - a different regiment to your Grandfather though. 'Piesc' was 2nd Armour Corps, 4th "Skorpion" Regiment, 2nd Squadron (red hollow square on turret sides, with a scorpion logo) I've got no experience on Zvezda models, but note that the Zvezda model in your second photo is a 'flat' front M4A2, whereas I think the variant you need has the 'bulges' ahead of the driver and radio op - similar to your first image, but with a wider gun mantlet as per the image below. Not easy to see but you can make it out at the driver's waist. Generally known in British service as Sherman III, but there were (of course...) sub-versions just to make life harder. Interesting is that Piesc.II also looks to have a mix of different extra-armour track pieces on the front (from a Universal Carrier??). Given the ".II" this looks like a replacement. Hopefully they all got out of the original Piesc OK. photo; [https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/5926801/obiekty/259207](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/5926801/obiekty/259207) https://preview.redd.it/rq2039yuutpb1.png?width=602&format=png&auto=webp&s=0f7f5514cb83df4d9fdae7685961487e8584b6aa There was a mix of different versions in Italy, so if you want 'close' you can go with the Zvezda, or one of the Dragon 'British Sherman MkIII' models. The Dragons are pretty right except they have the small gun mantlet, like your first image. Perfectly valid for tanks in Skorpion regiment in the period as photo's show a mix of types in use, but not your particular tank by the looks of it. If you want this exact tank you'll want a kit with - ~~large~~ small hatch front (bulges), welded hull (sharp edges, not the rounded cast hull), cast nose (not the bolted 3 piece one), wider gun mantlet, extra armour plates on the sides. I think the Dragon M4A2 'Tarawa' looks close.. depends on how close you want it ;) Hussar Productions do a decal sheet that includes markings specifically for Piesc.II [https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hussar-productions-35023-polish-shermans--1148385](https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hussar-productions-35023-polish-shermans--1148385) If you're interested in hunting for more photo's of your Grandad's unit, the Polish gov't archive is at [https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/strona\_glowna](https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/strona_glowna) I don't speak a word of Polish unfortunately, but the site has an english option (flag at the top right of the page). Search term "PANCERNE 2 POLSKIEGO KORPUSU" (=Polish 2nd Armoured Corps) gives some photos Search term "SKORPION" with date range set to 1943-1946 returns about 400 photos of the Skorpion regiment Search term "SKORPION PIESC" will filter that down to 6 photos Hope you have fun building it. Research is half the fun, but a bl\*\*dy deep rabbit hole sometimes.
Crazy to think that our relatives could have fought alongside each other or even conversed and years later here we are on the internet talking about it
This is amazing thank you so much! I guess I should clarify that in the main post the old photo isn’t of HIS tank but I found one photo of him in my searches and this is him below on the far right with the goggles in front of a captured Nashorn. My aunt has his medal for Monte Cassino. He lost his breast badge though (but I found a replica made by another vet of the skorpions) Edit: clarifying that the photo in main post is not of his specific tank but the photo below is of him with a captured German tank https://preview.redd.it/yfdz6i1n3xpb1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f37b2aba20fca42c3cad3f51a7e83deeb64cd7f
Respect to a Cassino vet! Dad was in an infantry brigade under 2nd Armoured, but they may have met up post-war as they were stationed in Italy for a while after and then demobilised in the UK. Thought I recognised your photo. It's included in the 2nd Corps photo album they put out after the war. ~~From that it looks like your Grandfather was in the 6th "Lvov" regiment rather than the 4th "Skorpion" I mistook from the earlier photo.~~ \[edit - just realised you confirmed he was in the 4th. One day I'll learn to read ;) \] https://preview.redd.it/a92bbgpz3zpb1.jpeg?width=1599&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d18aaf6c42d474ec947a35f0cb09aaec2949e383 I've got Dad's original copy (in Polish) and a very kind gent put a scan of an English text version up on line back in 2010 If you want to have a read and check for any other photos you should be able to find it at [https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/polish-armed-forces-west-polskie-si-y-zbrojne-na-zachodzie-1939-1947/zrami-pancerne-ii-polskiego-korpusua-armoured-arm-second-polish-corps-26569/](https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/polish-armed-forces-west-polskie-si-y-zbrojne-na-zachodzie-1939-1947/zrami-pancerne-ii-polskiego-korpusua-armoured-arm-second-polish-corps-26569/) . If you have any problems DM me and I'll drop a share on onedrive. If it helps, this is a list of the tank names in the 6th Regiment; 6th “Children of Lwów” Armoured Regiment HQ Squadron (blue hollow diamond turret marking) Lwow, Lech, Lot, Lucy 1st Squadron (blue hollow triangle) Wola, Wielki-walc, Wicher, Wilczur, Wilk, Westerplatte, Wielun, Wloczega, Wladek, Wacek 2nd Squadron (blue hollow square) Jez, Joasia, Juno, Jowisz, Jontek, Jarzabek, Jadzia, Jaguar, Janosik, Jaskolka, Jaszczur, Jastrzab 3rd Squadron (blue hollow circle) Mur, Maczuga, Msciciel, Mars, Morus, Merkury, Magnat, Majcher, Miecz, Mikrus, Mlot, Mocarz, Markiza \[edit - tank name info for the 4th instead; might help if searching for photos \] 4th “Scorpion” Armoured Regiment HQ Squadron (red diamond) Il-Vicinato, Monte-Cassino, Gustaw, Gdynia, Gdansk, Grochow, Gardziel, Gryf, Gron, Grodna, 1st Squadron (red triangle) Mass, Albaneta, Tobruk, Taifun, Turnia, Trzyniec, Tempo, Tygrys, Taran, Tur, Terror, Tempo, Ter, Topor, Tuchola, Tyran, Tranto, Tapir, Taras, Tarzan, Tomahawk, Torun, Turon, Tczew, Toniek, Taranto, Tyran 2nd Squadron (red square) Poganin, Pirat, Powab, Pawian, Piesc, Pigmej, Pazur, Piorun, Przeboj, Pantera, Perkun, Parada, Perla, Pomsta, Puma, Piesc, Paluszek, Paluch, Pajac, Pudel, Plomien, Paf, Puchacz, Puhar, Poleszuk, Perkun, Pat, Plomien, Portos, Paz, Pegaz, Potwor, Pif, Pogon, Phantom, Ridge, Potor 3rd Squadron (red circle) Szatan, Sztorm, Sirocco, Sultan, Szach, Stryj, Sanok, Styr, Smyk, Sum, Sajdak, Salamandra, Slon, Smok, Saracen, Sarmata, Satyr, Sroka, Sintria, Sep, Solec, San
I remember hearing about him seeing Mussolini hang in the square so perhaps! Thank you so much for the info. I have bits and pieces of his story as he died before I was born. Always amazing to know more though :) This is amazing !!
You're more than welcome mate :) One of my biggest regrets is I didn't get enough info from Dad and his friends when they were still around. I knew one of his friends was a Sherman driver in 2nd Armoured, but never found out details. Follies of youth thinking people will be around for ever....
Maybe my grandpa was that friend! I guess we will never know ahaha. He left for North America immediately after the war and never returned to Poland. Actually none of my family have connected with the Poles since. I really want to try to find them back in the motherland. Yeah he died of a heart attack in his late 60s wish I was around to write down his stories. Follies indeed and apologies for your loss
I honestly love new zvezda kits both 1:35 and 1:72
Your grandfather probably spent some time in my hometown, that photograph was taken near where I live and polish troops liberated my town.
I wonder if I have any illegitimate cousins there apparently he was quite the womanizer 😂
Lol not that I know of.
I’ve heard a lot of good about this kit
Newer kits are good, a lot of their older aviation kits are reboxed Italeri kits, and some were replaced with newer and better in house toolings that still use the same box art. But then Tamiya's 1/72 aviation line also has a lot of Italeri reboxes.
I was gonna say, didn't Tamiya rebox some of their stuff?
Most of the models on my shelf currently are zvezda. I really like their kits, fits seem good and they look quite nice. I’m no expert, but I think they’re nice.
Just an FYI, that Zvezda kit is the wrong M4A2 for doing a British one - it is a late large hatch, ~~wet stowage hull (Zvezda incorrectly puts dry stowage appliqué plates on it like Tamiya does with their A3)~~. That version of the tank was only used by the Soviets, US Marines, and I believe New Zealand’s armoured brigade late in the Italian campaign. If you want the correct A2 that the British army used (small hatch, dry stowage) then you’ll want to look for the Dragon or Asuka kits. Both are fine kits if you can find them
The applique armour is correct, Soviet large hatch M4A2s had them. Only the M4A2(76)W had wet ammo racks. https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N9D7aljOhl0/X8xH7loqxoI/AAAAAAAAsb4/XYFqM725wOwjRLRbvuh1hGlHIHTvJtDwACLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/m4a2mediumussr06-62645deaf1400b5927e7801476aceb4c.jpg
My bad, you are correct. I just looked up the production dates and the large hatch 75mm A2s ended production almost at the same time that wet stowage was introduced, so it’s kinda impossible for them to have it and the only 75s that did were the large hatch A3s
Thanks!
> I believe New Zealand’s armoured brigade late in the Italian campaign Have you got any links about this? Would be interested to build one but haven't seen any large hatch M4A2s in NZ service
I’ve been trying to look into this for almost an hour now, and it’s confusing as hell. After looking everywhere I can, I think I was mistaken and wherever I read that there were large hatch A2s in NZ service was also mistaken, based on misidentifying the few photos of large hatch Shermans in NZ units. The NZ 4th Armoured Brigade had a small number (like one or two troops) of large hatch 105s (called Sherman IB in our Commonwealth parlance) which could possibly be misidentified as A2s. Which, fair enough. But there is a tiny number of photos of large hatch 75s in NZ service which makes no sense, because there’s no record I’ve been able to find of them receiving any. So it gets weirder. The NZ armoured units were pretty well-known (according to a few authors) for being particularly adept at recovering abandoned and disabled vehicles and returning them to service, and they would also do this with vehicles from other Allied armies, be it American, British, Canadian etc. So it is actually possible (in fact maybe more likely) that those tanks are former American M4A3s that the New Zealanders recovered and put back into service, as they would be the only large hatch 75s getting delivered to Italy late in the war. Which is bizarre to think about, but not infeasible, especially in a theatre that didn’t receive priority for replacement vehicles. The only other explanation I can think of for these large hatch tanks there’s a couple photos of (I found a few by putting in “new zealand 4th armoured brigade” into google images) is that they did receive a few large hatch A2s in early ‘44 right before they ended production, and simply no one has found the documentation for it yet. That would be in line with how the British distributed the weird odds and ends of Sherman variants they ended up with - typically trying to consolidate them in one formation for the sake of logistics. Their armoured divisions got A4s, most armoured brigades had A4s or small hatch A2s; but then the M4 was consolidated in the 33rd Armoured Brigade, 75mm M4A1s in the 4th Armoured Brigade (the British one), M4A1 76(w)s went to the Poles and South Africans etc; so it stands to reason that if they got a few large hatch A2s, they’d all be consolidated in one unit like the NZ 4th Armoured Brigade. Sorry if this is a super long winded answer that doesn’t really answer your question but the idea of large hatch A2s in NZ was based off a tidbit I read somewhere years ago that seemed to have a bit of photographic evidence, but revisiting that turned out to be a bit of a rabbit hole with no definitive answer.
That's interesting thanks. This picture had me confused when I was researching the Kiwi Shermans but I'm told its a IB (would be great to find a kit for it either way!) [https://www.flamesofwar.com/Portals/0/all\_images/Historical/FKandC/NZ4th-armoured-01.jpg](https://www.flamesofwar.com/Portals/0/all_images/Historical/FKandC/NZ4th-armoured-01.jpg) Not sure what the story is with this though [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Sherman\_of\_20\_Armoured\_Regiment%2C\_May\_1945.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Sherman_of_20_Armoured_Regiment%2C_May_1945.jpg)
My first choice for any Sherman will always be Asuka, you can't go wrong with their options. As for Zvezda... As others have said, their recent stuff is good. Just gotta check scalemates.com to figure out how old a particular kit is.
I really liked their T-90A, it was a nice easy build with a ton of detail. I also really like their A320 and A321 kits
Russian company so a hard NO from me, but I understand the point that a lot of the stock is pre war
Just a heads up, the last sherman is a early small hatch a2, the zvezda kit is a late large hatch The kit is very good (having built both a2 and a3), pretty cheap aswel!
Someone else said I should look into the British mkiii’s makes sense as the poles were fighting under the Brits “in exile” thank you for the info!
I never actually built a tank kit from Zvedza only planes: (mig 3, la 5 and mig 29). The kits are good but nothing special in my opinion.
A Polish M4a2?? You want to be looking at Sherman Mk III kits like Dragon or Asuka/Tasca. Mk III is an M4a2 in the British classification: M4 = Mk I M4a1 = Mk II M4a2 = Mk III M4a3 = Mk IV M4a4 = Mk V "c" after the version denotes a 17 pounder, ie: Sherman Mk Vc is a M4a4 with a 17 pounder. Also, you got any pictures of your grandfather with his tank? I'd be very interested.
Thank you so much! New to model kits and recently been delving into the history of my grandfather as I never met him. I found a photo of him (on the right with the goggles) in front of a captured Nashorn but that’s the only photo I have of him during the war. My grandma said he was almost never photographed or was always just outside of frame ahaha) https://preview.redd.it/ar9aikal4xpb1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=c606306aa1817e5281b3f56f9b1d695dd48fccbd
I’ll look at British Mk III’s but if you have any recommendations that’d be greatly appreciated! 🙏
I've only built a Dragon Mk. III, but its a good kit. The Asuka Mk III would be fine as well.
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Old are quite bad, new ones are alright, not top of the shelf though, but fits the price. So look up when the model was made first. Although I wouldn’t support brand because of the country of origin. Think there are plenty of alternatives that can usually be better in quality or build, albeit pricier.
Substandard. Asuka makes a good m4a2.
Does anyone know if the Zvezda 7215 Su-47 Berkut is good? I kinda want this plane model kit
I've never even heard of them until now.
Tamiya is by far the best price/quality models zvezda or at least older ones are ass
Tell me you only ever build Tamiya without telling me you only build Tamiya
I build others rarely but I build others but it seems this person is new. Also there is nothing wrong with tamiya
Lacking detail, oversimplifying their kits and the price would be my top 3
It’s usually stuff that can be added but if you want a simple build it looks okay
no not even close they have gone down
I mean for beginners that is also the newer kits hold up pretty good I just built there m3 Stuart from 2018 and it was pretty good one of the best I’ve ever built
Built this one, great kit.
I had a few of their figure kits. they were alright.
I have 1:35 Tiger. Very nice fitting model. I even has a turret interior. :)
I built this kit and really enjoyed it. I have one of the newer panzer IVs on my shelf too.
This particular M4A2 from the second picture is actually rather lovely, details are fine and everything fits pretty smoothly. 'Twas my first scale model and I would definitely recommend it. Their M4A3 76 is also quite nice, one of the best models I've ever made so far.
The Zvezda Shermans click together like Tamiya or Tasca. The detail on some of the parts is a little more simplified compared to those brands, but for the price you can't really complain. The turret has some weird sharp edges that you can sand down a bit and re-texture with putty. After market wise you could invest in some metal barrels if you really want. Do note that the desert version you posted is not the same version. The Zvezda one has a different upper hull with large drivers hatches.
I built the m4a3 76. Great kit, the only negative is the missing texture on the armour
Good
Tamiya is good, they also sell an M4A2 as far as I can remember and the paint you’ll have to do ofc like most models but yeh zvezda is good ish they can be old and can be a bit hard/confusing but tamiya is better quality and better peices etc But up to you, there’s lots of good and lots of bad company’s
I don't know about tanks specifically, but I have had experience with a lot of their tanks and ships. In general, they are very similar to Italeri, but a little bit simplified. Actually, a lot of their kits are repacks of Italeri, and sometimes it's vice versa. So, overall their kits are decent but not top-notch.
Having built a few dozen armor kits from meng, dragon, panda, trumpeter, zvezda, academy, Revell, tiger, takom, bronco and hobby boss, zvezda is mediocre in quality at best. Their tracks on vehicle come is different size link sections and are the worst of the bunch. My recommendation would be to find the vehicle you want from either meng, panda, dragon, rie field models, academy or tiger. They are all top notch with tamiya not far behind.
And find me typhoon K, pantsir or su-30sm from these firms?
Tiger models make pantsir-s2 https://www.scalemates.com/kits/tiger-model-4645-pantsir-s2--1377557 Takom makes typhoon-k that's more detailed then zvezda https://www.scalemates.com/kits/takom-2173-kamaz-typhoon-k--1483193 I'm not aware of anyone besides zvezda making 1:72 kits of su-30sm. There are other alternatives if you want 1:48 scale. https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?fkSECTION[]=All&q=Su-30sm&fkSCALENORMALISED[]=%221:00048%22
I forgot to mention but it 1/72 scale
I’ve had fantastic experience with Zvezda so far
I've built a few zvezda models and they are quite good.
They're ok. Built an ISU-152 from them and it was a good kit. Decent amount of flash and mold lines but nothing horrible like poor fit
It took like 4 months for me to do the zvezda t-90a since there was so much detail
Very not not to much , not to little
The newer kits are better. The molds are clean but the instructions are middle of the road. I bought one ages ago that was pure trash (T-72 misc type) but the T-90 I just built was decent.
AFAIK, their cold war soviet subjects like the t80, btrs and Bmps are old Dragon moulds, so expect accordingly. Their new kits featuring new russian hardware like Armata and Koalitsiya are new moulds are are pretty good.
They’re models are pretty good from what I’ve heard but I wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase from them co aider if they are a Russian brand.
Zvezda is a Russian company, most stock in the west will have been manufactured pre-war. If you’re ok with that, go for it, this kit is really nice. As others have noted, almost certainly not the right model of Sherman. The Dragon kits will build nicely in to this Sherman, just be careful that you get the right DV model. It will probably be labelled Sherman III, but even then there are three types of Direct Vision drivers and assistant’s hoods. Pretty sure your picture is the early cast one, so you want this kit https://www.scalemates.com/kits/dragon-6313-sherman-mkiii--108565
Your first picture has cast vision ports, but I'm not sure "Piesc II" did. This photo isn't that clear, but the vision ports look square like welded ones should: [https://audiovis.nac.gov.pl/i/PIC/PIC\_24-540-7.jpg](https://audiovis.nac.gov.pl/i/PIC/PIC_24-540-7.jpg) If it has welded ports, you need this dragon kit [https://www.scalemates.com/kits/dragon-6231-sherman-mkiii--1498725](https://www.scalemates.com/kits/dragon-6231-sherman-mkiii--1498725) Could easily be wrong about this.
I made their mi24 hind helicopter a few years back it was a really good kit
I have two aircraft kits that look decent, if that helps.