Israeli M-51 Sherman 1967-1973 in 1/35th scale

The M4 Sherman tank in IDF service was modified in the mid 1950s to equip a French 75mm gun. The same gun (CN 75-50) as in the AMX-13 Light recon tank, which Israel was intending to purchase directly from France. It became known as the M-50 and by the time of the 1967 Six Day war, it saw combat on the Syrian Golan Heights, the Jordanian West Bank and the Egyptian Sinai peninsula. It fought successfully against the Arab forces fielding T-34s, T-54s and American M-47 Patton tanks. In 1965 the M-51 was publically displayed now equipped with a French 105mm gun. This became popularly known as the "Super-Sherman". In the 1973 Yom Kippur War it fought against more modern Soviet tanks (T-55 & T-62) and proved again that upgrades to the old design would allow it to remain a valuable asset for the Israeli armored forces. The photos below show the tank during the 67 & 73 conflicts.

1973 era M-51 Sherman in IDF service:

 

 



The Model: Dragon/ DML M-51 "Isherman". This name was never official or used by Israelis. They just called it the "Sherman". The model is an upgrade from the original M-51 release (ergo: "Premium") and Dragon fixed some of the early release problems such as an under-scale muzzle-brake which many modelers complained about. Putting this little gem together requires advanced manual dexterity and a good eye for square. The engine deck (I've been told by tank experts, is not correct for this era, ie: 1973 and needs to be converted to back date it. I was too far advanced into the assembly when I heard this information so I didn't do that when I built this kit. Next time maybe. I knew the IDF did general upgrades to these tanks a few times, so it's possible that this version may have seen some action in 1973. The tank crew figures are also from DML "US Tank crew (NW Europe 1944)" converted slightly to appear more as Israeli tank corpsmen. The paint I used was Testors Model-master "Afrika DunkelGrau" which as a base coat I think is a good match. What I have observed from personal observation of Israeli armor paint is that it appears to change according to the light of day. A vehicle that appears to be painted in a warm sand color in the afternoon, going into shades of Khaki and grey towards evening. I think this contributes to modelers confusion as to which colors were applied on actual vehicles. The Israel markings are for the most part hand-painted or masked and sprayed with an airbrush. AK Pastel powders were used for weathering with highly thinned oil paint pin-washed into the deeper details and corners. I really liked the way this model turned out. It looks very deadly with the long gun tube and huge muzzle-brake. I can understand now why some modelers have built every version of this tank for their collections.