Book Review: Sherman Tank, Gavin Birch (Images of War)

Culled from the Imperial War Museum's extensive archives, collected during the war by the AFPU (Armed Forces Photographic Unit), what we have here is a black and white only pictorial record of Sherman tanks during WWII. The Germans and Americans often managed colour photography. But for us Brits, colour was on hold 'for the duration'.

A lot of the pics in this book are akin to this: a Sherman in British service. [1]*

Breaking for food, near Caen, 1944.*

I bought this book to help me detail a small collection of 1/72 Sherman models I recently acquired. I have to admit, I was somewhat disappointed to find that the pics in this book are predominantly of Shermans in British/Commonwealth service, with only a brief chunk given over to Shermans in American service, as I'm intending my models to be U.S. versions.

'Somewhere in Germany', a Firefly camouflaged for the country... in the city.*

Another disappointment is the very limited nature of the sourcing of images. A trawl around the web is much better for diversity. And this book has very little on the 'funnies', or on captured Shermans, lend-lease tanks, of the use of the Sherman outside of WWII.

Despite these issues, the book remains an excellent and useful pictorial resource. All the pictures are captioned, and there's a text that gives light/brief coverage of the history of these tanks and the theatres/operations they took part in. However, the text is really quite poor in some respects. I've noticed this with some other Pen & Sword titles; clumsy prose littered with errors, and the general air of a distinct lack of editorial finesse.

One of my favourite U.S. Shermans in action pics not featured in this book.

This was the sort of thing I was after: Shermans in U.S. service in Europe, WWII

The pictures included herein cover North Africa, Europe, and the Far East. Some of Hobart's Funnies are covered, but mostly it's your ordinary tanks, as opposed to the many variants. I paid £5 each for two 'Images of War' titles. And at that price, I'm happy. 

The text only merits two stars, whilst the pics warrant five. In the end I've opted for three and a half balkenkreuz, which seems apt/fair to me, as - despite the issues with the text - I do like the book overall, and it is a handy reference resource.

Canadian Shermans, deployed during the Korean War.

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NOTES:

* Images that appear in both this review and the book under review are marked with an asterisk.

[1] Tow-bars being fitted to a British Sherman about to be towed by a Grant ARV.

A Russian lend-lease Sherman.

It's a pity there's nothing on Sherman's in Russian service, or when captured by the Germans or their allies. Of course there's plenty of stuff to be found on the web, as the pics above and below illustrate.

Herman... a German Sherman.

Film Review: Fury, 2014

I just finished watching this. For the - I think? - fourth time. Each time I watch it, I like it a bit more. The first time I watched it, I just thought the 'macho pose' factor, and the final scene - gunfight on the Sherman corral - were just too much. More on this particular episode later.

In the picture above the cast/crew of Fury are, l-r: Jon Bernthal, Michael Pena, Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman (behind Pitt), and Shia LaBeouf, as, respectively: Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis, Trini "Gordo" Garcia, Don "Wardaddy" Collier, Norman "Machine" Ellison and Boyd "Bible" Swan.

However, with each new viewing I think it's a better film. The ending is a bit, er... no, make that very OTT. But I've gone from finding it merely ridiculous, to enjoying it for what it is, cinematic overstatement. And the characterisation? Well, the macho factor is hard to acclimatise to, and the Hollywood tradition of using 'good ol' Southern boy' accents as a shorthand for gritty authenticity, still irks me. Just less so. [1]

What makes the film better with each viewing are, for one thing, the abundance of little details. It's taken a long time. But these days it's much more usual for WWII movies to depict not just weapons and equipment more accurately, but also combat environments generally, and all the stuff that goes with them; bombed-out towns, refugees caught in the crossfire, behind the lines scenes, etc.

Director Ayers and Pitt, in a muddy camp scene.

And despite the über machismo caveat, the cast in this film are actually pretty good, giving good performances. Watching the extras on the DVD one realises that meeting real WWII veterans, and going to movie 'bootcamp', with genuine military guys on hand to train them, all had salutary and useful effects on the actors. And I think these things help make Fury better than it might, at first glance, appear to be.

Initially I thought some of the actors rather wooden.

On first veiwing I thought it was a pretty dumb film, frankly. Populated by wooden caricatures. But there's a degree of sad truth in the way men gravitate towards defined roles under duress. So the characterisation might not be as two-dimensional as I originally thought. Certainly the mixture of brutality and camaraderie, or the good and bad sides of humanity, as brought out by warfare, aren't easy or comfortable viewing. But in that respect, this film depicts war honestly and authentically.

Two major themes that resonate most compellingly within the film are: the struggle between the degrading animalistic violence of war, and our more civilised compassionate side; and the family like bonds that develop under such extremes of duress. Don 'Wardaddy' Collier is, both literally and metaphorically, the father figure in the tank (and the tank is the family home!). He dishes out tough love, but he earns the respect and loyalty of his crew.

'Wardaddy' in one of his several father figure roles, helping 'Machine' pop his cherry.

'Wardaddy' as bad dad, making Norm' pop a cap in a defenceless Kraut's ass.

In his role as father figure, 'Wardaddy' helps Norman 'Machine' Ellison both gain experience and lose his innocence, in two notable and significant ways: scoring with a pretty German girl, and killing a German POW. Both scenes are really quite troubling, in their own different ways. Some have said they find the interlude with the female German civilians improbable. Well, I dunno... my reading of war diaries (and histories), from conflicts in all eras suggests that fraternisation, all the way to intimacy - both consensual and otherwise - is very normal.

Whilst the moral issues in the film are certainly very complex, even if initially they appear to be handled rather too simplistically, there are technical aspects that military buffs such as us model-makers and wargamers are bound to love. Shot largely in England, they used Bovington's Tiger 131 for the deadly encounter with that famed German tank. How many films are spoiled because of inaccurate matériel? It's clear that Ayers and co really wanted authenticity, probably in all aspects, but certainly in terms of gear. And that really helps the movie.

Bovington's Tiger, 131, is magnificent.

Whilst Ayers tried to avoid CGI, he did use it for tracer round effects

A very moody production shot; location, Oxfordshire!

Shermans, also supplied by Bovington, in action.

Fury takes a hit. Fortunately not fatal.

The final shoot-out with 'Jerry' is brought about when Fury rolls over a mine and loses wheels/track. Their platoon, reduced to just one vehicle from four, after the encounter with the Tiger, is supposed to hold a cross-roads/sector. Given the suicidal circumstances, the seasoned crew want to get out. Jaded old 'Wardaddy' - with shades of a deathwish - wants to stay. Young 'Machine' decides to remain with him, after which the old crew are shamed into staying also.

The claustrophobia of conditions within the tank is superbly conveyed

'Gordo' drives whilst viewing the outside world through a tiny periscope vision slot.

The commander in his turret; looks quite roomy compared to the other crew areas.

Whilst this segment of the film is, well, speaking candidly, fun, from a shoot 'em up point of view, it's both rather silly, and - partially in consequence of the former fact - morally troubling. It really reminds me of the old Westerns, with the cowboys wasting hordes of faceless Indians. And the double standard in terms of the value of life, between 'goodies' and 'baddies', is only enhanced by the alternation between the constant noise and combat as Germans are massacred, and the moments of solemn silence whenever one of 'our boys' cops it. Whilst this is undoubtedly televisually very powerful, it's also a dramatic conceit that's both morally dubious, and highly unrealistic.

The ending owes much to this sort of thing.

And don't just take my word for this: Bill Betts, a British Sherman tank veteran, admires certain scenes in Fury, such as the Tiger pasting the Shermans [3]. But here's what he said about the end: 'I thought the film showed accurately how tough life could be in a tank, but the final scene where the crew hold out against a battalion of Waffen SS troops was too far fetched. The Germans seemed to be used as canon fodder. In reality they would have been battle-hardened and fanatical troops who would have easily taken out an immobile Sherman tank using Panzerfausts.'

The German cannon fodder, arriving at the crossroads.

This film does have its faults. But, where I would've given it three out of five stars/balkenkreuz after my first viewing, and four after viewings two/three, now, on the fourth time around, I have to confess I love it. And so, to reflect that, whilst my heart wants to give it five, I'll settle for four and a half: I do love it, but it's certainly not perfect. Indeed, it's fairly flawed, in some respects. But I love it nonetheless!

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NOTES:

Lafayette Green Pool, the original 'Wardaddy'!

[1] Having said this, I learned, during my online research for this review, that the nickname 'Wardaddy' was in fact the real nickname of a U.S. tank commander. And the 'real' Wardaddy, one  Lafayette G. Pool, was indeed a Texan (he even allegedly wore cowboy boots in preference to army issue boots!).

[2] Here's a short movie about Tiger 131's involvement in the filming of Fury.

[3] Betts also recalled, in relation to the scene showing the execution of a german POW, disarming a 55 year old member of the Volksturm, only to learn later that he was shot. Read the full article here.

1/72 Armourfast Shermans

Armourfast themselves sell these kits for £7.50 per box; I recently acquired four of their several different Sherman variants at Euro Miniature Expo, for £6.75 each. Considering you get two tanks per box I think that's pretty good value, in terms of cost per tank.

However, these are most definitely wargaming models; Dragon or Trumpeter they ain't. If you're buying tanks for a wargaming army, as indeed I am, the fact they're cheap, simple to build, and - due to their simplicity and lack of fine detail - robust enough to withstand frequent handling, are all potential pluses.

Simple kits = easy/quick build.

Assembly line in production!

'Finescale' modellers, looking for display-case suitable single vehicles should look elsewhere. For myself, I don't mind - in fact I quite enjoy - the detailing and/or conversion of my models. Fabricating my own detailing for these Armourfast Shermans has been a fun project. 

I started by adding all the 'eyelet' type rings; I think these are for lifting the tanks during transportation, but possibly also they're for mounting cables/stowage, etc. After that I made the 'wire-frame' style doodads that I suppose are for covering/protecting the headlamps. This was harder, and more time consuming. I'm currently pondering how I might add track-tread detail, to the visible fore and aft portions of the tracks.

Wire eyelets added.

At the rear of the turrets I opted to use styrene for the final eyelets.

The models not only lack detail, but come without decals. Armourfast sell some suitable stuff by Black Lion via their website. They also stock/sell numerous add-ons, such as stowage and the like, for detailing their tanks. The extra costs in these areas, plus the time you might choose to spend working on these very basic kits to enhance them, make them more costly in real terms than the box price might suggest. But they'll still come in cheaper per tank than the more high end models.

Headlamp protection, attempts #1 and #2: left, too big/thick; right, too fiddly to mass-produce.

Left, nigh on invisible, right, too big!

Attempt #3, using plastic-card. Much better.

I also recently purchased a box of Plastic Soldier Co. Shermans. These come three to the box (this said, my box - bought at local charity shop for £5 - only had two!), and are slightly more detailed, with more pieces to assemble: of particular note, the Armourfast running gear (wheels and tracks) are one piece castings, lacking tread detail (which can be a nice aspect of the various Sherman types), whereas PSC are three piece, with much better detailed track. But, in the end, the PSC kits end up costing the same per tank, roughly, as Armourfast models.

Tow-cable eyelets added to all six U.S. Shermans [1].

Scrtach-building a pair of sirens.

The sirens in situ.

Rear lamps were also added.

The M4A2 75mm variants got several tools added at rear.

The M4A3 105mm (centre) have less rear detail; M4A3 75mm (right) sport large stowage bins.

So, if you're looking to build quick/cheap larger forces, Armourfast are, economically, a wise choice. If you find the fun of kit building resides in off-the-shelf hyper detail, buy a different brand. If you like detailing stuff yourself, as I do, then the limitations of these models present an interesting challenge. All told, balancing the lack of detail against value per model, I'd rate these at four stars/balkankreuz.

Halfords matt grey undercoat.

Viewed from the rear.

Humbrol acrylic olive Drab aerosol sprayed on.

And from behind...

So, that's how they look at present. The losing of my Images of War reference - I bought a book dedicated to pictures of Shermans in WWII at the recent Expo, specifically to help me detail these kits - is very galling. I'll return to these at some point soon, to add more stowage, populate them with some figures, add decals, and then, finally, weather them, etc.

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NOTES:

[1] I've built the Armourfast Sherman Firefly variant, a British type, but they're not covered in this post.

(Not Quite!?) Euro-Militaire, 2017

Another wonderful sunny model-fest by the sea.

My pal Paul introduced me to Euro-Miliatire in 2016, which turned out to be its final year under the that name. Now it's the Euro Miniature Expo! There were some wonderful models on show. My interest in German WWII stuff guided me in my photography, as usual.

The biggest and most noticeable difference, to me at least, was the lesser no. of exhibiting models/modellers, with almost half the lower floor display area empty. Paul tells me the show has been shrinking over the years anyway. Apparently there was a time it spilled out of the venue and into the surrounding street!

Traders wise, however, it seemed pretty much the same as 2016. At least as far as I could discern.

I doubt I'll go again, to be honest. It was enjoyable ebough. But I overspent (as usual!).  My reason is that, in truth, it's not exactly geared to my particular tastes/requirements. As a (sort of/theoretical) wargamer I need more 1/72 land warfare stuff. And more generally, I just prefer shows that cater more to my other collecting interests, i.e. more book stalls!

A terrific diorama.

Love the weathering and the interior detailing!

Anyhoo, I bought four boxes of different Armourfast 1/72 Shermans, two Images of War titles (one on Shermans, for ref with those imminent Armourfast builds), a 1/72 Italeri Gotha transport (mit bonus Kunelwagen!), unt ein großes Buch an der Ostfront: Als Sanitätsoffizier im Rußlandfeldzug.

This book, whilst not cheap, is an amazing resource.

Paul, unlike me, went for the larger scale single figure things that's more at the heart of this show, buying a bunch of nicely sculpted white metal knights. All one-piece castings. Below are some of the amazing figures that were on show. Once again I've concentrated on German WWII stuff, which remains one of the more perennially popular categories with other modellers, it seems. Fine by me!

There were of course loads of models belonging to other categories, many of which were simply superb. So here are a few that I really liked, despite them falling outside the remit of my normal interests. The Fiat and Bentley below are amazing, and the weathering on the tractor below is terrific.