M4 (105) Sherman Howitzer
HQ-16, 15th Tank Battalion, 6th Armored Division

In WW2, US Armored Battalions were equipped with six howitzers for direct support of the battalion. As the war progressed, these evolved from 75mm pack howitzers mounted in halftracks (T30 75mm HMC) to 105mm howitzers in halftracks (T19 105mm HMC) to M7 Priests to the M4 (105). The M4 (105) greatly reduced the maintenance burden by virtue of its shared automotives with the other Shermans in the battalion. The downside of it being a Sherman in a tank battalion, is that folks wanted to use it as a tank instead of its intended role as indirect fire support. There are a couple of excellent photos of M4 (105)s from the 15th Tank Battalion of the 6th Armored Division during the Battle of the Bulge. I decided to model one of those vehicles.

This was my oldest shelf queen. It built pretty quickly; but, bogged down with the finish. I decided to use the kit DS tracks. I used the Aber metal barrel, and the new MJ Miniatures light and periscope guards. These are MUCH better and faster than PE and will be used on all future Sherman/Lee builds. I used stowage from a couple different Value Gear sets. I added straps made from lead foil to the musette bags and ammo pouches on the turret.

This was my first use of AK Real Colors. I didn't have them thinned properly and had too much air resulting in a rough surface on the base coat. So, it sat on the shelf for a while. This rough surface made decaling a real challenge when I picked it up again. The Star decals are excellent, but It took MANY coats of various decal potions and lots of picking tiny bubbles to finally get them looking good on my rough finish. This was to be my first attempt at a winter camo scheme. So, it sat on the shelf again for a few months. After doing some tests of various products and techniques for achieving the winter camo scheme it was ready to move off the shelf and back to the bench. I went with the hairspray technique and good old Tamiya XF-2 White for the camo. It scrubbed up nicely and gave me the worn affect that I was looking for. I weathered the beast with AK's enamel products and Winsor & Newton oils.

Overall, I am happy with the way it turned out and glad to have it in the display case instead of the shelf of doom.