Tasca 1/35 Sherman Antenna and Periscope Guards

[nmayhew]

1/35 Sherman Antenna and Periscope Guards
Accessories from Adler's Nest and Schumo Kits

 

 

Introduction

Just in from Tasca I have three upgrade sets for the Sherman in 1/35. The first two are from Adler's Nest, whilst the third is a brand which is new to me – Schumo Kits.

 

 

Sherman Five Piece Command Antenna
By Adler's Nest
#ANM-35034

The Sherman radio antennas were made up of sections, each one three feet long with threaded connectors at each end, all except the last one. Most tanks has three sections screwed together, whereas command tanks could have five of these sections, making for an aerial some 15 feet long.

 

Each section had a numbered designation – "MS-xx", and the connections were colour coded, with the connections of the same colour being joined together.

 

 

This set from Adler's Nest enables you to model pretty much whatever configuration you want. Inside its protective tube, I found the five sections which are machined so that they can slot together, pretty much like the real thing.

 

 

The parts are tiny, as you might expect, but on close inspection you can see the hollowed out end sections.

 

 

Test fitting showed that these have been machined to very tight tolerances – either an extremely keen eye or a little fiddling around will tell you which aerial goes where in the sequence. For those interested in painting instructions, a full description can be found here.

 

 

 

 

This antenna set is specifically designed to be used with the base, below.

Sherman Flexible Antenna Base
By Adler's Nest
#ANM-35033

 

 

This accessory set represents the MP-48 flexible antenna base. It is designed to be used with the aerial set above, but can also be used as a standalone upgrade on your kit if desired.

 

 

It comprises turned brass parts at either end, a metal spring fitting between the two, and a piece of what I presume to be lead wire. With the wire inserted inside the spring, you can bend the aerial base to whatever angle desired, and it will stay in place. Simple, but quite ingenious I think.

 

 

 

When compared to the Tasca kit part – which I think is quite good in its own right – the Adler's Nest base looks in a different class. I found I needed to widen the hole in the top of the Tasca turret by a fraction for the base to fit in, but once mounted, it should look superb.

 

 

 

My only complaint about this set is that it should really come in the same type of tube that the antenna are supplied in – the spring and wire are quite delicate, and I'm not sure a small plastic bag is really enough.

 

 

 

Sherman Periscope Guards
By Schumo Kits
#3500-10

 

The set comprises five periscope guards which are suitable for the M4 Sherman, M5 Stuart, M26 Pershing series of tanks. Note that not all Shermans used these, so check your references.

 

 

The guards are made from white metal and are an alternative to the photo-etch guards often supplied in kits

 

 

The photo-etch guards as supplied by Tasca

 

The Schumo parts certainly have a more three dimensional look – the real things are quite chunky. However, I am still undecided on whether I would be better off giving PE guards a heavy coat of Mr Surfacer 500, or to go with the Schumo option. The casting in white metal is not that sharp, and I will probably have to clean up one or two of the guards in my set.

 

 

Here is one of the guards on a Tacsa turret so you can judge for yourself.

 

 

 

Packaging is an issue: they come in a plastic bag and really need a small box or tube of some sort. Given Schumo products are quite hard to get hold of, it would be a shame to have these damaged in transit.

 

Conclusion

 

Five Piece Command Antenna & Antenna Base

Nothing more to say apart from top quality, great engineering, and a real difference maker.

Highly recommended

 

Periscope Guards

The more I look at them, the more I think I like them, but the casting is not as crisp as it could be. Still probably more realistic than photo-etch.

Worth consideration

 

With thanks to the team at Tasca for the review sample. The products reviewed here are available at Tasca's online shop.