M-51 Isherman by William Marshall  (Fujimi/Nitto 1/76) (2024)

M51Isherman

in1/76 Scale

byWilliam Marshall

Background

I have always liked the M51 Isherman used by the Israeli's during the late1960s and 1970s.

Shep Paine's book, " How to build Dioramas" has a sexy diorama of aM51 on a tank transporter. The diorama was called "The Road toDamascus". The M51 is on a tank transporter combined into a diorama with aT62 and U.N. Land Rover. The scene is of the transporter trying to negotiate anarrow street in an Arab village. I think this diorama was my main motivator inbuilding this vehicle.

The M50 and M51

There were three principle vehicle variants of home-grown Israeli Shermans.The first was the M50 equipped with the French SA50, high velocity, 75mm, 62calibre gun. This vehicle was quite capable of dealing with the T34/85 tank.(The difference between the M50 and M51 is in the turret and main gun).

Out of this early-modified M50 Sherman the M51 Isherman tank was born.

The Israeli's developed it in the late 50's and early 60's. Several models ofthe basic Sherman tank were used, and several different main guns being testedwith the idea of finding a combination to counter the modern Russian tanks thatwere being acquired by her neighbours.

The end result was the French CN 105F-1, 105mm gun mounted in a Type 23turret. This gun fired the "OCC" non-rotating shaped charge at amuzzle velocity of 1000 metres per second and capable of penetrating 300mm ofarmour at normal combat ranges. Recoil was unacceptable but reducing the lengthof the original barrel from 56 to 51 calibre's, fitting a large double baffledmuzzle brake and redesigning the ammunition solved the problem.

The turret was modified with a larger rear overhang, which included therelocated radio equipment and the ventilator. Ammunition stowage was relocatedwithin the vehicle. The battery charger was too bulky and was replaced by anexternal armoured dynamo.

The vehicle was also fitted with a new V8, 460hp Cummins diesel engine. Thetype 80, 23" tracks was also used. An improved steering mechanism andtransmission was also added. This made it the fastest tank in the IDF.

Externally, the .50 Browning was moved from the rear of the turret to thefront centre between the gunner and commanders hatch. (This I did not do on mymodel and I will have to make a small modification) Two smoke grenade launcherswere added to either side of the turret. The hull was fitted with some sparebogie wheels, jerry cans and stowage bins. This pushed the weight of the tank upto 39 tons.

The new tank first appeared successfully during the conflict in the Sinai,the West Bank and the Golan Hights during the 1967 "Six Day War".

In the early 1970's the M51 was again modified, the spare track link wasmoved from the front side hull position to the front right turret, in front ofthe smoke grenade launchers and an extra stowage bin added in the place of thetrack link.

Building the M51 Isherman in 1/76 Scale

Building this vehicle in 1/76 scale posed some major problems.

At the time of construction several years ago, there was no kit available andI am not aware of one being available today in small scale. One can clearly seethat this vehicle makes use of the "Easy Eight" suspension and arounded cast-type hull. It has a unique turret (Type 23) with the massive Frenchgun.

Once the "what" was sorted out I could start on the"how". I started by using two kits:

1. Fujimi : U.S. M4 Sherman (the M4A3 105mm Howitzer kit)

2. Nitto : M4A1 Sherman Kit No 13 (this kit has interior detail and a Jeep included)

The Fujimi kit was to supply the lower hull of the "Easy Eight"suspension; and the Nitto kit, the cast upper hull and turret interior.

The Lower Hull

The Fujimi kit supplied these parts. The basic vehicle construction beganwith Step 1 of the kit instructions.

The kit was built from the box with a modification to part 48 (rear hullbulkhead). It had to be cut into a square to accommodate the Nitto cast hull.Part no 3, the sand skits had to be trimmed to represent the type used on theM51. Three of the vertical sand skirt supports had to be removed as the M51 onlyhad eight, the Fujimi kit supplied eleven.

The Upper Hull

This was a surprise. The hull was a near perfect match and a great fit - whatluck! I added the hull details, kit parts no 7/8 rear engine hull access hatch,rear lights no 9/10, front hull crew access hatches parts no 26/27, front lightsparts no 16 and 17.

Turret Exterior

I made use of the Fujimi turret and added a counter weight to the rear of theturret. I had to make carve this out of epoxy putty and sand to shape.Fuse wire was used to make the rail on the rear of the counter weight. Parts35,32,36 and 36 were omitted due to the fitting of the counter weight.

The large searchlight was made from an old tank wheel covered with tissuepaper soaked in white glue. Small details were added to the search light such asthe cables, switches and the mounting bracket.

Main Armament

This key feature of this vehicle was mainly constructed of plastic tube. TheFujimi gun (parts 21,20 and 54) was relegated to the spares box. Thescratchbuilt gun was then inserted into the gun mantle, part 52. Epoxy putty wasagain used to make the mantle cover. The main feature of the gun is the muzzlebrake; it was constructed from plastic card and strip. This took severalevenings, as the details are small and need first to dry during various stagesof the construction.

Turret Interior

I needed to have some gun interior detail and decide to make use of the Nittogun details as the turret hatches would be open and one would be able to seesome interior details. Kit parts 15,21, 22,36 and 37 were constructed and addedto the rear inside of the gun mantlet.

Additional Details

I added some other details not included in either of the kits. Theseincluded:

1. Smoke discharges to the hull sides, made from aluminium tube.

2. Various antenna to be added to the turret, from stretched sprue.

3. The hull side stowage boxes were constructed from plastic card and latches added from lead foil.

4. Spare wheels, leftovers of the two kits were added.

5. Jerry cans are from the spares box.

6. The Fujimi Browning 12,7mm MG was added to the turret.

Tracks

The Fujimi tracks were painted in a combination of Matt Black and Grey; thendrybrushed with silver and given a wash of Raw Umber artists oils.

Painting, Markings and Weathering

The model was painted in the characteristic colour of Israeli Grey. This wassourced from the Xtra Color paint range no X810 "Israeli Tank SandGrey". A good representation can also be obtained by mixing Humbrolcolours. The colours to use are; two parts of Matt HM8 (Khaki drill) with onepart of HM1 (Sand Yellow) and one part of Matt White.

White tactical markings were airbrushed on after cutting a template fromFrisket. This can be in the form of a large white chevron pointing forward,rearward, up or down.

Some tanks had up to four white rings around the gun barrel (not on mymodel). Israeli type numberplates can also be added to the front and rear of thevehicle.

Callsigns were usually painted on large canvas sheets and attached to theturret, this I omitted so as not to obscure any detail of the turret.

The model was then shaded with matt Black and again given a light mist of theGrey paint. Drybrushing then followed with a combination of Light Grey andSilver to highlight the details. A light wash of Raw Umber was added. Theinterior of the tank was painted off-white. Finally, a light coat of Mattvarnish completed the painting of the model.

Conclusion

I now have a unique model of the Israeli M51, with its massive main gun. Themodel has attracted quite a lot of comment from members of the public, fellowmodellers and friends. I also have quite a major addition to the spares box withall the unused kit parts form the Nitto kit. This will come in handy duringother construction projects.

Now for the earlier M50 or perhaps the tank transporter?

References

[1] Hogg Ian V, Israeli War Machine, Hamlyn, 1983.

[2] Crow D and Icks R.J, Encyclopaedia of Tanks, Barrie & Jenkins Ltd,1975.

[3] Military Modelling, Issue: July 1984 : Argus SpecialistPublications.

[4] Born In Battle Magazine, Issue No 4: Israel's Armor in Action,Eshel-Dramit Ltd, 1978.

[5] Paine S, Modelling Tanks and Military Vehicles, Kalmbach Books,1982.

[6] Paine S, How to build Dioramas, Kalmbach Books, 1982.

[7] Born In Battle Magazine, Issue No13: Sherman M50/51, Eshel-Dramit Ltd,1978.

Model, Images and Article Copyright© 2000 by William Marshall
except images where attributed - used with the kind permission of the IDF
Page Created 01 February 2000
Last updated 26 July 2007

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