LOL That would be great Chas, except for one thing. The word is from some Japanese posters on other sites that he's not really Japanese. So who knows where the clown is really from. I have a couple of guesses, but that's all they are. Cheers, Mike[/quote] So who is hiroshi the vile blogger? well he is not japanese thats obvious, just study the way he writes and his sentances, with a little bit of detective work you can actually nail it down to a couple of people who visit the main forums , here, ml, tlink etc, he is actually among us modellers believe it or not. Of course i wont name names, but if you have access to mdfc (i dont anymore) then check out all the bloggers there, check the writing styles do some detective work and you can see for yourself who this blogger is, Cheers Bob.

Well, the M4 Series of vehicles still remains a popular subject amongst modelers despite its technical failings. I'm afraid you're falling into one of the great myths here, German equipment (in many cases) was in design terms very sophisticated but, in reality, many vehicles were impressively unreliable mechanically. Again, it wasn't simply a question of Tank vs. Tank, the Allied forces were able to enjoy numerical superiority along with better logistics, complete Air-Superiority and it has to be said (another myth) quality of individual infantrymen. By War's end Germany was using anyone who could stand up and hold a rifle - although there were problems initially in areas like Tunisia and Italy, the Allied forces learned very much quicker than their German counterparts. If you start looking at the late-war M4s you begin to see very different vehicles from what first came off the production line. In the final analysis it was all about how they were used (en masse) - not about individual vehicles...

I really,really like the italian soldiers.

Hello Jim, Has the DML Sherman II "El Alamein" kit been released yet? I can't seem to locate it anywhere. Thank you, Paul.

Nope, no sign of it at all. It must still be somewhere in DML's system...

Jim, I bet you know why I am asking..... eh? Thanks, Paul.

I honestly don't. If you can't say on open forum , them PM me, i'd be DELIGHTED to hear!

I was referring to the Lion Marc M4A1 DV hull that is coming out, I thought it was a secret. I am tired of waiting for the DML kit so I'll get the Lion Marc one.

Unfortunatly, the Sherman is most often compared to the Tiger and Panther. On paper they are both superior. The major tanks of Germany were actually the Pz III and Pz IV. The Sherman was, in terms of firepower and armor, superior to the Pz III the entire war. The Sherman and Pz IV kept pace with each other throughout the war; one would get a better gun, the other would get better armor, so the first would get better armor leading the scond to get a better gun blah blah blah.... (Whoa, better be careful here. This could start a whole new "Chipping Mythical"- type thread.)