Yes, Hobby Boss did get the engine deck on the M4A3E8 down to the correct width. However, since they did not correct the misplaced hull side angles, the only way they could fix the engine deck was to reduce the angles of the upper rear side armor plates further, and they were far too shallow to begin with. As I said, the majority of people build these kits OOB and are perfectly happy. Obviously, if you build an Easy Eight with the sandbags on the hull, you'll never see most of the hull errors. Stowage is your friend. If only Hobby Boss had gotten the Sherman hulls correct, all the other smaller errors would have been acceptable.
For folks like me, with AMS, we just can't leave the things alone, so resin is our friend. I supplied Bob with the data on the Hobby Boss hull problems, and he cut up the HB hull and rebuilt it, a VERY tough thing to do. I have the masters and they are excellent. When you start chopping or adding to hulls and turrets to correct them, it can be a lot of work. That's why many people buy the resin correction parts, especially if you are going to be using several of a particular piece.
The Bandai small turrets (75mm and 105mm) have good basic shapes, but they are not well detailed compared to the HB turrets, and they have an inaccurate front end that must be fixed, as it is quite visible. The HB turrets have their issues too, but at least the turret front and mantlet mount are OK. The Hobby Boss stuff is maddening: they got so many fine details right, but got the basic shapes wrong. On the other hand, the Bandai 105mm turret is excellent except for the misshapen front, and that can be fixed. But, the ID and Faxon 105 turrets are even better, so that's a choice too.
I am beginning to think a new article on the Tamiya, Bandai, and Hobby Boss Sherman kits may be the only way to show folks what's wrong and how to fix it IF you want to. Frankly, since the ID and Faxon resin hulls are so cheap, the easy thing is simply to replace the hulls. The M4A1 hull can be corrected pretty easily if you do not mind some filling and putty work. It has many good features, including a correct rear end. We'll see what the demand is; it wil be a bit of work, and the Bandai kits are getting rarer.....