Accessory, Bison Decals BD-72018, British Sherman Mk.III in North Africa

BISON DECALS


BD-72018, British Sherman Mk.III in North Africa. 1/72nd-scale water-slide decals with instructions.





The first use of the Sherman in combat was by the British in North Africa, in the autumn of 1942. Different sub-types were deployed, including the diesel-powered M4A2, which the British called the Sherman III. This new sheet from Bison will allow the modeler to mark as many as seven different Sherman IIIs used during the time of El Alamein, and after, including:

Sherman III, 'Bacchus', 41st RTR, 24th Armoured Brigade, October 1942.
Sherman III, 'Dover', HQ 24th Armoured Brigade, October 1942.
Sherman III, 'Cocky', 41st RTR, 24th Armoured Brigade, October 1942.
Sherman III, 'Cocky', Royal Scots Greys, 4th Light Armoured Brigade, December 1942.
Sherman III, 'Benghazi', 41st RTR, 24th Armoured Brigade, October 1942.
Sherman III, The Queen's Bays, 2nd Armoured Brigade, April 1943.
Sherman III, 'Furious II', The Queen's Bays, 2nd Armoured Brigade, early 1943.
Sherman III, 2nd Lothians and Border Horse, 26th Armoured Brigade, May 1943.


The markings are typically British and therefore have some color and variety. Included are the usual AoS signs, tactical signs or numbers, divisional signs and RAF-style roundels. The best parts of this sheet are the large names seen on the tail plates of Mk.IIIs of the 24th Armoured Brigade. One of them, Cocky, is featured twice due to some interesting changes in its markings; this is certainly a fine idea. Some tanks are in an overall Light Stone color, while others have the Blue-Black disruptive pattern, sometimes with white counter-shading.


The instructions are nicely laid out as half-tone drawings; they often feature more than one full view, as well as some scrap views. Features seen on specific tanks are depicted; in particular, track types. Camouflage patterns are also shown, and references are listed. The modeler is also directed to Bisons web-site, where full-color instructions can be down-loaded and printed, as needed. Finally, a map is included that shows the designs as they appear on the sheet, with their superimposed alpha-numeric identifiers. These correspond to the call-outs for each tank in the instructions. This is quite handy and takes much of the guess-work out of the process.


The designs are printed by Begemot, Bisons usual supplier. The quality is excellent, with good color saturation, proper registration and crisply-detailed edges. The carrier film is matte and cut close to the edges of the designs. For many of the smaller designs, two layers of decals must be applied by the modeler; this feature greatly reduces any worry that mis-registration in the printing will ruin this sheets utility for modelers.


Those modelers who have one or more of the DML M4A2 kits in the pile, should give this fine offering some serious consideration.


Highly recommended.


Frank V. De Sisto


Bison products are available at retail and mail order shops. For more information, visit: www.angelfire.com/pro/bison.


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