Modeling the Sherman Tank in 1/72nd Scale
 
Sherman Turrets

The Sherman tank mounted one of three different turret designs:

  • the standard M4 turret, which was designed to house a 75mm cannon, but later modified to mount a 105mm howitzer or the British 17 pdr cannon,
  • the T23 turret, which mounted a 76mm cannon, or
  • the M4A3E2 "Jumbo" turret, which was essentially a T23 turret with a massive amount of additional armor incorporated into the turret casting.

(The T23 was a prototype medium tank that was ultimately not accepted for service, but its turret proved to be a practical solution for up-gunning the M4 Sherman. That's why the 76mm turret is often referred to as the T23 turret.)

Turrets for small scale Sherman models can be obtained three ways: 1) in a complete kit (plastic or resin), 2) as part of a resin conversion set for a specific Sherman variant that includes a new hull, turret, and other parts, or 3) as a stand-alone resin conversion piece that may be used on several different Sherman variants. The Kit Lists show complete kits and resin conversion sets for specific Sherman variants, so this present page was set up to list the turret conversions that are sold as "turret-only" sets irrespective of specific Sherman variants.

Links are provided in each section of this page taking the viewer to review pages for each turret type to compare and contrast all available turrets of that type, including those listed below as well as turrets from various plastic and resin kits and conversions.

75mm M4 Turret
Since the original ESCI M4A1 and M4A3 Sherman kits had pretty decent turrets, there really aren't too many replacement 75mm turrets out there. Additionally, the new plastic kits by Extratech, Trumpeter, Dragon, etc. have very nice 75mm turrets, so we are unlikely to see new turrets being marketed separately any time soon.
Name Manufacturer Number Medium Rating Comments Links
75mm M4 Turret (early) HQ72   Resin ? Upgraded ESCI turret with cast surface texture. Preview
75mm M4 Turret early low-bustle Iron Division   Resin ***** Modified Dragon turret. Preview
75mm M4 Turret (mid) HQ72   Resin ? Upgraded ESCI turret with cast surface texture. Preview
75mm M4 Turret mid low-bustle Friendship Models WVC72011 Resin ***** Modified Dragon turret. Preview
75mm M4 Turret mid low-bustle Iron Division   Resin ***** Modified Dragon turret. Preview
75mm M4 Turret (late) HQ72   Resin ? Upgraded ESCI turret with cast surface texture. Preview
M4 Turret w/Whiz Bang Rockets Leva   Resin ***    
Go to the 75mm M4 Turret Comparison and Review Page.
105mm M4 Turret
The 105mm-armed turret came in two basic varieties: with and without a commander's cupola. The commander's cupola was mounted on later versions of the turret. I believe that both turret styles could be seen on both the M4 and M4A3.
Name Manufacturer Medium Rating Comments Links
105mm Turret Al.By Resin **** Turret is hollow-cast, with open hatches. Preview
105mm Turret Ca.Ma. Resin      
105mm Turret [D-Day] Leva Resin ***    
Go to the 105mm M4 Turret Comparison and Review Page.
17pdr Firefly Turret
There aren't many Firefly turrets sold separately, because until recently there were no appropriate hulls onto which we could mount these.
Name Manufacturer Medium Rating Comments Links
Firefly Turret Al.By Resin **** Turret is hollow-cast, with open hatches.  
Firefly Turret Leva Resin ***    
Firefly Turret w/Late Cupola Leva Resin ***    
Firefly Turret w/Mk.II Cupola Modell Trans Resin ****   Preview
Go to the 17pdr Firefly Turret Comparison and Review Page.
76mm T23 Turret
Since there were no decent plastic Sherman kits with 76mm T23 turrets until recently, there are many more aftermarket T23 turrets available than the M4 turrets. The turrets listed below are available as turret-only conversion kits, but there are many more full conversion sets available with the T23 turret.
Name Manufacturer Medium Rating Comments Links
76mm T23 Turret Al.By Resin *** Turret is hollow-cast, with open hatches. Converted from Hasegawa turret. Preview
76mm T23 Turret (early) ARMO Resin **** Early version with split loader's hatch. Comes with metal gun barrel and etched brass details.  
76mm T23 Turret (late) ARMO Resin **** Late version with oval loader's hatch. Comes with metal gun barrel and etched brass details. Preview
76mm T23 Turret Ca.Ma. Resin      
76mm T23 Turret HQ72 Resin ***   Preview
76mm T23 Turret Leva Resin **   Preview
Go to the 76mm T23 Turret Comparison and Review Page.
M4A3E2 "Jumbo" Turret
The "Jumbo" Sherman was a project to uparmor the 75mm-armed Shermans for the assault role. As manufacturered, they mounted the 75mm cannon, even though the turret was basically a modified T23, but many vehicles were retro-actively up-gunned in field workshops with a 76mm cannon.
Name Manufacturer Number Medium Rating Comments Links
M4A3E2 Jumbo Turret Ca.Ma.   Resin      
M4A3E2 Jumbo Turret Friendship Models WVC72082 Resin   Conversion set for Italeri. Also sold as part of Jumbo Conversion set (WVC72050). Review
Go to the M4A3E2 Jumbo Turret Comparison and Review Page.
 

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Modeling the Sherman Tank in 1/72nd Scale