M4A3E8 Sandbag Armor Fix | Desert Armor Korps

Easy Eight with an improvised bunker on road wheels!

IN the face of deadly anti-tank weapons advancing Allied units tried many applique armor options. Aside from additional armor plate over weak spots, spare steel track as standoff armor, or the dual puprose logs there was the readily available sandbag option. The 14th Armored Division took that up a notch by building a frame on late model M4s to hold the sandbags in place over the hull and turret. Easily noticable it is an option I have wanted to do for a while! One funny anecdote is General Patton hated this option as it overloaded the suspension a bit and in his opinion showed a lack of confidence in their vehicles. Crews were more concerned for their a**es.

Kitbash time! I sourced a surplus HVSS Tamiya hull for the project to start the initial modifications for an Easy Eight.

Insert one Heng Long VVSS M4A3 upper hull to scavenge the GAA engine deck.

I cut out the deck with a razor saw to merge with the Tamiya upper hull with the track guards in place.

In between stages. I also scavenge the HL Turret rings.

Brass used to fabricate the sandbag frames.

Two and a half boxes a a side and the last for the front...

6 boxes total... it has added a bit of weight....

Thread to cut out hatch for power switch.

Light coats as there would be more color coats to follow.

Tamiya Dark Earth and then Dark Yellow 2 added to lighten bags up.

Racks painted various rusty colors to be the base for later efforts.

Different Tamiya colors used to make bags different shades.

More individual colors chosen and a wash done between the bags with brown acrylic.

Kept the pattern going and began dry-bushing with Tamiya Buff.

Took it outside in the sunlight for mid course evaluation.

I decided to add the black camouflage stripes seen in many late war us units.

The real vehicles had the stripes painted over everything, stowage, tools, etc.