Sherman Showdown! Battlefront versus Plastic Soldier Company

Today we take a look at the M4 Sherman (76mm) tank from both Battlefront and Plastic Soldier Company.

Battlefront is the big kid on the block when it comes to WW2 Historical miniatures in 15mm. They produce some beautiful stuff, however the downside is that it can be pricey, with a single blister pack (That's one tank!) for over 12 US dollars.

Plastic Soldier is the new kid on the block, can they knock Battlefront from the top spot?

First up we look at Battlefront's entry.

BF Hull and Turret

  For this review I am using the Russian lend lease version of the M4 (76). The Blister is the Russian Hero Loza. This model runs $12.50 retail.

 The model itself is a resin, plastic hybrid. The Hull and Turret are resin while the tracks and accessories are on their new plastic Sherman track frame.

The hull and turret are well sculpted and are up to Battlefront's usual level of detail. One feature I LOVE about this model is the driver sticking his head out of the hatch. Great detail.

BF Sherman Track frame

The Hull is also covered with detail like tow cables, gas cans, etc.

The Track frame is a great addition. Track detail is excellent and, importantly, in one piece.


Overall the BF Sherman is a beautiful little tank. It captures the lines of the Sherman quite well and looks great when painted up.

In the other corner is theM4A2 Sherman box set from the Plastic Soldier Company(PSC). In the box you get 5 all plastic kits for $28.00.

First thing you notice is the great wealth of options on the frame. Two turrets, one for the 75mm and 76mm versions. Gas tanks, spare track are all options.

Assembly is not as easy as Battlefront, these are more accurately described as  little model kits, rather than gaming miniatures. Assembly is pretty straight forward save for the track assembly. The tracks are the main downside for these kits.  Each track has 4 pieces, 2 track links, top and bottom, wheels and extra wheel. The fitting of the track itself, in clam shell fashion is just horrible.

Besides the track assembly the rest of the kit is a breeze and actually fun to assemble. At a little under 6 bucks a tank these are half the price of the BF equivalent.

On to the comparison

Round 1: Tracks

BF Track on top, PSC on bottom

The BF tread wins this round hands down. The Single piece BF track is well detailed and easy to assemble.

The PSC tread is also well detailed, but the track links fit poorly. This piece is very fiddly to glue together and was the most frustrating part of the build.

WINNER: Battlefront




Round 2: Turret

BF on left, PSC on right

The turret is the most different between the two models. The BF turret is longer taller, the PSC turret is wider and shorter. The Oversized BF barrel also makes it appear that the BF turret is larger.

Overall both turrets look good. The BF one is well sculpted and the PSC looks good and has the option of adding additional stowage.

Aesthetically I like the look of the BF Turret, however by my purely subjective opinion it looks like the PSC is more accurate in overall shape.

The BF Barrel is over-sized but looks good.

WINNER:  Battlefront by a hair!

Round 3: Hull

BF on left, PSC on right

The Hulls from both companies are pretty good. The PSC Hull is shorter in overall length, but not by much. The BF Hull is taller in height.

The PSC Hull is barren of detail, most of which can be added optionally from the frame. The Battlefront model has the details and stowage modeled on.  Again the shape is slightly different but overall this one is a wash.

WINNER:  Tie!



Round 4: Everything together

PSC tan colored tank, BF Black tank

 Coming into the final round the BF tank has been leading.

However assembling everything actually gives us two very nice looking tanks. Put side by side the differences in Hull, turret and tracks become minimized.

The BF tank is still noticeable larger then the PSC tank but painted up I don't think the difference would be that noticeable.
Overall Winner:  Plastic Soldier Company.

PSC (Right)  gap in the tracks

 Final Thoughts:

The PSC Sherman is a neat little model kit. The model is well detailed and has plenty of extra stowage that can be glued on.  The down side is it's harder to assemble then the BF one... especially the tracks!

 You can see in the picture to the left the gap in the tracks that will need to be corrected.

The cost of these models is excellent and makes these little tanks well worth the money.

The BF Sherman is a great model, well sculpted and detailed. It looks great on the table. The plastic tracks are great! The only downside to the Battlefront model is the price. 12.50 for a single Sherman is too expensive. With some American lists that can run over a dozen Shermans, or  Russian lists that can run over 2 dozen, the cost quickly adds up!

 Overall the PSC offering is a great kit, and at it's current price point there is no reason not to recommend them. The track fitting issue aside I recommend these little kits as an excellent option in Flames of War.

There is nothing wrong with the BF Sherman, save it's price. I would actually prefer BF Shermans over the PSC offering if it weren't for the price.

As always I'd love to hear back from the readers. What do you guys think of these models? What is your experience?