One of my favourite Sherman tanks from World War 2 was the M4A3E8 or "easy eight" as it was sometimes called by its crews. This particular Sherman mounted the 76mm Gun which had much better armour penetration than the standard 75mm guns on other Shermans. It also had a new running gear system and wider tracks that reduced its overall ground pressure for better cross country performance. 

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 I decided not to add any extreme weathering to this tank because that would not have been accurate with regards to the actual vehicle. This particular tank was a relatively recent arrival to the unit as the U.S. Army sought to replace the huge tank losses it suffered in the battle of the bulge. In fact it's so new  you can see in the actual picture it still has some remnants of the factory applied anti-corrosion/anti-moisture paste (the dark areas) in place along the turret  that would have been applied when it shipped from the Chrysler plant. It also still sports the original white stars.  Most crews by this time would have painted out these stars completely but they partially remain on this tank probably due to the unit's maintenance section not having enough time to paint them out completely since these tanks were urgently needed at the front. 

The kit is the wonderful Tasca kit and is still the best E8 in 1/35 scale despite newer kits coming out from Rye Field Model and Tamiya. The fit is excellent and the instructions are very well laid out. These kits are expensive but worth the price as they really build into an excellent representation of the Sherman.

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The figure is an alpine miniatures U.S. tanker.