Citing a dire need for greater numbers of mobile artillery, The US Army chose the M4A3E8 Sherman chassis as the platform to carry the M2 155mm howitzer. First designated T83, this gun and chassis combo saw action from Spring 1945 around Koln, Germany. Re-designated M40 in May of 1945, the type then didn't see service again until the Korean War, where it became the mainstay of American artillery units.

AFV Club's much-anticipated kit of the M40 is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, particularly the Allied subjects crowd! Sharply molded in olive drab plastic, the kit includes a metal (and rifled) 155mm gun barrel, clear vision blocks and taillights (but no clear headlights...hmmm...), a nice fret of photo-etched parts, and markings for 7 different vehicles. Flexible belt-style WWII-era T66 tracks are provided, although strangely enough you get two short lengths of the later style T84 tracks as injection-molded parts for the on-vehcle spare tracks. Sure, it could happen, but...Oh yeah, the HVSS suspension is nicely detailed and workable once finished. The interior is very nicely detailed and the ground spade can be built in fire or march position. The weld lines on the hull are very well done, too. Artillery is known as "the king of the battlefield," so add this king to your collection today!