Ursus Arctos Horribilis (Grizzly I)

[RichB]

I'll let my cuddly little friend guard this spot while I gather the bits for my build.

The Grizzly I was the planned Canadian production of the M4A1 (sometimes referred to as the M4A5). Montreal Locomotive Works began production in August 1943. When it was determined US production would meet Allied needs, the Grizzly chassis was used for the Sexton SPG. A small batch were fitted with the 17 pdr. The Grizzly never saw action, serving in the training role in Canada and the UK. After the war, Portugal purchased several under the MAP remaining in service until 1980. In total 188 Grizzlies were built when production ended in 1944

There is some Canadianization of the basic M4A1 that we'll see as the build goes.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[Skinny_Mike]

 

[moon puppy]

 

[Sherman 18]

 

[tom1815]

 

[iambrb]

 

[iambrb]

Pretty much sums it up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBJ-MpPBDug

 

[RichB]

And we are cutting and glueing. The Grizzly was basically a M4A1(75) "Small Hatch" so this kit is a good starting point. It also contains many of the extra parts needed when the time comes to deviate from the instructions. It was a mix of US, British and Canadian features as well as early and late M4A1 production details.

Starting with the suspension. It is believed all the Grizzly's came off the production line with 1943 US cast bogies. Road wheels seem to have been a mix of spoked and disc and the disc type idler wheel used for all but a very few early vehicles. Many of the photos of restored vehicles show Grizzly's with the Canadian designed heavier Sexton SPG style bogie that entered Sexton production in early 1944. (The picture below shows the heavier ribs on the bogie from Dragon's Sexton II kit versus the US bogies.) The heavier bogies seem to have been used to replace damaged assemblies during their service life. I'll be going with the kit supplied US bogies.

The lower hull comes as individual panels to be glued together. Out of the box it portrays the early riveted style. Asuka identifies the rivets that need to be removed (red highlight) to make it a welded style. A unique feature to the Grizzly is the addition of a small hatch in the floor in the Bow Gunner's area. (Red square in upper right of floor.) This was to allow a "Snake" mine-clearing charge to be pushed into a mine field from the cover of the tank. Many of the surviving "US Army" M4A1's seen in museums or as rolling stock are Grizzly's, the presence on this hatch will identify is true origin.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[razordws]

Looking forward to this.

 

[moon puppy]

 

[jknaus]

James

 

[Sherman 18]

 

[RichB]

Almost forgot this little mod. Nearly every US built M4 & M4A1 has door stops to prevent damage to the air filters. For some reason, they didn't make it to the Grizzly.

The lower hull with rivets removed, the "Snake" hatch added and assembled .

Out of the kit, this version of Sherman would have a one piece cast Transmission Cover. The Grizzly was built with the three piece cover. All the parts are included for the earlier cover, so a quick check of the instructions for an earlier version and the cover was built up.

The kit provides the option for either the box or cylindrical style air filters. Photos suggest that the latter was the filter of choice.

Another Grizzly identification feature is the groove aft of the engine cover. This is the same groove found on the body casting for the Ram (the light body). It was initially called the "Grizzly Groove" but it has since been determined that it was common to all General Steel Products "small hatch" M4A1 castings. It was discontinued on the "large hatch" bodies.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[moon puppy]

Now that's some detail. Nice work Rich.

 

[RichB]

Made the Grizzly Groove mod to the upper hull and taped the tools in position to check their fit.

The RH tool layout was standard M4A1. I also sanded the 3 molded on tie downs and replaced them with bent wire.

The LH tool layout was completely different to a M4A1. The shovel was turned 180[sup]o[/sup] and the sledge hammer and track tensioner were moved from the usual rear hull position. One piece of kit that is not seen stowed on the hull is the engine crank. It is thought it may have stowed in the turret blanket box. Also seen on Grizzly's were 6 additional tie downs installed above and below the tools.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[razordws]

Keep it coming Rich!

 

[moon puppy]

 

[RichB]

The CDP tracks arrived today so I thought I'd put some together. The real thing used 102-103 treads per side, 110 treads per side are provided (although it says 200 total on the box), 50 treads together so far. Because of the smaller pitch, CDP tracks used a 17 tooth drive sprocket. There are some splines on the mounting shaft that need to be shaved off. Once that is cleaned up it slides on.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[Sherman 18]

Looking good

 

[RichB]

Managed to get some time to get the hull built up and primed. A few differences for a Canadian built vs US built M4A1:

[li]Tool stowage
Fire extinguishers
Water can racks
"Grizzly Groove" on engine deck
Additional tie downs[/li]

The Grizzly had the three piece transmission cover (unused parts included in the kit). A wire added for the siren on the left side. Added the "G" cast mark from Archer's Transfers. It was initially believed that it was used to differentiate between a Grizzly and M4A1. It has since been learned that it is the cast mark for General Steel Products.

I also added a couple of supports below the crew hatches to add crewmen later.

Cheers,
Rich