G is for Gilmark

These were one of the 'surprise extras' in a Parcel from Ed Berg the other day (I have to clear the pond before I can show you the 'main attraction'!) and they were the best thing to find in a parcel - two of the Gilmark AFV's.

This is the M4 Sherman; thermo-printed U.S.Army with the allied star down one side and marked Sherman M4 on the rear-plate it is definitely in need of a turret redesign, but for what it is, a dime-store toy of the 1950's it's fantastic! And, apart from the turret is not a bad rendition of a post D-day Sherman with the distinctive patches of appliqué armour on the hull-sides.

I've been after a Gilmark example for ages; you may remember we looked at a 'maybe' Tudor Rose (or Kleeware) version back at the Blog's beginnings, so I'd always wanted to place them side-by-side, as I knew the Gilmark one had black-plastic running-gear . . .

. . . while the 'British' one had body-matching plastic. However, the surprise - and what makes this present from Ed all the more gratifying - is that the track-units is where the differences start, not where they finish?

The 'copy' and the Gilmark differ in lots of subtle ways, the glacis-plate is at a different angle, giving the copy longer nacelles coming forward of the driver and observer hatches, the Gilmark has wider mud/track-guards, Copy has better carpet-wheels, redesigned to be less wobbly and therefore less likely to break-off . . .

. . . while more obvious differences also exist; the Gilmark has an stub-aerial on the rear-deck making full-traverse of the turret impossible, copy has no title block across the rear-plate . . . there's more (track teeth, headlights, taillights, smooth interior), you'll notice others in the photographs.

However . . . having compared all sorts of copies, homagé and obviously pantographed piracies over the years, I'm going to stick my neck on the line here and state I still think they are related, part of the 1950/60's mould-swapping than I mentioned again the other day and that Gilmark were aware of/involved in/with both versions.

The reasons for my thoughts on the matter are thus; that if a UK company was to copy (illegally) such an iconic vehicle (they were still in service all over the world at the time) the first thing they would do is improve the turret? Instead of which they have improved (obvious?) faults with the Gilmark original - hidden-wheels and aerial, while keeping the overall 'lines' of the toy intact?

I suspect that when the UK firm wanted the Sherman M4 removed from the mould it was found to be technically difficult as the 'S' and '4' are too close to the edges of the angled corners of the engine deck to get a decent grinding-tool in there without doing damage, so they were either given permission to produce a duplicate-mould tool . . . or sent one?

And that therefore, the differences were produced 'in-house' - as it were - the major ones being deliberate improvements, the minor-ones as vagaries in the final engraving/tool-finishing? If you don't study them both side-by-side (to an obsessively nerdy level!), they are intrinsically the same model.

Ed also sent me the armoured car and it's lovely! It's a bit fictional, the hull is quite Staghound-like, but the turret with its twin cannons is way out there. But for 'dime-store', 'old-school' war gaming, having two or three of these race up the MSR to retake the pontoon bridge before the other guy can get his lumbering Tiger's through the French village . . . quality toy!

And - let's be honest - it's more realistic (as an AA-Staghound!) than its nearest rival; the Tudor Rose Armoured car which is a Humber/Daimler/Rolls Royce hybrid with an egg-box turret!

Thanks Ed, a lovely present and the Tiny Trojans get to come out again! By the time the Blog's 25-years-old, they will have followed all the vintage, ready-made, small-scale AFV's into battle at least once, along with the odd space tank!

Ed's covered the photography much better than I can, here;

Sherman M4

Armoured Car