[D-Day] M26 Pershing

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Since we have a few Shermans in the '23/'24 Winter Build, I have decided to go with a somewhat post-D-Day build, but one that would not have been possible had D-Day not succeeded. The U.S. M26 Pershing tank, though a late-comer to WWII, was nonetheless involved in significant action. I would like to build either one of two examples:

1. The Pershing that was posted on the east side of the Remagen Bridge where the Allies were first able to cross the Rhine.
2. The Pershing that defeated the Panther in front the of Cologne Cathedral in a famous, filmed battle in 1945.

Over 50 years ago, I saw both of these sites on a trip with my late father (actually a WWII South Pacific veteran), Edward Erdmann.

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For a start, I will be doing some reading (and gawking at photos):

Doyle, David. M26 Pershing: America’s Medium/Heavy Tank in World War II and Korea. Legends of Warfare: Ground. Schiffer Military, 2023. ISBN 978-0-7643-6640-6.

Doyle, David. M26 Pershing. Walk Around. Squadron/Signal, 2008. ISBN 978-0-89747566-2.

Hunnicutt, R. P. Pershing: A History of the Medium Tank T20 Series. Echo Point Books and Media. 1996, 2015. ISBN 978-1-62654-167-2.

Zaloga, Steven J. M26/M46 Pershing Tank 1943-53. New Vanguard. Osprey, 2000, 2008. ISBN 978-1-84176-202-9.

[MrChef]

Great Model Subject choices Herr Dr. I do like the Pershing. I wouldn’t want to sway you one way or the other as both are iconic. I look forward to your decision and project as well. Good stuff sir Let’s Go!

[Kaczor]

Nice. I have Pershing on my Shelf of Shame in eternal construction I also thought about the one from Cologne, but I'd rather do "Fireball", which didn't last long because it was destroyed by the Tiger.

[Ad Lav]

Everybody loves a Pershing!

I have the book ‘Spearhead’ which is a great read about the tank crew upgrading to a Pershing late war.

Watching on.

[Kaczor]

Yes! "Spearhead" is great. This year a Polish edition finally appeared.

[HERMAN BIX]

Having stood on the spot that the Panther was knocked out during the Cologne combat, the Pershing has taken a bit more provenance over time.
I bet the poor ole Sherman crew that was done in before the Pershing got there would have liked it themselves.

[ColemanCollector]

The very first armour kit I ever built as a kid was an Aurora "Patton", which was really a Pershing. Silly old Aurora, but they did make some groovy kits which tells you how long ago it was.

This should be a good build Professor--the Snow Leopard doesn't get the attention it deserves. An homage to Aurora!

Mike.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Hmm... I've been to both spots. So now I am vacillating all the more. Either way, I will likely rely on Rad for the minimal markings is see on either tank. And, yes, I, too, had the Aurora Pershing. It participated in ping-pong table top tank battles involving dice, cards, mouse traps and party favor poppers in Popsicle stick buildings. Memories!

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I am leaning more to one of the Pershings that guarded the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on 7 and 8 March 1945. I think these were T26E3 tanks (soon to be recognized as the standard M26 configuration) of Company B, 19th Tank Batallion, 9th Armored Division, commanded by Lt. Grimball. In the summer of 1970 I walked around and even went inside one of the Ludendorff Bridge towers on the west side of the Rhine, where I found some Olive Drab pontoons with lovers' initials scratched inside them. I remember thinking, "The last war rusts here." When overlooking the river toward the east, I saw a village with its houses seemingly slanted, as if to say, "What's the fighting for? We've been here for hundreds of years." Now the site is a peace memorial.

I have two Taigen M26 Pershings, both seemingly the same. I probably got them at separate times even over a decade ago, checked them over to see if they ran, and then soon stored them in a dry, dark place in their original boxes and cushioned wrapping. Five years ago, I finished one stock out of the box, and it wasn't so bad at all because the Taigen paint job was at least somewhat hand done with heavy-handed airbrush weathering. For this build I, to keep the cost down, I decided to use the other Taigen Pershing I had stored away. However, yesterday, I discovered that its electronics were kaput, its "metal" gear boxes were actually disintegrating, some of the hardware was actually rusting, and the airbrushing was downright awful. A quick dive for the boxes showed me that the M26 I had built a bit in 2018 or 2019 is in fine shape. It was quickly apparent that my most economical move will be rework the one I had built earlier and use the older one as a donor.

So I have started the tear down, first gutting the electronics to replace with Taigen's not-now-so-newest with the sound module I already have. Then I removed as much of the accessories and inexplicably-located and gluenatic-secured* stowage as I could from both tanks for use later or in other builds. So far...

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[PainlessWolf]

Herr Doctor!
I love a good Pershing Build! A tip I can pass along is to replace the front plastic idler and road wheel (interconnected units) with the metal Taigen/Torro equivalent. Your running fun will increase tremendously.
regards,
Painless