Making 'that' last American 1/72 scale Sherman for my US Tank Battalion

Here I am trying to make that "last American Sherman" for my US Armoured Battalion (Tank Division) and I hit the "how many parts is in this kit" bottleneck. I have gone back in time from the streamlined PSC production model to the 1970's, "many little fiddly parts" of the Italeri (ex-Esci) M4A1 Sherman 'Calliope' kit. For my purposes I am ditching the 'Calliope' part of the construction and just making a regular Sherman, my teenage self would shudder at this heretical thought.

The multitude of parts is shown below: 

The track assembly starts, thirty four parts in total for the two 'sides'. I assemble them on the sprue in order to try and keep a "limited spread" in modelling terms as I will be making this over several nights and don't want to lose small parts (see below):

An engine transmission and tank engine? Interior detail. Why am I bothering with all this hidden detail. All I can say is that is because it is there! I would obviously be less of a modeller (but more sensible) if I didn't. I now will have to let the rear engine covers be "lift-able or removable" in some fashion (See below):

That's as far as I got in one night, whereas I would have at least have had a PSC or HaT Sherman in my hands.

At least once it is done the armoured battalion will be done ;)