Word to the wise, the Italeri kit is from the late 70s and uses the gun from the even older Peerless Max 105 mm kit.
The Academy kit is based off of the M3 Lee and an earlier version. The Italeri kit was based off of a later M4 Sherman chassis.
The Dragon kits are all based off of the earlier M3 chassis as well. An easy way to identify is the three piece transmission cover vs the one piece of the M4.
I'd look the the Dragon smart kit for an easier build.