M-10 Duckbill GMC
1/35th Scale
Kit No.1397
In Box Review by Terry Ashley
The kit:
This is the forth in the Tank Destroyer series from Academy and is the
later M10 GMC with redesigned turret and 'Duckbill' counter weights.
The quality of the mouldings is as good as we know from the previous M10/M36 kits with only a minimum of pin ejector marks on some parts, mostly those with detail on both sides or intricate mouldings but other than that just the normal cleanup is needed for the plastic parts.
Academy seem to give us a bit more with each kit and if you were wondering why there were the rear fuel tanks and engine bay sidewalls in the previous kits then the inclusion of the full GM 6046 12-cylinder diesel engine in this kit answers the question, more on the engine later.
The lower hull:
As with the other kits, you have
a choice of Type 2B or Type 2D 1-piece transmission covers which includes
casting
numbers
but
you
will
have to add the drain plugs underneath the final drive housings. The VVSS
suspension bogies are the Type 2C-2 Intermediate raised roller with a choice
of open spoke or solid spoke wheels and idler wheels with rear detail inserts
for the solid spoke wheels with nice grease plug and relief valve details
while there is a choice
of Type 2 revised or Type 3 Simple Plate drive sprockets.
The interior is again quite complete with lower floor forward transmission bulkhead and gearbox, driver’s position with gear levers, foot pedals, instrument panel and seat plus the co-driver’s seat. The fighting compartment has the floor with rear engine compartment bulkhead which includes the oil cooler radiator details and side sponson mounted ammo racks and shell cases, there is also a redesigned rear bulkhead to better incorporate the engine.
The rear hull panel is of normal M4A2 style for this kit and as mentioned there is a complete diesel engine supplied. This consists of 14 parts with nice crisp details and includes the two cylinder banks, six large air cleaners and rear fans although you only get the fan covers and not the actual fans which would have to be acquired elsewhere if you wanted to show the engine out of the vehicle?
The Upper Hull:
Moulded in one piece the
M10 hull of M4A2 style has separate engine bay doors and separate fuel
filler caps while at
the front are separate crew hatches with additional separate
periscopes, handles, hinge detail and internal fitting for nice little assemblies
plus the usual array of pioneer tools.
One the hull sides are the moulded on bosses for the appliqué armour with separate outer bolts, the only parts that need any real work are the front and real light guards which are a little on the think side, but many will replace these with etched items anyway?
The Turret:
This has been redesigned from the earlier M10 turrets with the upper half moulded
in one large piece incorporating the front covered section, side and
rear walls while the lower half/turret ring has the lower halves of the rear
wall and gun mount included as well as bolt head and traverse teeth around
the ring. All this detail on this one moulding does result in a few pin ejector
marks in tricky places but with a bit of care can be removed. The fit of
the upper and lower turret halves is very good with the joins along panel
lines so there shouldn't be any problems with seams to fill. The mantlet has
has the two side cast ridges resdesigned for a more rounded appearance then
the earlier mantlets.
The rear 'duckbill' counter weights also fit together well and the small seam should be easy to deal with and there is the makeshift armoured turret cover sometimes fitted to later M10s.
On the interior gun breech has also been slightly tweaked from the earlier
kits with a few more details added and refining of other detail as well as
separate two part breech block and sight plus some other details such as the
seats and
ready rounds in
the rear bustle, there is scope to add additional details here but the basics
are there.
You have a nice .50cal for the pintle mount on the rear
turret although the .50cal but the gun from the new Machine
Gun Set would
look even better.
Decals:
The decals are well printed with thin carrier film and provide markings for
four vehicles although they are fairly generic overall with no specific units
identified in the instructions other than to say three are from US Ubits
in Germany 1944/1945 and and French unit from June 1945.
Conclusion:
Another very nice kit for allied fans with nice details and the inclusion of
the full engine allows you to build the complete interior from front to back.
With the full interior and the practice Academy has now had with these
kits the promised M4A2 should be quite something when released next year.
Highly Recommended.
| M10
and M36 Tank Destroyers 1942-53 New Vanguard No 57 Osprey Publishing  |
US Tank Detroyers Walk Around Squadron Signal Publications #5703 ISBN 0-89747-456-2  |
M10/M36 Wydawnictwo Militaria No.115 ISBN 83-7219-080-1  |
| US Tank Detroyers in action Squadron Signal Publications No.2036 ISBN 0-89747-385-X  |
Allied & Axis 12 Ampersand Publishing Soft cover, 96 pages  |
US Tank Destroyers of WWII photo CD Enygma Graphics  |
| SHERMAN A History of the American Medium Tank R.P.Hunnicutt. Presidio Books ISBN 0-89141-080-5  |
Modeler's Guide to the Sherman MMIR Special. Ampersand Publishing Company, Inc  |
Page created 4 December 2003