M36 Exterior Update
Tank Workshop Set #TWS0002
Review by Terry Ashley
To remedy this Tank Workshop have this M36 Exterior update set which consists of 34 parts cast in grey resin that includes all the required parts for the conversion. You should give the parts a good wash in warm detergent water to clean off the remaining mould release agent before continuing as this is quite prevalent on the parts.
The quality of the resin casting is very good overall without any blemishes evident and just the usual casting blocks to be removed before assembly but care will be needed in cleaning up some of the parts to ensure they are not damaged. The large upper hull casting is perfectly straight and even without any warping or other distortions which make the rest straightforward.
The largest part is the full upper hull which is basically a reproduction of the AFV Club kit upper hull with all the required alterations on the engine deck for the M4A3/M10A1 engine deck layout with this also having separate engine bay doors that feature grill work and louvers on both sides and a separate rear plate with the correct straight lower edge.
Cleanup of the hull will need a little care as the pour points are along the front of the fenders and along the lower edges of the hull and while there is no actual casting blocks there is a bit of excess resin to be removed. This is fairly easy but you must ensure the lower edge of the hull sides is perfectly straight and smooth after cleanup and using a long flat file is the best at achieving this.
Other details included on the hull are the inside front fender supports not included on the AFV Club fenders plus some embossed detail on the inside of the glacis.
The fit of the new resin hull to the kit lower hull tub is very good as it has the same locating lugs as the kit hull but the rear upper hull plate will require a bit of trimming for a good fit.
The fit of the engine deck doors will require a little trimming for a good fit as they are slightly too wide to fit into the engine deck opening but the depth is okay with no trimming needed here.
Additional parts for the hull are the separate crew hatches with separate periscope mounts and housings for the front hull and hatches with all other hull details coming from the AFV Club kit.
The new rear lower hull panel again has the correct layout plus additional exhaust pipes and upper exhaust deflectors with all other parts used from the kit with the fit of the resin panel to the kit lower hull being very good.
At the front are new solid plate drive sprockets that will require a fair bit of cleanup to keep the contours of the teeth intact and are designed to take the kit central hub.
The instructions are a series of photos of the kit under instructions with
text notes to help with the assembly and there shouldn’t be any real
problems as the steps are fairly straightforward.
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  |
| Allied & Axis 12 Ampersand Publishing Soft cover, 96 pages  |
US Tank Detroyers in action Squadron Signal Publications No.2036 ISBN 0-89747-385-X  |
US Technical Manual M36B1, M36B2 CD Easy 1 Productions  |
| 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  |
Thanks to Jay from Tank Workshop for the review set.
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