The Sherman heritage of the wheel sets is nicely captured, especially the springs and casting numbers on the spring housings and swing arm, but some remedial clean up work is a must.
The transmission housing bulk head test fitted in place in the driving compartment. A little bit of drilling is needed to help locate a store box, don’t worry if you haven’t a bit a sharp knife tip does the job just as well.
Rear bulkhead that separates the engine and fighting compartments is a simple and straightforward construction with some lovely detailing; note the fire extinguisher and the radiator detailing.
Exhaust mounts in place, again nice detailing and easy assembly. The excess glue will be removed before priming.
The rear plates and exhaust vents are now mounted, sadly a couple of moulding marks in on a couple of visible surfaces. However small squares of cheap plain tin foil make sort work of these.
Priming begins. The drivers compartment is rudimentary and easy to complete. I’ve given the exterior a coat of green beige and the upper and lower hull interiors as well as the driving compartments, a grey priming coat.
While the primer hardens off the gun breech is assembled in quick time, nicely detailed its worth taking the time to assemble. The wet area on the cylinder is where the sanded joint is treated to coat of liquid cement to smooth score marks away, a trick I learnt years ago, and it works.
The lower turret is nicely appointed with beautifully reproduced shells ready to hand for battle use. Note the teeth of the turret ring, a nice touch.
Christopher Woolford says
My dad’s first trip abroad was as an M 10 driver/gunner. He rarely spoke of those days, but he did tell me that the metal trunking and waterproofing sealants designed to allow carriages to wade ashore had taken weeks to fit and check. Minutes after landing, batteries were marshalled off the Normandy beach into a nearby field. There, pairs of REME engineers, stripped to their waists and wielding sledge hammers, leapt aboard each carriage to bash off its trunking in a few noisy seconds. Men on the ground dragged the battered trunking to be flattened by arriving and departing carriages. Within minutes of landing, M 10s were ready to fight.
I have learned more about the M 10 from your great build than I knew until now. Thanks Ben. There might be an Airfix M 10 diorama in the offing for me.