The Drivers and radio operators hatches have sink marks that are, as is the way of the world in typically awkward places, so a thin skin of tin foil is once again used to cover these.
Airfix supply a small fret of PE, whose finish is thick and adds a wonderful touch to the kit. The part is adhered to the body with Gator PE Glue which is frankly amazing stuff.
The PE light guards are shaped with the end of suitably sized paint brush. The trick is to start at the thickest point and work your way down to the right diameter. One thing I did notice, and this could be me, but the PE didn’t seem to be the right size, but as I said it could well be down to my forming techniques.
The turret mounted .50 is almost a kit in itself, is finished using Halfords Matt Black paint. The slightly wonky/cross threaded barrel was adjusted with a bit of help from an old hair dryer.
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.