World War II Armour
tamiyaT
he model as you would
expect comes very well
presented, with quite a
high parts count for a
Tamiya kit ofered on ten
comprehensive sprues, one of clear
parts, the usual poly caps, one length
of ‘tow cable’ string, a set of full
length tracks, decals for two vehicles,
a concise instruction sheet and a
history detail sheet too. Some of the
sprues are brought over from the
previous M10 release and the rest are
new with the required Achilles parts.
The hull and turret are inished in a
nice cast efect where required and
the gun barrel is a decent one-piece
moulding. A very well realised crew
are also included comprising the
gunner, loader and commander in
appropriate poses and a half igure for
the driver. Some nice crew stowage
and partial lower interior complete
the package.The Build
The build is shown in thirty-nine easy
to follow stages and as usual begins
with the lower hull and running
gear. Everything here its as it should
and at this stage you will need to
consider painting some parts that will
be visible through the open turret.The suspension assemblies are next,
nicely detailed and designed to be
put together with minimal efort.
The rear bulkhead and sponson
ill in panels are now itted which
feature the ammunition stowage
tubes, again some painting as you
go is recommended here. Things
quickly move onto the top hull which
is presented as a lovely one-piece
moulding with very crisp detailing on
the engine grills etc. Next, we it all
the armour bosses, iller caps, crew
tools, headlights and spare track link
hangers. The hull halves can then be
test itted and mate together very
well with some polycaps. At this point
you can also dry it the tracks which
are glued with normal liquid cement,
though I gave them a good twenty-
four-hour drying time.
Again, they it perfectly
with no adjustment
required and really
look quite good. With
all that together the
sub-assemblies were
taken apart again ready
for further detailingg
Manufacturer: Tamiya
Scale: 1:
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 35366Achilles British Tank Destroyer
british bulldog
Achilles Tank DestroyerThe model as you
would expect is
‘typical Tamiya’RESEARCH
This new release from Tamiya
is a great choice of World War
II armour, the British Achilles
tank destroyer, itself based on
the successful American M10.
By 1943 Britain had ordered
1000 M10s and the decision
was taken to modify them
to take the more effective
17 pounder anti-tank gun.
These vehicles also received
further turret counterweight,
ammo and crew stowage
modifications. The first
vehicles were ready by May
1944, just in time to see action
after the Normandy landings
where as well as British service
they were issued to units
from New Zealand, Poland
and Canada. Some examples
survived the War and went
on to serve with Belgium, the
Netherlands and with Egypt
in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
So, some interesting finishing
options to be researched!THE ACHILLES
ITSELF WAS
BASED
ON THE
SUCCESSFUL
AMERICAN
M
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