M-10 Achilles Tank Destroyer built for the Commonwealth Thunder Campaign.

1/35 AFV Club Kit #35039

Built mostly OOB with Photo etch British Antenna's added.

Painted with Humbrol 155 Olive Drab and Floquil Enamel Weathered Black.

Weathering done in various AK Interactive products.

Nice kit, had a few issues I disliked but it went together well and I'm happy with how it turned out.

This is prob the most heavily weathered model I've built and is my first real use of the AK weathering products.

As usual I'd love to hear everyone honest opinion on the build. thank you. and now for the photos





























Thanks for looking. All comments are welcome as I'm always trying to improve myself.

Delbert

ace!

Nice post!

Looks pretty good in the photos, Delbert. Only two things jump out at me that you might think about. First, with the amount of light mud kicked up in back, I'd expect a bit more showing on the lower front hull. And second, the seats are too flat looking. There should be a little variation in the color of the material to indicate wear, and give them a more "used" look. Beyond those things, without actually seeing the vehicle, the rest seems fine to me.

Very nice build, the camo looks great!

Well, you asked for it!

Really, nothing too serious, but a number of small things to watch out for:

- The biggest thing is the sink marks in the spare track blocks on the glacis. They really leap out at me and should have been filled before painting.

- The antenna isn't vertical.

- The .50 cal ammo tray doesn't appear to be glued perpendicular to the gun.

- The road wheel tires don't seem to be sitting properly on the rims. The wheel rim seems to be missing so they look very odd.

- The first and last road wheel are not on the ground. The tension on the kit tracks has raised the front and rear road wheel up, the vehicle should be weighted so they sit flat and the suspension arms glued so they stay in place.

- The interior does need to be weathered to the same level as the exterior.

- Now this is for extra points. The camo pattern has exceptionally round lobes in many places, looking more like "Mickey Mouse Ear" than the proper "Folliage" pattern. Unless you have a photo of this specific vehicle with this pattern, the proper MPT 46 pattern should be less well defined "ears" and a much more irregular pattern. Some AFVs did have a "Mickey mouse Ear" interpretation of the MPT 46 pattern, but very, very few, so unless you have a photo of _that_ vehicle in that pattern, a more irregular pattern is what was ordered.

If I was judging this model at a contest, these are the sort of things that we would bring up. I bring them up here only as constructive criticism, not to slag the model or your efforts.

Paul

I like it a lot. I have an AFV Club M10 and I know what you mean, while I liked the kit overall I wasn't a big fan of the suspension. I used aftermarket link by link track so I didn't have the problem of the front and real wheels lifting. A little glue will solve your problem.

Good post, Paul! You're so right about the track blocks. I don't know how I missed seeing them, especially on the close up front view. The only other thing I might add is that when you paint your MGs, Delbert, you might want to thin your paint so you end up with a smoother finish (even if you have to go with 2 coats).

Thanks for your comments everyone. I'm always looking to improve my skills. the following comments are not argumentative, just explaining how some things turned out.

now for some specifics.

Bob, I agree with the seats and the mud is due to my inexperience with the medium.

The MG was an experiment, I didn't really use paint, I used AK Interactive's Dark Steel pigment mixed with a flat coat.

Paul, I take it you do a lot of judging. :> I really don't do the contest thing myself as I know my own skills have their limits.

The sink marks on the spare tracks are glaring, I don't know why I didn't notice them until I was almost finished with the kit..

Yep that darn P.E. antenna got knocked off and I couldn't get it to glue back on straight. I've learned a lesson on that one.

In the photos I hadn't glued down the ammo can yet.. must have came loose during the photos, my bad.. easy fix.

I do not like the suspension for this kit, the road wheels are hollow backed for one. The tracks that came with the kit are too short causing the suspension problems and the mobile suspension just doesn't sit right to me.

Interior weathering.. noted.

The camo pattern I couldn't find much information on it myself so I tried to get something close to the box. However the way I found to get my masking tape into a similar pattern created the roundness in it. (I used a hole punch) I will note your comments for any future builds using this camo. If you have any links to websites with info on it, I've be glad to have them.

I will say I think this will be my last AFV Club Tank Destroyer as there were many things about the kit I wasn't fond of.

I'm surprised that no one has noticed that the cocking handle for the MG broke off and is missing in the photos.

and thanks for looking.



Delbert

[quote]


Paul-- your comments are very helpful to me as I try to duplicate Delbert's outstanding accomplishments with the M-10. Objective and constructive comments
DJ

Delbert--- you did a great job and the camo pattern is very nicely doe. May I do half as well
DJ

Delbert, glad to provide an extra pair of eyes. Most of us here are in the same boat as you, we're trying to pick up tips to improve our skills. To me, that's the main reason I started posting any of my work on sites like this. It's a pity that, for whatever reasons, most people seem to be unwilling to offer their constructive critiques.

On the MG, the pigments provided a nice color, but there's a roughness in areas that doesn't look right ...and you're right, I totally missed the broken charging handle.



You need to check around and see if there's not an AMPS chapter (or even AMPS sponsored contests) in your area. You may have noticed in Paul's signature that's he's affiliated with them, too. With their system of judging your model is only competing with itself, with your skill level taken into account. Here's a link to the website. You can check it out. http://www.amps-armor.org/ampssite/default.aspx

Helpful hint on the tracks, if you run into the problem in the future... You can put them in hot water and gently stretch them out a little. Just be careful not to go too far.

Looks good!!

Just a quick note , going by photos I don't think that it's possible to over weather a WW2 tank in the ETO.