Hi guys, Im building the Academy M10 and Ive started having trouble with the hull fit , mainly its the walls to the engine compartment they would not fit had to shave at least a quarter inch of each one now the rear hull plate the one with the tools on wont fit the engine compartment walls stick out too far.I guess it means getting the power cutter out and slicing a good quarter inch off. Im very dissapointed with this it looked like a good kit. has anyone else had this problem.

I had this problem too. I remember I was able to trace it back to how I put in the rear bulkhead for the interior. I don't have the part number, but it is the rear most interior panel that segments the interior from the fuel and engine compartments. Since the guideline on the lower hull puts this bulkhead at an angle, there is not enough height when attaching the upper hull. This lack of height means that the rear piece you are trying to attach sticks up and is not flush with the rear hull.

I also remember my upper hull having a slight droop in the middle rear area. So by applying pressure when I bonded the upper hull and the upper rear hull piece (I use Tenex), I was able to level out much of it.

I built the model in the beginning of the year, so it is kind of hard to remember everything, but, yeah, sanding it off to make it flush is about the only way to go. Other than that and fitting those dang ammo tubes, that is about the worst things you'll encounter (that I know of).

Best of luck.
Jeff

I don't know how different the Academy M10 hull is to the Academy Achilles hull but I had no issues.

In addition to the ammo tubes (I eventually decided to leave them outside the tank for a reloading scene) I found the turret quite a challenge trying to keep all those angled pieces aligned and symetrical.

John i had the same problem some time last month when i finished my Acedemy M10 Duckbill, no problem with the rear just the front trans plate sticks up to high because Acedemy doesn't really give any exact locating points for the trans bulkhead i to had to shave about an 1/8 inch off and put the plate on a slight angle to make it fit after i did this the back fit fine for me. Besides this problem a nice kit i think.

I might be wrong but it sounds similar to the Academy Tiger Mid problem with interior. Supposedly it is very easy there to put in the transmission incorrectly, and as a consequence being unable to attach the front armorplate.

So this might be a general Academy issue when interior elements are concerned...

hey there

The review's i've read say that the Academy M10 and academy Achilles share most of the same parts..

I'm working on the M10 and am almost to the engine compartment. So thanks guys for the heads up and I'll see how it goes for me..

I'm busy with my third Academy M10, and agree with Alan -this has not been an issue.
Perhaps if the problem lies at the bulkhead stage you might be able to use the ammo tubes to set the location correctly (the central upright part of the ammo racks has a pair of locating holes, so you could fix this in, and line up the bulkhead according to where the two tubes end... this probably makes more sense with the model in front of you).
I have to admit though that the upper hull location leaves a lot to be desired- it requires three hands in order to fix it to the lower hull properly!

Hope this helps anyway.
MC

Thanks for the help guys I thought I had built it wrong.Like many of you said the location spots leave a lot to be desired. my problem is i rarely build to the instructions I tend to build in sub assemblys meaninig I have built all the lower hull except for the ammo racks so I guess the old motor tool will be whirring tonight. Once again thanks for your help.