I bought the M4A2 Marines/Russian Army Shermans not too impressed, the kits were okay. Has anyone built the M10, M12, M36, Achilles, Stuart or Honey? Reviews are all highly recommended.

I am working on the M12, and it definately looks good thusfar...

I'll keep you informed,

RIchard

I have built the M10 "duckbill" and is currently building the m3a1 stuart - both are troublefree kits that both builds easy and looks fairly good.

Now, if you are a rivetcounter then the AFV club Stuarts should be better - do a google on reviews on the academy stuart and you will find reviews going from "splendid kit" to "why bother"

Im not a rivetcounter - if its fun to build and looks like the real deal, then im happy - so im happy with both the Stuart and the M10.

Hi- I've made both M10 and Achilles and despite some questions of accuracy of certain dimensions I find them to be nice kits to build and the final effect is very pleasing. Plus you get lots for your money.
MC

You will also find some reviews for these kits on the PMMS website :
http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/academy/academy.htm

HTH
Frenchy

The Stuart and Honey were welcomed with open arms until the experts got to them. Both have pluses and minuses over the old Tamiya M3. Experts recommend kitbashing to get the most accurate kit of an M3A1. I've seen a friends Honey OOB and to me it looked great.

In my opinion AFV clubs M10 series of kits is a lot better than the academy ones.

Both have shape and dimension issues with the turret, but the AFV kit is better detailed and has a metal barrel etc.

Regards

Joe

I have the academy M10 GMC and the M18 Hellcat. Both looked great in the box with tons of extra equipment.

I've build the M10. A lot of people have fit issues with the rear interier bulkhead, I was extreamly careful with this area and test fitted every part and didnt' have any problems.

The turrent has molded on tie downs that are ok but not great. A little work and you can sand them off and use wire for a better look, and the Tracks are T48 3 bar cleats which seem to have been used more by the free French than the U.S. but are adaquate but not great.

Other than these few details the kit was fun to build. and the finished product looks like an M10...

I currently building the M3 stuart "honey" for the 'from the halls of Montezuma' campaign. (Check out my thread
on the build. ). Pretty good kit. My only major complaints are the plastic gun barrel, which has a separete end piece to make an open resulting in an ugly and hard to fix seam on the barrel. I would prefer drilling one hole instead of filling and sanding a seam on the barrel. I used an aluminium barrel to replace the plastic item. The other complaint is with the suspension. It seems the designers took a shortcut with the height issue and modified the suspension arms. The result is the idler lifting off the ground by 1mm. No big deal for me, since the tank's going to be on a scenic base. With the tracks on, I think this won't so visible anyway.

Stuart Honey and Hellcat are pretty good.

Honey/stuart reviews here:

http://www.track-link.net/reviews/k1014

http://www.track-link.net/reviews/k863

http://www.track-link.net/reviews/k932

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/academy/acd1398.htm

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/academy/acd1399.htm

Opinions seems to differ ...

I have M36 Jackson kit and it is one of the best kits I've seen over the years. It is probably the best WWII U.S. kit that I have. Many extras and great details inside and out. It was voted #3 best kit of the year in 2003 by the Fine Scale modeling magazine. You will get your money's worth for sure on that one.

P2G