M10 Achilles, 1/11 Anti Tank Regiment, Italy 1945

Here is the first of the M10 variants I have been working on: a 17-pdr equipped Achilles operated by the South African 6th Armoured Division in Italy during the last months of the Second World War.

It depicts a vehicle in the second battery of the 1/11 Anti-Tank Regiment (an amalgamation of the 1st and 11th regiments, due to manpower shortages). The conversions from the 3-inch equipped vehicles were undertaken in April 1945, and it is unsure how many of them saw action before the war ended.



The model is based on the Rubicon Models kit, and I had ordered it with the intention of building a M10A. I wasn't even aware that the kit included the option of building the Achilles variant (and the M36 Jackson), so when presented with the opportunity to build one in plastic, I took it.

As with all the Rubicon offerings, the kit was extremely well presented, with clear instructions and comprehensive decals. The sprues were free of flash and significant split lines, and the fit of parts was absolutely first class. Proportions, scale and details look correct. As mentioned, above, the kit can be used to produce a comprehensive range of vehicle variations.

On the downside, the track detail leads a little to be desired, and the undersides of the track guards were omitted from the kit. This last point might not bother many builders as the tracks would obscure the omission, but for my build process (painting before fitting the track assemblies) it would have resulted in overspray into the interior spaces (visible through the open turret.) Also, the grouser racks proved to be a bother. First, they are supplied with grousers cast on, and it takes a fair bit of careful work to cut them off. Given that the majority of M10s were equipped with tracks that could not fit grousers, it means the building to the kit instructions will likely result in an incorrect depiction of the vehicle. Also the racks are fitted into a recess on the hull sides, meaning they cannot be positioned differently, or omitted altogether, without some tricky filling of the recesses, and replication of the rack mounting points.

Extended baggage racks and interior floor detail (only visible by peering into the turret) were added. No crew figures are supplied with the kit, so my crew were recruited from various Warlord Games kits. Baggage and stowage was sources from the Rubicon "Allied Stowage Kit 1", Die Waffenkamer, and scratchbuilt. Decals from Marshall/Starmer/Dom's Decals and Warlord.