Extratech 1/72nd M10 GMC Extrapack By Matt Bittner

History

The development of the U.S. T35 tank destroyer, based on the M4A2 chassis, was finished in April 1942. After the tests and the turret and body modifications it was ready for mass production and the armed forces service as "3 inch Gun Motor Carriage M10" in July 1942. 4993 of them, powered by the diesel engine, were produced by the Fisher Tank Arsenal, a part of Chrysler Co. M10A1 version tank destoyers, based on the M4A3 chassis, were produced by Ford Motor Company. They were powered by gasoline burning engines. 1413 turreted M10A1 were produced, 300 more were completed as M35 Full-Tracked Prime Movers without the turret. The larger grill doors on top of the rear hull of the M10A1 was the only external visible difference in comparison with the M10.

M10 tank destroyers served in the U.S. Army and other allied armies - those of Great Britain, Canada, South Africa, France, Brasil and the USSR. Polish units used them, too. After WW2 some of them were used by the armed forces of Israel and Egypt. The British called them "Wolverine". To improve the tank destroyer gun effectiveness the original U.S. 3 inch gun has been substituted by the excellent British Mk. V 76.2mm 17 pounder gun.

The M7 3 inch gun (76.2mm) in the open turret has been used as the main armament. The turret rotated through 360 degrees and could reach -10 to +30 degrees of elevation and depression respectivelly. 15 rounds per minute could be fired. 54 rounds were carried by the M10. The ballance weight and the U.S. 12.7mm machine gun were situated on the back of the turret. The crew consisted of five men, the commander, driver, assistant driver, gunner and loader.

During the fights in Europe and the Pacific area the M10 tank destroyer vulnerabilty in a cramped areas, like the junles in the Pacific areas and the typical bushed landscape in Normandy, showed itself. The greatest difficulties were encountered during the battles in German towns, where the M10 open turret did not shelter the crew from attacks of higher positioned guns. That is why some units made improvised overhead protection. The tank destroyer idea was discontinued by the U.S. Army after the end of WW2. (History taken from the instruction sheet.)

The Kit

The kit consists of 233 injected parts, two frets of photoetch, 29 resin and a brass barrel. Molding is exquisite on everything - from what I understand, Eduard does the plastic molding while Extratech handles everything else. Decals are perfect and in register and there are enough for six schemes: an M10 of the US 1st Armored Division, 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion; a Wolverine of the 1st Troop, 2nd Battery, 1st Anti-Tank Regiment, Polish 1st Armored Division, The Netherlands, Autumn 1944; a U.S. M10 of the 634th Tank Destoryer Battalion, Germany 1944; a U.S. machine in Dreaux, France, 17 August 1944; a French machine with the 3E Escadron de Combat, 1st Peloton, 1944-1945; and an M10 of the South African Army, 1/11 AT Regiment, Pretta, Italy, 17 November 1944.

Construction starts with assembling the bogies. All of the suspension is made up of separate parts, which are then added to the lower hull. The lower hull itself is built-up of multiple pieces - no doubt to keep the common parts common between the different types. From here construction moves onto adding the link-and-length tracks - which some might leave off until after major construction is finished.

Now some of the upper hull is added to the lower hull, along with more smaller pieces. After that's added then the interior is built up (it's really nice to see practically a complete interior in this model). Once that is complete then more of the upper hull is assembled before adding the rest of the upper hull assembly to the lower hull assembly.

Turret construction starts and again, a complete interior is provided. A nice alternative in the kit is for a hedgerow cutter and construction of it starts after the turret is built up.

Now for the final construction, which is adding the turret to the main hull, the hedgerow cutter and other smaller details. Most of the resin pieces are for stores and such that hang off the tank - including a superbly molded .50cal machine gun. While the plastic one isn't bad at all, the resin one goes that much further and it's a complete work of art.

Conclusion

This is an exceptional small scale armor (SSA) model. There is no aftermarket needed, especially in this Extrapack edition. While there are a lot of pieces - which will require some time to put all together - this should not stop anybody from purchasing and building this kit. Some people might balk on the price - I have heard close to US$35 - but think about purchasing a bare kit, then adding all the aftermarket details to it later. I bet by the time you get around to buying all the aftermarket that's contained within the Extrapack edition, you'll come close to the price of this kit. If this type of SSA model is what you're looking for, then by all means purchase it! Recommended!

My sincere thanks to Eduard for the kits.