Rubicon Models M10 / M36 Tank Destroyer

Let's start December right with a proper tank review. For this one, I unbox and build the M10 / M36 Tank Destroyer kit by Rubicon Models. It was released as part of the Q1/2016 novelties.

This 28mm / 1:56 scale kit gives you enough parts to build on of the following tank destroyer variants; the M10 "Wolverine", the M36 "Jackson", 17pdr SP Achilles and if you add one of the regular M4 Sherman hulls, even a M36B1. This makes this kit interesting for allied players of american and / or british armies. Rubicon Distributors offer this kit for 25 EUR / 20 GBP.

Inside the box you'll find an instruction leaflet, a decal sheet and three properly loaded sprues with all the pieces to build the variants above (excl. the M4 sherman hull from the 280012 kit).

The cast is crisp and clean. The dark grey plastic of Rubicon might still have some remaining release agent left, so it might be a good advice to give it a light scrub with luke warm soap water and a brush prior to priming (this is an advice, that is rather familiar in model building).

As I already have a Hellcat and a resin M10 Wolverine, the choice with this kit went with the 17pdr Achilles for my brits. The instruction are clear and easy to understand due to the illustrations. Beginning with the tracks and lower hull, the build goes fast. I added the usual lead weight (it is a wheel weight) to the plastic tanks, to give them a proper handling during gaming.

Next step covers the upper hull. Here you have several options, you could most likely magnetize them, if you want to swap between the variants.

The Achilles uses the M10 Wolverine chassis, so the parts of the M36 are spare. So far, a very easy build, no hassle or problems. A proper fit on all groups.

The final part of this Achilles is the turret, it has the iconic 17pdr gun and the gun can be elevated, if you don't glue it shut. The inside of the turret is detailled and has seats for a tank crew (not included), that might be released later by Rubicon, as first renders / 3d models have been seen on facebook.

Due to the many spare parts of this kits, you can build the entire M36 turret, that can be used on a spare M4 sherman hull (so you can swap between a regular Sherman and Tank destroyer). As with the Achilles turret, the interior is detailled and has space for an additional tank crew (not included). The luggage on the M4 hull is from a tamiya allied vehicle accessory set in 1:35, might replace it with something from the allied stowage by Rubicon.

Here you can see the M10 Wolverine resin kit by Warlord Games, the 17pdr Achilles and M36B1 by Rubicon Models next to each other.

And of course the 360° view of both, the Achilles 17pdr and the M36B1 below.

Conclusion
Really lovely kit. You know what to expect from these multi kits by Rubicon, and they deliver. I still have to build the plastic kit by Warlord Games / Italeri for a proper comparison plastic to plastic, as it would be unfair to compare them to older resin kits (having to say, the M10 is one of the better resin kits by Warlord).

If you prefer plastic over resin, there is no reason not to get this kit. It is a pretty straight forward build, easy and fast to assemble, with a proper fit. Modelwise a Hellcat or Sherman Firefly might be more appealling, but that is nothing you could blame the manufacturer for.

The M10 Wolverine was used in combat from 1942 on, roughly 6,500 units were built (M1o and M10A1) of which 1,100 very converted by the British into Achilles. A few months before the end of World War, the M10 was replaced by the M36 Jackson. After the war some of the remaining stock of M10 was sold to Israel, China or the Netherlands. The M36 was used by the US Americans after World War 2 in the Korean War and served for other countries after that like South Korea, Yugoslavia and China (two even until at least 2001!)

Link: Rubicon Models