Achilles' Tracks

Historical Background

After studying the German Blitzkrieg of 1939-1941, the US Army incorporated the idea of tank destroyers - fast, lightly armoured vehicles with high velocity anti-tank guns to deal with the armoured spearheads of the blitzkrieg. The result was the M10 Gun Motor Carriage based on the M4 Sherman tank but with thinner armour in order to comply with the high speed requirement. At the same time the British were examining the design for a low-silhouette tank destroyer with a 360-degree rotating turret mounting the hard-hitting Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun with armour able to resist 50 mm rounds at 800 yards. However, with the British resources and industry working at full capacity, together with the availability of Lend-Lease, the project was cancelled and they received the M10, nicknamed Wolverine in British service. The British received their first Wolverines in 1943 and found the M1 3-in anti-tank gun arming them gave better performance than the Ordnance QF 6-pounder anti-tank gun and equal to the 7.5-cm KwK 40 gun arming the Panzer IV and Sturmgeschutz III.

The British however still wanted to mount the 17-pounder gun but the main problem is how to mount the gun onto the existing vehicles. However, the initial batches of the British M10 had an easily modified mounting to facilitate the replacement of the M7 gun with the newer M1. The mounting also allowed the British to eventually mount the 17-pounder gun. But for later batches of M10s, only the T71 type can be converted while the T70 can only mount the lighter M1. The M10-based conversions were nicknamed Achilles Ic while M10A1-based conversions were called Achilles IIc. The 17-pounder was able to penetrate 131 mm of armour at 1,000 meters at 30 degree angle of penetration using APCBC rounds. The limited-availability APDS round can penetrate 192 mm at the same range and angle of attack. By comparison, the same APCBC rounds fired from the American 3-in gun can only penetrate 88 mm of armour while the very limited HVAP round can only penetrate 127 mm of armour. All these numbers show the clear superiority of the 17-pounder gun. Because of its length, the 17-pounder gun of the Achilles was fitted with a counterweight, giving it a distinctive appearance compared to the M10.

In practice, the British used the Achilles as a mobile anti-tank gun, able to reinforce an infantry attack and engage counterattacking enemy forces, while waiting for the slower towed 17-pounders be brought into position. This was actually in line with the original American concept of the tank destroyer. The Achilles was usually used in an offensive manner in support of Churchill tank-equipped units, which was not supported by the Sherman Firefly or the Challenger tank. The Achilles equipped the units of the Royal Artillery and Royal Canadian Artillery in Armoured Divisions or Corps Anti-Tank Regiments. The most successful action taken by the Achilles was during Operation Charnwood, when Achilleses and towed 17-pounders of the 245th Battery, 62nd Anti-Tank Regiment of the Royal Artillery stopped an attack by a mixed force of Panzer IV and Panther tanks of the 12th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, destroying thirteen panzers while losing four of their number.

The British received 1,650 M10s during the war, of which 1,100 were converted into Achilles standard. It was planned that 1,000 would be converted in time for Operation Overlord but eventually only 124 had been converted by 6 June 1944. Losses among Achilles-equipped unit at the time meant that replacements were often regular M10s, much to the crews' dismay. The numbers however picked up by the end of 1944 finally reaching the figure stated beforehand. 

The Kit

Two years after the release of the M10, AFV Club released the 'Anglified' version - the Achilles. The majority of the parts in this kit are the same with the ones in the M10 kit. The Achilles kit added a new sprue containing British-specific parts such as the gun mantlet, British-style fire extinguishers, British No.19 radio, spare track-link mounts, three Sten Guns with alternate metal stocks and six 17-pounder rounds for the ready-round racks. A new turned aluminium barrel is also included. Decals provide markings for six vehicles:

1. 93rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, 5 Corps Italy 1944

2. 1st Army Corps, Normandy 1944

3. 75th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, 11th Armoured Division, Belgium 1944-45

4. 4th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, Netherlands 1945

5. 21st Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, Guards Armoured Division, Netherlands 1944

6. 1st Anti-Tank Regiment, 1st Polish Armoured Division, Netherlands 1944

While other reviewers didn't mention it,  the decals in my kit were badly printed, with the Guards Armoured Division insignia and all of the arms of service insignias out of register. 

Construction

Since the Achilles, like the original M10 is an open-topped vehicle, construction started at the interior. Not much however is included (and as I have never seen the actual interior, it's rather moot actually). What were there however was nicely detailed. There are seats for the driver and his assistant but no control columns were included. The instrument panel was painted and drybrushed (although I shouldn't bother, really). The ammo rack on the sponson is there but unlike the M10, rounds were not provided. The beautifully-detailed transmission were next. After assembly, it was cemented to the transmission cover and the whole thing was mated to the main hull. The interior then received a rather heavy dark wash. Moving on to the suspension, AFV Club's VVSS suspension has a bit more breakdown than other companies' allowing more articulation especially for dioramas (which I don't need). It was quite tedious but strangely enough, after all the effort making the suspension articulate, they have the wheels with hollow backs.....The rear plate and all the fittings was then fitted to the hull, although I left the exhaust for the time being.

Before doing anything else to the upper hull, the faint raised circles marking the locations of the applique armour bosses were sanded off (unless you're doing the Canadian version).  Like the M10 kit, the driver and co-driver's hatches can be made moveable but I also decided to cement them shut as there were no sitting figures to fit there nor there were interior to speak of. The rear plate was then cemented but the tools placed there were left off until after painting has been done. The fit was was quite bad and needed putty to fill the gap. It should be noted that there is a difference for the location of the tools between the Canadian version and the rest of the options in the kit The grouser rack were then cemented to the hull. Again the location is different on the Canadian option. At the front of the hull, AFV Club gave options for the placement of the radio aerial and the right-hand side light (either on the same location as on the M10 or on the front plate for the former and either on the edge of the front plate or on top of the right headlight for the latter). The empty ammo racks on the sponson were partially filled with ammo from Bronco - just to have something in it.

On to the turret then. The turret is basically a carry-over from the M10 kit. However the upper rear panel is a straight piece of plastic which need to be folded to fit on the lower half (fit is a bit of a misnomer here). Also, instead of generic ammunition style (or using ammo from the M10), AFV Club provided 'proper' 17 pounder ammunition for the turret ready racks. I did not use them however. Instead I used the even better items from Bronco. They are however larger than the kit ammo but fortunately, they fit into the kit ammo racks (except for the topmost, right-side rack). A Sten Gun with alternative butts was also provided. The instructions have the magazine in place but I don't think the gun was stowed as such, so the magazines were left off. The real difference of the turret is at the front with a different mantlet and the gun (of course) and the differently-shaped counterweights on the rear of the turret. The M2 heavy machine gun was left off the this time to ease handling of the turret. And, to ease painting (more or less) the interior parts were painted before they were assembled, with touching-up of the paint took place after construction.

Painting and Decalling

Allied vehicles are pretty straightforward to paint by (usually) having just one colour. In the interest of accuracy, the Achilles should be painted SCC15 (British) Olive Drab. Since I usually paint using Tamiya stuff and Tamiya does not have this colour, they need to mixed using Tamiya paints. I However ran out of some of the paint, and so I painted it 'straight' XF-62 Olive Drab. The majority of marking options in the kit have plain schemes and to add a bit more variety to my collection, I decided to finish my model in the Guards Armoured Division markings. The camouflage pattern was painted using Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black. The decals were applied next. They settled without any problems but you can't help noticing the rather obvious mis-register (is there such a word?) of the decals especially the arms of service marking. The model then received a wash using stuff from AK Interactive.

Finishing

I didn't mention it early on but the tracks were fitted onto the running gear before the upper hull was cemented to the lower half. The tracks were painted XF-64 Red Brown as base while the track pads were painted XF-69 NATO Black. It was earlier decided that turret opening is wide enough for some parts to be left off and so only at this time the ammo pieces were put in place, together with the aforementioned Sten. AFV Club did not include stowage so I added some from my stash and from Bronco's 17-Pounder Ammunition Set and British Field Accessories Set. The turret and upper hull received a thin layer of XF-57 Buff to stimulate dust. The Buff layer for the hulls was streaked down to simulate rain marks. The marks were enhanced here and there using AK Interactive Weathering Pencil. The lower hull received mud applications using Vallejo Splash Mud, Ammo Dark Mud and AK Interactive Earth Effects. 

Conclusion

While the amount of detail is pretty good for the outside, I believe that interior is simplified and is something that is not so good for an open-topped vehicle. The fit is also not very good especially for the turret walls and the rear hull plate which require putty. The decals is one of the worst for a mainstream kit with out-of-register printings. And, apparently, like their M10 kit, the turret is rather inaccurate although I don't have any means to verify the claim. Anyway it does look like an Achilles's turret so there. It is nevertheless a very buildable kit and recommended to all. Of course, if you want to have an easier build, there' always the newer Tamiya kit of the same vehicle!

American Panzerjager

Historical Background

In the aftermath of the Battle Of France, the US Army perceived that in the face of the German Blitzkrieg tactics, its units are expected to be faced by large numbers of German tanks attacking on a relatively narrow front. The enemy was expected to break through the thin anti-tank gun screen. Therefore it was decided that the main anti-tank units, the Tank Destroyer battalions should be concentrated and made mobile. This was later turned into the so-called tank destroyer doctrine and was championed by Lt. General Lesley McNair, Commanding General, Army Ground Forces. Under this doctrine, the tank destroyer battalions were to be held as reserve at the corps or army level and to be moved quickly to the site of enemy armoured breakthrough, using aggressive tactics to destroy enemy tanks. This led to a requirement for a fast, heavily-armed vehicle. Although equipped with a turret, the tank destroyer was more heavily gunned, but, in order to be more maneuverable, more lightly armoured than a regular tank, This doctrine was considered to cause the delay in introducing the M26 Pershing heavy tank and limited the Sherman's armament to just 3"/76mm.

The first prototype of a standardised tank destroyer (as there already existed the half-track M3 75mm GMC and the truck-based M6 37mm GMC) was based on the M3 Medium Tank chassis but it was later decided to use the M4 (Sherman) Medium Tank chassis. The first M4-based prototype was designated 3-in Gun Motor Carriage T35. It was armed with a M7 3-in (76.2mm) gun in a circular, open-topped turret (developed from the defunct M6 heavy tank project) and placed on top of a M4A1 chassis. The second prototype, the M35E1 used the M4A2 chassis and used a pentagonal turret with flat, sloped sides, frontal 'beak' and inverted-slope rear face. The turret and the hull plates were held in place by large nuts. In June 1942 it was standardised as the 3-in Gun Motor Carriage M10 and was ordered into production. The M7 gun fired a number of anti-tank rounds including M79 AP, M62 APCBC, M93 HVAP and the APHE. The last mentioned, despite its shortcomings were included in 54 rounds carried. Two large counterweights were carried at the back of the turret because of the weight of the weapon and the lightness of the turret. An M2 .50-cal machine gun, along with 1,000 rounds can be mounted at the top rear of the turret. The weapons were supplemented by the crew's personal weapons for self-protection. Being an M4A2-based vehicle, the M10 was powered by a General Motors 6046 diesel engine rated at 375hp. Later, the M10A1 variant were produced, these differed from the M10 by being based on the M4A3 chassis and used a petrol engine and the last 300 vehicles were armed with a M1 3-in gun with a better performance than the M7.

The M10 first saw action during the final stages of the North African campaign in 1943. The vehicle was successful as it was able to destroy most German tanks in the theatre. The M10 however did not conform to the actual tank destroyer doctrine, and in mid-1944 was supplemented by the smaller and lighter M18 Hellcat. The M10 later faced the Tiger and Panther tanks in Europe, whose frontal armour was proof against the M10, unless a HVAP round was used. In theory, the open-topped turret is a liability in urban or forested areas, making the crew vulnerable to grenades, mortars and artillery. However the turret was liked by the crews as it allow better visibility and communication with the infantry. And should the vehicle be disabled, the open turret allowed them to escape more easily. The doctrine of using armoured vehicles working in close support with the infantry also helped protect them from enemy infantry. Some individual vehicles rigged extra armour to act as a roof, protecting them from mortar and artillery fire. Towards the end of the war, the armour of the M10 was proved to be too thin and was vulnerable to German infantry anti-tank weapons such as the Panzerfaust and the Panzerschreck. To help bolster protection, crews started to pile sandbags on the frontal plate and baulks of timber for the sides. Another weakness was the slow turning rate of the turret - it took 2 minutes to make a full turn, because of manual traverse. However since they operated in larger numbers, and generally being more maneuverable than their opponents, the weakness was not really a distinct disadvantage.

Several hundred M10s were delivered to the Allies as part of Lend-Lease. The British designated their M10s as '3 in Self- Propelled' or 'M10 3 in SP' and was operated by the Royal Artillery. The British M10s saw action in Italy and North-West Europe, many being upgraded with the QF 17-pounder anti-tank gun as the 17pdr SP Achilles. 54 M10s were delivered to the Soviet Union, although there were few records of them in action. The Free French Army also operated M10s, where one M10 named Sirocco, assigned to the Regiment Blinde de Fusiliers Marins, disabled a Panther tank during the liberation of Paris. The Panther was parked near the Arc de Triomphe, with Sirocco at the other end, at the Place de la Concorde. Requiring a snap shot, Sirocco managed to get a first-round hit when the gunner remembered the textbook length of the Champs-Elysses, dialed the range and fired.

A total of 6,706 M10 and M10A1s were built between June 1942 and December 1943. 300 of those were turretless M10A1s designated Full Track Prime Mover M35 used as artillery tractors. Apart from the M18, the M10 was also supplemented by the M36 GMC, armed with a 90-mm gun.

The Kit

Until 1999, the only 1/35 kit of the M10 was the 1960s-vintage Tamiya kit (and its Academy copy). The kit has only basic detailing and is oversized, being more of 1/32 scale. In that year, AFV Club, the Taiwan-based scale model manufacturer released this new-tool kit. The kit consists of 332 plastic parts, 8 vinyl parts (2 track runs and six components for the suspension), 1 nylon string, 1 turned aluminium barrel, 1 spring and a decal sheet. The kit is well-moulded and having good detail, although it, like Tamiya Shermans, has hollow-backed road wheels. Being an open-topped vehicle, AFV Club has included a fairly complete interior, which was way better than the Tamiya kit. No ready rounds are included in the kit and AFV Club suggests a separately available brass ammunition set.  The M10's distinctive applique armour bosses are moulded separately, with tiny raised circles moulded on the hull for their placements. The separate bosses make it easier for modelers to hang goodies on the hull and the turret, without cutting them off first. Grouser racks are also included, together with 26 grousers. The tracks are of the T49 three- bar steel cleat style. AFV Club also suggested the alternative (separately available) workable T51 rubber padded track. Recoiling gun gimmick was included through the use of the supplied spring. Decals provide markings for six vehicles:

1. 'Pistol-Packin' Mama', Tank Destroyer School, Texas 1943
2. 634th Tank Destroyer Battalion, Germany 1944
3. ROC Army, Jinmen Island 1958
4. 'Le-Malin', French 2nd Armored Division, France 1944
5. 'Lion', France 1945
6. 'Essling', France 1945

Construction

Since the M10 is an open-topped vehicle, construction started at the interior. Not much however is included (and as I have never seen the actual interior, it's rather moot actually). What were there however was nicely detailed. There are seats for the driver and his assistant but no control columns were included. The instrument panel was painted and drybrushed (although I shouldn't bother, really). The ammo rack on the sponson is already moulded on but thankfully the tubed rounds are separate, avoiding the ugly moulded-on ammo of Academy's M18. The beautifully-detailed transmission were next. After assembly, it was cemented to the transmission cover and the whole thing was mated to the main hull. The interior then received a rather heavy dark wash. Moving on to the suspension, AFV Club's VVSS suspension has a bit more breakdown than other companies' allowing more articulation especially for dioramas (which I don't need). It was quite tedious but strangely enough, after all the effort making the suspension articulate, they have the wheels with hollow backs.....The rear plate and all the fittings was then fitted to the hull, although I left the exhaust for the time being.

Before doing anything else to the upper hull, the applique armour boss were assembled (they were of two-piece affair) and cemented to the hull. Faint raised circles mark their locations. The driver and co-driver's hatches can be made moveable but I decided to cement them shut as there were no figures to fit there nor there were interior to speak of. The rear plate was then cemented but the tools placed there were left off until after painting has been done. The same goes with the track grouser racks and the track grouser themselves. Before I forgot, the fire extinguisher was painted it was placed on the left hull as per the instructions. Unlike my previous armour builds, the upper hull and the hull pan was not mated prior to painting. Holes were drilled into the transmission cover after which plastic rods were inserted to act as support for timbers used to hold sandbag armour in place. The sandbags were made with two-part putty and while I *think* it looked better than the earlier sandbags on my M13/40 and M5A1 models, there are still plenty of rooms for improvement!

The turret was a multi-piece assembly with separate walls. The details on the walls were cemented first onto the respective walls. AFV Club however did not include the ready rounds and I have to turn to my stash to fill the turret racks - they are however 76 mm rounds instead of 3-inch, so some artistic license was used here, besides, I have no idea of the differences between the two calibres! As mentioned before, AFV Club included the recoil gimmick for the gun but the weight of the metal barrel made the whole assembly quite wobbly so I just superglued the gun in place. The inside of the turret was painted before assembly while the applique armour bosses on the turret walls were left off temporarily while I worked out the stowage

Painting And Decalling

Again, if it's a World War 2-era US vehicle, it will be in Olive Drab. Tamiya XF-62 was the paint used this time while the tyres were painted using XF-63 German Grey. The tracks and grousers were painted a base of XF-64 red brown and given a wash using AK Interactive track wash while the tools (still on their sprues) were painted Steel and Red Brown. The 'timbers' holding the sandbags in place were unpainted and were just given a wash of red brown. As for markings, although the French M10s have colourful insignias, I prefer to have the M10 in its 'native' user's markings and therefore went for a US Army vehicle. I also preferred a front line vehicle and so the first option was out of contention also, leaving the rather bland and boring second option (the majority of M10s have rather boring markings anyway!). The sandbags were painted XF-57 Buff and given a brown wash.

Finishing

The panel lines, engine grille and the armor bosses were given a pin wash. the track grousers were then placed on the hull racks. Note that there aren't enough of the grousers to fill the racks.For accessories, items from Tamiya Allied Vehicle Accessories Set were selected, painted XF-49 Khaki, given a wash and were then cemented to the turret sides - the rolled canvas however needed sanding down (as it was meant to go on a rounded surface, like a Sherman turret perhaps) in order to avoid gaps between it and the turret. There was a slight gap remaining so I slotted a canvas bucket, also from the Tamiya set between the canvas and the turret wall. Other additional items include C-Ration boxes (also from Tamiya), generic boxes from Academy and gas cans from Hero. These were placed on the engine deck. Not much weathering was done, just applying Mig Productions European Dust on the lower hull and tracks.

Conclusion

The AFV Club M10 was considered to be the better of the two M10 kits available at the time I bought my copy. I have not seen the Academy one so I really cannot make a fair comparison. Nevertheless AFV Club kits are bit 'fussier' to build and apparently the shape of the turret is a bit off but to my eyes, it still looks very much like an M10. Nowadays, modellers would probably pick up the new Tamiya kit of the M10 but the AFV Club is still a good alternative. My nitpick with this kit is the lack of rounds for the turret ammo rack and the lack of personal weapons, otherwise it is indeed an excellent kit.

Cents In The Jungle

Historical Background

In 1943, the Directorate of Tank Design was ordered by the British War Office to design a new 'heavy cruiser' tank design, designated A41. After a history of fairly mediocre tank designs, coupled with the threat posed by the German 88 mm gun, the A41 was required to have increased durability and reliability, the ability to withstand a direct hit from an 88 mm gun and an increased protection against mines while remaining within a maximum weight of 40 tons. A high top speed was not required although an agility on par with the Comet tank was needed. The Directorate responded by creating a longer hull (lengthened by adding a sixth wheel) but using the same set of long-travel five-wheel suspension of the Comet. The entire drive train consists of three bogies with two wheels each. The original Christie suspension was replaced by the externally-mounted Horstmann suspension. While having a lesser ride quality, the Horstmann suspension took up less room and was easier to maintain. The hull was redesigned, incorporating welded, sloped armour while the turret was partially cast. Armament was the well-regarded Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun. A 20 mm Polsten cannon was mounted to the left of the main gun on a separate mounting. Powerplant was the tried and trusted Rolls-Royce Meteor engine. The A41 was named 'Centurion'.

However, it was soon realised that the requirement to withstand 88 mm projectiles cannot be met within the 40-ton weight limit (the limitation was set so that the A41 can be carried on the existing Mark I and II transport trailers, which have a 40-ton weight limit). The War Ministry dediced that it would be better to build new trailers rather than altering an already excellent design. In addition, heavier designs were being contemplated, carrying armour comparable to the best-protected infantry tanks while having the performance superior to the early cruiser tanks. In short, the A41 was the first British tank to incorporate the best features of the infantry and cavalry tanks in one package, known as the 'universal tank'. The design mockup was built by AEC Ltd and was viewed in May 1944. Subsequently 20 pre-production vehicles, designated Centurion Mark 1 were built. Divided into four groups they were armed with a 17-pounder gun, a 20 mm Polsten plus a 7.92mm Besa in the turret rear; another batch has the same armament but having an escape hatch instead of the Besa; 17-pounder and a co-axial Besa and finally a 77 mm gun and a remotely-operated hull machine gun.  The Mark 1 has a glacis plate 76 mm thick (actually thinner than the Churchill and Matilda) but the sloping armour actually gave it a higher effective thickness. Three vehicles were sent to Belgium for trials in March-April 1945 but they arrived too late to see any action.

Concerned with the Soviet armoured threat, the Mark 2 was introduced in 1946. It had a new cast turret and a thicker (110 mm) frontal armour. It entered service in December 1946 with the 5th Royal Tank Regiment. Marks 1 and 2 were later upgraded into Mark 3 standard when the latter entered service, or converted into recovery vehicles. In 1948, the Mark 3 was introduced. The Mark 3 introduced the new Ordnance QF 20-pounder (84 mm) gun which incorporated a fully-stabilised gun control system, enabling it to fire even more accurately than previous tanks. The introduction of a more powerful gun plus the fact that 20 mm rounds were unnecessarily large against infantry, caused the Polsten gun to be removed from this mark, and was replaced with a 7.62 mm machine gun. The Mark 4 was an abandoned 95 mm gun-armed close support version. The Mark 5 was the most advanced of the A41 variants. It featured a thicker armour, a more powerful version of the Meteor engine, a Browning 7.62 mm machine gun for the commander's cupola and a ranging 12.7 mm machine gun. The sub-variant 5/2 introduced the famous Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm gun, developed after the 'capture' of a T-54A tank during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. The rest of the Marks (up to Mark 13) are basically upgrades to the Mark 5 with improved armour, redesigned features or with additional equipment. A total of 4,423 Centurions, including specialised versions were delivered by the time production ended in 1962.

The Centurion first saw combat during the Korean War. Three squadrons of Centurion Mark 3 belonging to the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars landed at Pusan (now Busan) on 14 November 1950, and were subsequently followed by other units. The British Centurions faced combat in sub-zero conditions, akin to what greeted the German Wehrmacht in Russia during World War 2. The Centurions covered the withdrawal of the British 29th Brigade during the Battle of Imjin River from 22-25 April 1941, losing five of their numbers. The Centurions of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment were also instrumental in defeating the Chinese forces during the Second Battle Of The Hook (28-19 May 1953). In general the Centurions showed better performance than the American M26 Pershing. In tribute of the Centurions, General John O'Daniel of the US 1st Corps remarked that "...In their Centurions, the 8th Hussars have evolved a new type of tank warfare. They taught us that anywhere a tank can go, is a tank country: even the tops of mountains". The Centurions were also deployed during the 1956 Suez Crisis. When the 6th Royal Tank Regiment landed at Port Said on 5-6th November 1956, they fought against Egyptian T-34 and SU-100, suffering no losses. In the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the Indian Centurions proved superior against the Pakistani Pattons at the battles of Assal Uttar, Khem Karan, Phillora and Chandiwa. Israeli Centurions (called Sho't by the IDF) was used from the 1967 war onwards; their 'finest hour' came during the engagement at the 'Valley Of Tears' at the Golan Heights during the 1973 Yom Kippur War where roughly 100 Sho'ts of the 7th Armoured Brigade defeated around 500 T-54/55 and T-62s of the Syrian Army. Modernised Sho'ts also took part part during the invasion of Lebanon in 1982.    

The Centurion was also used during the Vietnam war by the Australians. Following field reports stating that the Royal Australian Armoured Corps' (RAAC) M113 ACAVs were too light and too vulnerable to support an infantry attack against a well-equipped and determined enemy, the Australian government eventually decided to deploy a reinforced squadron of 20-pounder armed Centurion tanks (The Australians retained the 20-pounder gun as they deemed it to be adequate for operations in South-East Asia). On 24 February 1968, 'C' Squadron of the 1st Armoured Regiment landed at South Vietnam and was headquartered at Nui Dat in the III Corps Tactical Zone.  After several weeks in-country, the Centurion crews removed the side-skirts in order to prevent mud and vegetation build-up between the side skirts and the tracks. Additional armour was welded onto the glacis plate to improve protection against RPGs. The normal basic load was 62 rounds of 20-pounder shells, 4,000 rounds of 12.7 mm and 9,000 rounds of .30-cal. 

The Centurions took their first active participation in Operation Pinnaroo in March 1968 to clear the VC from their strongholds in the Long Hai hills. The tank crews developed a standard method for bunker clearing by firing three to four canister rounds to clear the thick jungle foliage and then firing one or two APCBC rounds to destroy the bunkers. Fire from the two .30-cals and the single 12.7mm were also effective. Centurions also took part in the largest battle the Australians fought in Vietnam, at the Battle of Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral from 12 May to 6 June 1968. The Centurions again supported the infantry by attacking enemy troops and bunker complex and also became a mobile bunker for defence. In May 1968, a third troop, which included tankdozers, was formed and by September of the same year, 'C' Squadron was up to its full strength of four troops, each with four Centurions. By the end of the Australian involvement in Vietnam, 'B' Squadron of the 3rd Cavalry regiment and the 'B' and 'C' Squadrons of the 1st Armoured Regiment has made their tour of duty. A total of 58 Centurions were deployed, 42 of them suffered battle damage (6 beyond repair) and two crewmen killed.

The Kit

For years 1/35 scale modellers have to do with the long-in-the-tooth Tamiya kit of the Centurion. In 2006, AFV Club of Taiwan responded to the call for a new-mould Centurion by first releasing the Asutralian version of the tank, which was used in Vietnam. The kit consists of 410 parts in olive drab plastic, 18 in clear plastic, metal main gun and co-axial MG barrels, vinyl tyres and tracks, metal springs, vinyl polycaps, a length of steel cable, a small mesh and a small PE fret. Also included (in the initial batch of the kit) is a resin commander's figure (hence the 'Special Parts' claim on the box top). The standard of moulding is excellent with crisp details. I haven't dry-fit the parts but based on previous AFV Club kits I have built, it should be a positive experience. The only major problem I read about this kit is the fit of the fume extractor, as it cannot slip through the muzzle. AFV Club did add a small errata sheet (suggesting the modeller to enlarge the opening) but I believe this in turn would make the extractor hanging loose around the barrel. Also, there is no accessory whatsoever included. Decals provide markings for five Centurions:

1. 31B, 'C' Squadron, 1st Armoured Regt, Vietnam 1968

2. 4C, 'Uc-Dai-Loi Or Bust', 'C' Squadron, 1st Armoured Regt, Vietnam 1971

4. 1C, 'A' Squadron, 1st Armoured Regt, Vietnam 1970

5. 3C, 'Pussy Eater', 'C' Squadron, 1st Armoured Regt, Vietnam 1971

There is a decal with another vulgar nickname ('Clitoris Pubis') but was nowhere noted in the instruction sheet.

My Centurion is a second-hand kit and included in the price are Eduard's PE set and AFV Club's mantlet cover.

Construction

The kit's construction started with the suspension units. All six were made workable by the use of springs while four of them (front and rear pairs) can also have their suspension arms made workable by using a heated head of a nail to flatten the excess plastic on the joints. I left off the wheels first although the instructions have you assemble and place them on the suspension at this time and jumped straight to the lower hull assembly. After shaving off unwanted details (as instructed), the final drive cover were cemented to the hull. Extra details from the Eduard PE set were added to the bottom of the hull even though they were not visible to the casual observer. The idler mounts were cemented to the hull and thanks to the Perth Military Modelling Website, bolt details for the idler mounts (which were on the sprue but not mentioned in the instructions) were added. While Eduard provided PE exhaust deflector, I decided to use the kit one instead. The mountings for the return rollers were cemented to the hull but like the road wheels, the rollers were left off at this time.

Moving on to the upper hull, AFV Club have the usually single-mould part broken down into seven. I started at the rear (as recommended) by cementing the engine panel and intake grill first and worked forward. I also skipped some interior parts as they won't be really visible to the casual observer. The inside face of the upper hull panels were however littered with ejector towers. While I usually left them alone, they interfered with assembly and need to be trimmed away. The engine grill panel was made of two parts, allowing greater amount of detail. The instructions have you drill two holes on the driver's panel but as no indentations were made on that part as guide, I skipped the procedure. Going back to the rear of the hull, I added all the grab handles and due to easier handling, I opted for the kit ones. The auxiliary fuel tank was assembled but I found the fit wasn't very good (or perhaps it was just me). Certain parts were substituted with PE although again the grab handle remain kit part B29. Returning to the front hull again, the driver's hatch was cemented to its place. Certain clunky features were shaved off and replaced with Eduard PE. AFV Club provided a couple of PE pieces for the hatches but I substituted them with the more refined Eduard pieces.

Square-shaped blobs on the fenders ( I guess they are the mountings for the side skirts) were removed and replaced with PE. The storage bins were assembled and before attaching them to the fenders, I pondered whether to replace the plastic latches and grab handles with PE substitutes. Not wanting to prolong the build (I'm actually a slow builder nowadays), I left them as they were as and only using some small PE parts and replacing the rear mudguards. Before attaching the fenders to the hull, I added Eduard PE boot scrapers. I found it a bit clumsy to assemble, mainly because of the close proximity of the scraping surfaces. As the fender placement grooves on the hull sides looked rather shallow, I inserted blobs of plasticine underneath the fenders, removing them once the glue has cured. Having said that, the right-hand side fender was warped, causing gaps which could not be completely covered. The exhausts were then assembled. As I was going to use the PE parts, the moulded-on heat shield on the muffler was cut and and sanded off while the heat shield for the exhaust pipe was completely replaced with the PE substitute. I should have taped the PE parts on the originals before bending them as they ended up being crooked a bit.

Next, I turned my attention to the turret. The basic turret consists of five parts: bottom, roof, two sides and the mantlet.  Fit wasn't that good with seam lines between the roof and the turret walls with the worst-fitting areas on the back of the turret. The instructions also erroneously marked mantlet I14 to be used; but the illustration showed mantlet I9. Quickly checking the box art and photos on the internet, the actual mantlet to be used is I9 and I acted accordingly. The mantlet was secured to the turret using vinyl keepers. However the sockets on the turret sides were too small. I therefore removed the vinyl keepers and simply installed the mantlet without them. Of course they are loose inside the socket but I believe the fitment of the mantlet cover would eliminate this problem.  The storage boxes were assembled but owing to the same reason as the hull storage bins, they remain as they were. The smoke grenade launchers were assembled but I only use the PE tube cover detail and a grab handle on the side (the rest of the PE parts were discarded). Most of the fittings on the turret were then cemented into place or replaced with PE substitutes.

Before dealing with the barrel, I put the separately available gun mantlet cover into place. It did not fit properly but being vinyl, a bit of a stretch allowed it to have a better fit. The cover however does not include an opening for the IR spotlight mount. I tried cutting a hole on the left hand side of the cover but it was still hard to maneuver the mount into place. In the end, I cut along the joint between the top and the front face of the cover, insert the spotlight mount and superglue the cut. And as expected, the cover effectively 'freezes' the mantlet in place. To fit the fume extractor on the barrel, I sawed the barrel at the location of the fume extractor, inserted the latter and re-attach the barrel together. The barrel was then superglued to the turret. Returning to the back of the turret, the stowage rack was assembled. It was quite fiddly and the less than perfect fit between the segments complicate the assembly a bit. Once the cement has dried fully, the metal mesh from the Eduard PE set was used instead of the nylon one from the kit.

The IR searchlight was the last component added to the model before painting. While many photos show RAAC Centurions without them in place (usually stowed on the turret rack), I decided to mount it on the mantlet (apparently the Aussie tankers re-mount the light with the approach of  the night). I can fashion a cover a la the IR searchlight cover on my M48 Patton, but I decided to test my skill in making the reflecting surface of the light. To simulate the reflecting surfaces, I used aluminium kitchen foil. Unfortunately the one used by my wife has patterns on it so I had to burnish them first. They were attached to the relevant parts using white glue and the excess foil was then removed using a sharp blade. The glass face was cleaned up of the moulded-on protrusions and were replaced with Eduard PE parts.

Painting and Decaling

The AFV Club instructions have Olive Drab as the colour although I doubt it was the 'straight' OD for Australian vehicles. An article (for a 1/72 Australian Centurion) in an issue of Model Military International suggests Humbrol French Artillery Green but I don't have this colour. I eventually settled on Chris Wauchop's interpretation of the colour: an equal mix of XF-62 Olive Drab, XF-58 Olive Green and XF-49 Khaki plus a bit of Gunze H312 Green FS34227. The mantlet cover was painted XF-49 Khaki. The base paint was then given a filter wash of brown. The exhausts were given a base of burnt iron and were then were given the hairspray technique treatment. Various browns were painted and before the paint cured fully, a stiff brush was used to scrape off the brown paints in an irregular manner. Afterwards I applied Tamiya Weathering Rust to tie the colours together (for the exhausts that is).

The brown filter somehow gave the model a satin finish so I don't have to coat the model with gloss clear for decalling. As for the marking themselves, I first have to filter out the vulgar ones (hey, there are kids in the house, alright?) and settled for the second option, 'Uc-Dai-Loi Or Bust' as it is more vibrant than the rest. And just like as mentioned in reviews elsewhere, the decals cracked. In this case, thankfully, just one, that is the artwork which broke into four pieces. Recognising the cause, which is not enough soaking time, the rest of the decals were soaked a bit longer than usual and I managed to put them on the model without any problems. And usual, they receive the Mr. Mark Softer treatment. The tank callsign was placed on a piece of styrene sheet which was painted flat black beforehand. Two small holes were punched into the two upper corners. Copper wire was run through them and the plasticard was then hung on the stowage rack.

Finishing

I started off by covering the entire hull and the lower part of the turret with XF-57 Buff. Afterwards, a mixture of African Earth and Iraqi Sand pigments from Mig Productions were mixed together with water and slathered all over the lower hull. The excess was then removed using a stiff brush. The same mixture was then spread over the lower hull 'dry' and I then applied some Mig Productions Pigment Fixer. I should have made a thicker mix for the original wet application as the fixer washed most of them away! Instead of fully assembling them, I just put the inner portion of the road wheels and return rollers onto the suspension Problems here were the tight fit of the poly caps and bad fit of the return roller halves. The idler and sprocket wheels were however fully assembled.The tracks were painted XF-64 Red Brown but I forego the track wash - I just dry-brush silver on the track cleats, apply pigment on the tracks and remove the excess, the tracks were then looped and glued and placed on the model. The idler mount was left unglued during assembly in order to adjust the tension of the tracks so that it will have a proper sit. Once done, Tamiya Extra Thin Cement was run on the joint to 'freeze' the position of the idler.

The rest of the still loose items can now be placed onto the model. The pioneer tools have all the moulded-on clamps removed and replaced with PE. They were painted XF-59 Desert Yellow for the wood portions and XF-63 German Grey, enhanced with pencil graphite, for the metal parts. The rack of ammo boxes were assembled and painted the hull colour while the boxes were painted straight XF-62 Olive Drab. The machine gun on the commander's hatch was assembled according to instructions. However I swapped the ammo box with one from the Academy US Machine Gun Set. I also used the ammo box holding bracket from the Eduard PE set. The fire extinguishers were given a base coat of white and were then painted X-7 Red and Flat Black. The metal braided wire used for the tow cable was positively stiff and needed annealing before it can be handled. Even so, the wire somewhat recovered some stiffness, making it a struggle to attach it to the model (perhaps because I left it for several days?)

A length of vinyl tubing was cut to simulate the electrical cable for the IR searchlight. A selection of items from Academy and Tamiya vehicle accessory sets were placed in the turret stowage basket. They were two jerricans, a food container, two MCI ration boxes and four water cans. Resources from the internet mention that upwards to 10 water cans (for the engine radiator) were usually carried by Centurions in the 'Nam but I could only find two British-style (same pattern as used by the Aussies) and two American ones (also used, according to what I read). While the ration boxes are American, I also read that they were also issued to Australian troops in Vietnam. Guitar strings were used to create the radio aerials (although I couldn't make them straight!). As for the figure, I wasn't sure what colour can be used to replicate the jungle green shirt worn but in the end I decided that lightened XF-81 RAF Dark Green can do the trick (or maybe not).

Conclusion

A great kit with highly detailed parts and (mostly) good fit. But I think the best part of this kit is the subject matter itself. The earlier Tamiya Centurion was focused on the Korean War-era Mark 3 while I guess many modellers would bet that AFV Club would came up with the famous Israeli Sho't version (or basic Israeli Centurion) first. The RAAC release also may help in reminding people that the Vietnam War was not entirely fought by US forces. The kit itself wasn't a Tamiya regarding to ease of construction; there is a bit of over-engineering as certain parts can be moulded together. Lack of an in-box mantlet cover is also disappointing as the item is seen on every photo of RAAC Centurions in Vietnam. Nevertheless it and the rest of AFV Club's Centurion family are very much welcomed!

Stuart, Little

Historical Background

In 1935, the Rock Island Arsenal developed the T2E1 Light Tank for the infantry branch of the US Army. Accepted for service as the M2, the first 10 units were armed with a .50-cal heavy machine gun in a small turret while subsequent units were of a twin-turret configuration, with the second turret armed with a .30-cal machine gun. Following the Spanish Civil War, the US Army decided that it needed gun-armed, rather than machine gun-armed tanks. In December 1938, an M2A3 was pulled out of the production line and modified with heavier weapons and armour. As the M2A4, it was equipped with an M5 37mm gun, 25mm of armour and a 7-cylinder radial petrol engine. 365 M2A4s were produced from May to March 1940 plus another 10 in April 1941. War which had erupted in Europe in September 1939 showed that the M2 design had become obsolete and the need for the Army to improve the design. With armour increased by another 12.7mm, but still armed with a 37mm gun and five (one AA, one co-axial, one the bow and one each on the hull sponsons) .30-cal machine guns, the M3 entered production in March 1941. Later units were armed with longer M6 37mm gun and the sponson machine guns removed.

The M3 was powered by the Continental W-670-9A radial engine which also powered various US Army training planes. The engine was mounted at the rear, with the shaft running through the fighting compartment to the transmission at the front. The radial engine also caused the shaft to be placed high off the hull bottom, reducing room in the fighting compartment. To relieve the demand for aero angines, while offering better ergonomics, a new version powered by twin Cadillac V-8 auto engines with twin Hydra-Matic automatic transmission was developed. The new model also had a redesigned hull with a sloped glacis plate. Armour was roughly the same with M3, despite the fact that German tank ammunition was getting better. Despite criticism that the M3 (named Stuart by the British after American Civil War general JEB Stuart) was underarmed, the new version was still equipped with the 37mm gun - practically useless against panzers but still effective against Japanese tanks. The engine was relatively quiet and the transmission has fluid shifting, making it stealthy enough in the reconnaissance role. It was also quiet fast with speeds up to 36mph. It was designated Light Tank M5 (originally M4 but was redesignated M5 to avoid confusion with the Sherman tank)

The M5 first saw combat during the Operation Torch in November 1942. It gradually became the standard US Army light tank, supplanting the M3. Because of its limited firepower, the M5 (and the M3) was only used in the scout and reconnaissance role, specifically in the European and the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. In the Pacific, it made its combat debut in that theatre during the invasion of Roi-Namur in 1944. There, the 37mm gun was still effective against Japanese armour, including the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks. The Stuarts were eventually succeeded by the M24 Chaffee in late 1944. A total of 6,810 M5s were built.

The Kit

Until fairly recently, the only mainstream (read: plastic) 1/35 M5 Light Tank kit in the market was the venerable Tamiya kit. In 2003, AFV Club came up with a newly-tooled kit of the M3A3 Stuart and finally, in 2010, came out with the Early Production version of the M5A1. The kit consists of 290 parts in olive drab styrene, 72 parts in black styrene (individual track links from AFV Club's own track set), a small PE fret, turned aluminium 37mm gun barrel, a length of twine, a few vinyl poly caps and of course the decal and instruction sheets. Apart from the running gear, main armament and some small details, the M5 kit did not use the M3A3 moulding as, after all, the M3 and M5 have different dimension. The kit is finely moulded with sharp details although I think some of them are too fine (what a complaint!) and require care when removing them from the sprue. There are also bolt heads moulded on the sprue runner which can be used to enhance the detail of this kit and are very useful for other projects that require them (and being me, I totally forgot about them and were binned with the rest of the sprue tree!). The vinyl tracks have good detail and unlike the Tamiya kit, the end connectors are at the correct positions.

The decals provide markings for six vehicles:

1. 'Carol' / C-34, 3rd Battalion, 33rd Armored Regt, 3rd Armored Division, Normandy 1944

2. 'Loup',  Free French 1st Squadron, 2nd Regiment, Chasseurs d'Afrique, 1st Armored Division,  Rhine crossing April 1945

3. Republic Of China Army, 1950s

4. 'Margaret', 4th Marine Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Saipan July 1944

5. British Army, 23rd Hussars, 29th Armoured Brigade, 11th Armoured Division

6. 34th Tank Battalion, 5th Armored Division

Construction

Unlike most tank kits from the Far East with one-piece lower hull tub, the M5A1 has separate panels. It made for greater details although one would have to exercise a little bit of care to ensure correct alignment of the walls. Once they are in place, the bulkhead separating the fighting compartment from the engine is put into place. While serving its purpose, the bulkhead also allows final alignment and stronger construction of the lower hull. Bolt heads moulded on the K sprue were then sliced off, put on the tip of a sharp modeling knife and were placed onto the final drive housing. Nothing out of the ordinary except that the bolt heads are real tiny and would be forever lost if dropped. I then went back to the actual first step in the instructions: the suspension and wheels, AFV Club provides two types of road wheels - solid or open spoke. The solid wheels are of two types, with four for each type. While it was not unusual for a Stuart to have a  mix of road wheels, it is unusual for them to be evenly divided. In any case, I decided to use the open spoke wheels. The drive sprocket also came in two types: open fancy type and solid. The instructions however only directed the modeller to use the solid type. The same goes with the idler wheels. The running gear was completed but left off the hull in the meantime and I continued with the engine access doors, tow hook and eyes and the rear sponson.

Moving on to the upper hull, I first glued part F1, which formed the bulk of the upper hull's shell onto the lower hull. Parts for the hull machine gun assembly were mated together and slid into place on the glacis plate (Part I2). The hull roof was then glued into place and was followed by the glacis plate. The side sponson covers at the rear, front fenders and engine deck cover were then cemented to the hull. The intake openings were covered with fine PE mesh but unfortunately, the screens allow the empty interior to be seen from the outside. And like the final drive housings, tiny bolt heads (20 of them) are to be scraped off the sprue and placed around the grilles. The hatch covers for the driver and co-driver's positions were assembled and then cemented in the closed position. Afterwards, various smaller parts such as fuel filler caps, towing eyes, ventilator covers, headlights and horn were cemented onto the model. The light brush guards were also added but they were delicate and needed patience to remove them from the sprues.

The turret assembly was next and was started by assembling the gun. The process was straightforward but rather fiddly due to the small size of many of the parts. The mating surface between the co-axial machine gun and the gunner's sight to the main gun were also quite small and needed to be lined up correctly so that the parts can be inserted into the mantlet without trouble. The shell of the turret was then assembled. Again, assembly is rather tricky if done according to the instructions as there are no locating pins. To add a bit of strength early in the assembly, the rear panel was cemented onto one half of the shell (I glued it onto the right half) and then cementing them onto the left half. The radio set was cemented to the back of the turret, followed by the gun assembly. The periscopes were assembled and fitted to the front turret roof panel and the roof was then cemented onto the turret. The rear roof panel did not fit well and I have to trim it down a bit. Finally the hatch doors, aerial base and the AA machine gun mounting were fitted.

Painting and Decaling

Generally for WW2 US tanks, you can paint them any colour as long as it was Olive Drab. I used Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab for this build. The tyres were painted Gunze H77 Tyre Black. The pioneer tools were originally painted the usual colours - steel for the metal parts and Buff/Red Brown for the handles. However I found out that the pioneer tools for US vehicles were actually painted olive drab, so they were repainted. But visual interest's sake, I only painted the 'wood' parts OD and left the 'metal' parts in steel. For markings, I chose the first option, 'Carol'. The decals were fairly thick but apply beautifully. However, after the decals has well and truly settled (and the cement long hardened), I managed to buy a copy of Military Modelling magazine featuring an article by Steve Zaloga about the M5. And there it is, a photo of 'Carol', fitted with the solid wheels! Oh well, another exercise in 'creative license' again!

Finishing

Maybe I did it out of sequence but I decided to add sandbags on the front plate of the tank. While I do have Tamiya's Sand Bag set, they cannot be used on vehicles, plus they are way oversized. So I used the tried-and-trusted (by others) method of using two-part putty. This was actually the first time I crafted anything using them and for this build, I used Tamiya's Epoxy Putty. I used a cut reed from a traditional-style broom to act as the stopper for the sandbags as I have run out of styrene sheet. The 'sandbags' are piled on the front plate. I was quite pleased with my first attempt but needless to say, there are still room for improvement. The sandbags were then painted XF-57 Buff.

The tracks were painted XF-69 NATO Black and the 'metal' parts were washed with AK Interactive Track Wash. The tracks were then glued and fitted onto the model. The grousers were painted XF-64 Red Brown, given the Track Wash treatment and were then hanged on their racks. There aren't enough of them to fill the racks though. The pioneer tools, machine gun and the towing cable were then permanently fixed onto the model. Stowage was then added courtesy of Tamiya Allied Vehicle Accessory Set and Academy Tanks Supplies Set II. The lower hull and tracks were then weathered using a mixture of Mig Productions European Dust and Rubble Dust pigments.

Conclusion

Another great kit from AFV Club. However, construction is a bit fiddly and require a bit more attention, especially for the turret. The addition of interior parts, although not comprehensive allow modellers to show the interior, perhaps with a figure to hide things a bit. The marking options also show a good selection of markings, from Europe to the Far East. A good successor to Tamiya's venerable M5A1.