Okay, so here we go. The second armor build of my adult modeling life. The first with an open turret, which scares the crud out of me! Pretty sure this is also one of the first non-Tamiya armor kits I’ve ever built.
The instructions threw me for a loop almost at once, with all kinds of stuff going on in the hull interior. Then I skipped ahead and realized that the turret didn’t have a floor.
So I guess I’m building out a full interior for this one!
Also got the RB Model 17 pounder built. Still have a lot to do to it on the crew side, but the business end is looking pretty solid.
Overall impressions of the kit so far aren’t terribly favorable. The fit of major components - like turret walls - feel very vague and don’t always line up 100%. There’s no locking mechanism for the turret ring. Ejector pin marks everywhere, including right out plain sight! My chisel blade is working overtime on this one…
Now you have gotten my attention… this should be fun! [Y] I am surprised that they would let ejector pin marks on the exterior. Bad decision at the manufacturer’s end…
Yeah, me too…but unless the Achilles had random frisbee-sized circles all over the place, ejector marks abound. You can see two of them where they’ve been shaved off on the top rear of the turret. They’re all over the inside panels, too. A few are covered up by stuff, but at least half of them aren’t. Frustrating.
The hull exterior also had a bunch of little raised circles, I guess maybe for the M10, since the instructions have you shave them off. Definitely bring a chisel to this kit!
I’m also pondering a Tasca M2 for this build. The kit gun isn’t bad, but it’s not amazing, either.
Hmmmmm, built AFV Club’s M10 and M36 and thought they were pretty good kits. Then again that was over ten years ago and my memory is getting fuzzy in my old age.
Great work so far, please hang in there. I wanna see what she looks like when she’s done. [Y]
Ohh there are so many puns to be made on the ‘Achilles’ name…
Looking good so far Doog, hang in there as the camoulflage scheme on the box cover looks very cool.
Im 3000 miles away from my hobby bench (now mosty stored in the shed) yet I have some basic tools and about 50 unbuilt kits stashed in the motorhome. Now just need to get to it…
The Canadians used a turretless SPG based on the British 17 LB AT gun, its called ‘The Archer’ & I hope to build it one day…
No worries about me bailing on this one. It’s got some frustrating elements, but I’m a long way from subjecting it to withering sledgehammer fire.
I am, however, leaning away from the whitewash scheme and think I will be going with the green/black camo that’s seen on the box art.
I will, though, probably be taking my sweet time with this one. Aside from the Mossie that’s sharing the bench, I’m eyeing every build from the Achilles out as potential contest fodder (the other two being a WnW Sopwith Pup and a Revellogram B-25J converted to a PBJ-1J). If I have to do a full interior and open turret, I want to do it right!
Got a set of brass 17 pounder rounds on order at the LHS, and I noticed the other day that they’ve got a few Tasca M2s in stock, so I’ll be adding those at least. Still debating how much, if any, of the Eduard PE set I want to use. Seems kind of silly to use the PE tread plate when the kit’s already got really good tread plate detail…but some of the driving levers, straps and such probably make a lot of sense.
Well, I turned the barrel so you can’t see the seam. [:P]
Actually…the RB model barrel is kind of frustrating because the weight and the mounting collar are to small for the diameter of the aluminum barrel. Had to widen them out with a needle file.
You’ve discovered that not all manufacturers are created equal in the armor world but glad to hear you’re hanging with this one despite the ejector mark challenge! Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one. [Y]
Funny, since I somehow got it in my head that AFV Club had a pretty great reputation!
I ended up breaking out the Eduard PE set I had for this thing last night…parts of it seem silly (replace the well-molded treadplate with PE treadplate), but other bits are highly useful. Hopefully I’ll start shooting primer on a few bits tonight and have something to show. I’m definitely getting that feeling that I’ve hit a point where I need to paint stuff before I can move forward.
Same here… was planning to get more American armor… M-10 and M-36. I understand that AFV Club make them the best… maybe one day Dragon or Tamiya will issue those. Who knows?
Got the major interior bits primed. I also continue to be amazed at the vague fit this kit exhibits. Consider the ammo racks in the turret. They’re basically a flat surface to flat surface join, with a vaguely raised perimeter to help you locate them. Only the perimeters seem off. And aren’t actually the same size as the racks. Would it have been so hard to place some locating trenches instead?
Here are some of the PE additions. If they were going to be more visible, I’d probably replace the controls with metal rod, but you can’t really see that far up the hull. Instead I’ll be focusing on the raised treadplate platform and the ammo racks on top of the sponsons.
Lastly, a look at just how much space the back end of the 17-pounder occupies within the turret. That’s a big boy!
Doogs, the round raised spots on the outside, side panels, are for probably the M-10 version, which has bolt heads in those places for add on Armor plate…
Doogs, the round raised spots on the outside, side panels, are for probably the M-10 version, which has bolt heads in those places for add on Armor plate…
