Though I don’t really care for in box reviews of kits I was tired of just doing book reviews for the club. Unfortunately with five uncompleted kits on the workbench it was going to be a while before I got around to building this kit, so an in box review it would have to be.
First, a little history on the M36 (can not find out where the name Jackson came from, most of my references just call it an M36). In 1942 the U.S. realized it needed a more powerful gun than the three inch gun to combat German armor. The 90mm antiaircraft gun was selected and modifications began. It was determined that there would be no major problem adapting the M10 vehicle to fit the new gun. A new turret was designed in March of 1943 to fit the 90mm gun. After further testing and modification, the production drawings were released in November of 1943 with an order to convert 500 M10A1s to M36s by the addition of the new turret. Unfortunately only 300 could be converted, as the other M10s were too close to completion. To make up for this short fall additional M10A1 that were returned from the field were converted by ordnance depots.
The vehicles started arriving to units after August of 1944 where they were in great demand. In the end of 1944 a further 413 M10A1s had been convert to M36s. A further 187 M4A3 Shermans where converted to M36B1 by the addition of an M36 turret and internal stowage modifications. In May of 1945 an additional 200 M10A1s where converted to M36 due to the great demand for the vehicle. This exhausted the M10s available for conversion. The U.S. allowed the conversion of the diesel powered M10 to be converted to M36B2 which were considered substandard and only used for training.
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| An M36 near Guidekirch, France March, 1945. Notice the Sherman style gun lock on the front of the hull. |
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Academy’s kit comes in a large sturdy box with a rather lack luster drawing on the top. I would love to give you a part count but could not find any and I did not want to count them. Anyway, the parts are molded in a dark green plastic and two vinyl tracks. The kit contains a complete interior and turret details. There are also a couple of options in the kit. The options given are: two different front hull parts, one with a hull machine gun and one without; an armored roof for the turret and though not mentioned in the instructions, the rear hull and engine grills for a diesel engine M36B2. Most of the interior and hull is from Academy’s M10 kit with a new turret sprue. From what I’ve heard about their M10 kits it should go together fairly well. As far as dimensions are concerned, I have not measured anything and I could find no reviews of dimensions of the M10 kits (although one review of the Achilles version of the kit stated that the hull checked out fairly close to some 1/35 scale plans the author had). As far as the turret, comparing the photos of a completed kit on the box to photos I have, it looks pretty good.
Here are some things that you might like to know if building the kit. The front hull piece with the machine gun was a post war modification from what people have said. I cannot find any photos of an M36 with a hull machine gun in my collection of references. The armor roof pieces match well to production photos of M36B2s that were equipped with them. Some people on the internet have said that these were never issued to units on the front lines while others say it matches almost exactly with photos of M36s with covers. This one is up to the builder as to whether he wants to scratch build one to match photos or use the kit version. The extra parts to make an M36B2 are probably useless, as I cannot tell if these vehicles were ever given to any nations or just left in the U.S. and scrapped after the war.
There are other issues that I have found or read about on line. There are two versions of main gun tubes in the kit. One is a post war tube with a bore evacuator. The other has no evacuator but has an optional muzzle break or as a straight gun tube. The straight gun tube is a very early 90mm gun and did not see a lot of service. Most WW2 gun tubes had a sleeve on the end with a distinct ridge. It would take some work to make this version from what the kit gives you. There was a brass barrel for this style of gun tube that I got for a M36B1 conversion I started years ago. While very nice, I don’t know if it is still available. Also, being brass makes it heavy and as there are no locking tabs on the turret it might cause problems if used. We can only hope someone will do an aluminum one soon.
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| The crew of an M36 in Patton’s Third Army reload ammo in March, 1944. |
The ammo storage in the turret is also wrong. The kit provides two triangle shapes for six rounds each. The left stowage rack should only have space for five rounds. This should not be a problem, just cutoff the bottom round and use sheet plastic to fix the edge. There are no shells given in the kit but the real vehicle had a cover over each turret stowage rack. I had an opportunity to climb in and take some photos of an M36 that is in the Littlefield collection (this is an unrestored vehicle that came from Bosnia). The area under the left storage rack is where the turret .50 cal pintle is stored when not in use. Also, the hydraulic motor in the turret basket is simplified and lacks any hoses.
Another issue I have with the kit is in the turret there is a reel (I think for communication wire), part 44 & part 45, and what I believe is a sight for use with the main gun in indirect fire, part 25. These parts do show up in the restored vehicle in Squadron’s Tank Destroyer Walk Around book, however I cannot find any photos of at least the sight in a production or operational photos, so I believe these might be post war items.
One problem according to some people is that the kit suspension has the early straight arms for the return rollers. Some people have said that only the raised return roller arms are correct. Others have said either the raised or the straight arm can be used. To me this is an easy solution to another modeling problem. Tamiya’s version of an early production Sherman has the late production suspension. I just plan to swap Academy’s kit parts with Tamiya’s and I don’t have to spend money on an aftermarket resin parts for the Tamiya kit.
The tracks are standard vinyl tracks that come with Academy kits. I have not read of any problems with using them. Personally I will probably pick up an aftermarket set of tracks.
All in all, this is a very nice kit that armor fans have been waiting for a long time.
As far as references for a build there are the following:
Sherman by Hunnicutt: This is a nice book but is out of print and only really for a die-hard Sherman fan.
Tank Destroyers Walk Around by Squadron: It has good external photos of restored vehicles but does not have any interior photos of an M36. It does have some interior photos of an M10, which will help.
US Tank Destroyers in Action by Squadron: I don’t have it but have flipped thru it. It’s okay from what I remember.
US Tank Destroyers in Combat 1941-1945 by Concord: very nice book with nice clear photos. The only color profiles of M36s are of post war vehicles in foreign service (why these are in a book on US WW2 vehicles I don’t understand).
M10 & M36 Tank Destroyers 1942-53 by Osprey in their Vangard line: a good history book but with few photos of in action service.
M36B1 and M36B2 Tech Manual CD by Easy 1 Productions: only useful to a true die-hard armor fan.
