Achilles IIC Extrapack

Manufacturer: ExtraTECH (EXM72033)

Many of you have already seen the Extratech Achilles IIC kit. This Extrapack version is a marketing gimmick introduced by Eduard, the producers of Extratech's series of plastic kits (which will soon be expanded with the addition of several M4 Sherman variants). This "Extrapack" kit is a special edition of the Achilles, and includes the original Achilles model, plus several extra parts that add considerably to the detail, and hence the appeal, of an already beautiful model.

The base kit is the same as the previously released Achilles IIC kit. The scans of the plastic kit parts are included below, but please refer to that previous Preview for an in-depth description of the kit.

As described in the earlier preview, this is a very nice kit. The added parts only make it better. So what do we get with this Extrapack?

First, an enlarged fret of photoetched brass details:

There are a great many parts here that I feel really should have been included in the first release of this model. Specifically, the grouser brackets for mounting on the hull sides; these parts are very flat in the plastic kit, and the replacement brass parts will look great. Most of the additional parts provide additional detail inside the turret, with just a couple of detail parts for the hull interior. Still missing, however, are tool mounting brackets. The pioneer tools look rather silly glued directly to the hull, with no visible means of mounting them. Time for scratchbuilding some brackets.

The other bag of goodies in this kit contains several resin parts, and a turned aluminum gun barrel:

Most of the resin pieces are gathered from their previously released accessory sets, such as the gas cans (two German and three US), some stowage bags, and cannon shells. The cannon shells are technically 76mm shells, but I think they are close enough in size to 17pdr shells for this scale. Please note, however, that only six shells are included for the turret ready racks. None are included for the hull sponson storage racks, and the instructions still show us to place the plastic ammo storage tubes in these racks. All of my references indicate that only the M10 stored their rounds in these tubes, and the Achilles stored the shells in these racks "naked". You'll need to buy several of the 76mm ammunition accessory sets to get enough shells for this, or make your own. Several other details for the turret interior are also included.

The .50cal machinegun is the same gorgeous piece included in their M8/M20 kits, with most of its detail parts provided in brass. The aluminum 17pdr gun barrel is a nice touch, eliminating the need for sanding off the mold seam. The muzzle brake is made from resin.

The decals are the same as in the original Achilles kit.

I think this Extrapack is a fantastic model, but I also feel that this is the version of the model that should have been released in the first place.

I would very much like to thank ExtraTech for providing the review kit.

References:

• British and American Tanks of World War Two. Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis. Cassell & Co., Great Britain. 1969.
• M10/M36. Wojciech Gawrych. Wydawnictwo Militaria #115, Warsaw 2000.
• M10 and M36 Tank Destroyers 1942-53. S. Zaloga, P. Sarson and M. Badrocke. Osprey New Vangaurd #57. 2002.
• Sherman - A History of the American Medium Tank. 2nd ed. Richard P. Hunnicutt. Presidio Press, California, USA. 1978.
• U.S. Tank Destroyers in Action. Jim Mesko. Squadron/Signal Publications, Carrollton, TX. 1998.