It's not a bad kit at all and holds up very well against the much more modern Tamiya M18. You can also secure one in an Airfix box for a mere £20 which is something of a steal.
Now, the M18 is something of an icon, and deservedly so, but in a lot of ways it was really quite rubbish. For a start off it was designed by Harley Earl's studio at GMC to receive the Ford GAA V8, but that superlative tank engine had only just entered production and the Army was reluctant to commit to an untried engine and so the M18 was saddled with the Continental air cooled radial instead until the GAA had proved itself in the M4A3, after which the M18 would receieve the GAA. This never happened.
Apart from its really rubbish armour (13mm max) and the mighty Continental radial drawing cooling air through the crew compartment and freezing everybody to death as a result, some genius decided to saddle the hapless Hellcat with the dubious 76mm M1 gun from the T23 turreted Sherman. The M1 guns were very good against Panzer IVs but about as much use as a fart in colander against the frontal armour of a Panther or Tiger, unlike the highly effective M7 3 inch gun of the M10 tank destroyer which was up to the task of engaging such a foe out to 1000 yards with some likelihood of success given the correct ammunition.
The M1 gun was also a pretty useless HE chucker which, given the TD battalions' usual secondary role as artillery, was really less than ideal.
Some units received their M18s with great enthusiasm whilst others did not. In fact, one TD battalion openly mutinied and refused point blank to accept their newly issued M18s, preferring their M10s with superior protection and firepower. The army compromised by issuing them with M36 Jacksons, which was essentially an upgunned M10. Problem solved.
There was an attempt to give the M18 the turret of the M36 Jackson with the truly excellent 90mm gun, which was in fact a very simple modification, and one prototype was constructed, but General Leslie McNair deemed it unneccessary to give the army's premier tank destroyer a useful weapon for tank destruction and so the project was not pursued and the M18 soldiered on with the not very good 76mm M1 gun for its entire US Army career. And presumably still froze its luckless crews almost to death.
Nevertheless it's an attractive and quite important vehicle which served with distinction.
Here is the box...
And this where we are up to now..
I shall be dealing with the pretty awful moulded in 76mm HVAP rounds and scratchbuilding the correct racks in their place, and adding side stowage bins for the driver and assistant driver. Not that you'll see much of it, but we know it's there.
Thanks for looking, and happy modeling.
