Why Academy chose to model this particular vehicle as its first entry in the field of Sherman-based vehicles remains a mystery to me. After all, with only 70 or so vehicles sent overseas and employed from July 1944 until VE Day, this is not what you might call a mainstream subject.

Kit Summary

Packed in a colorful box, Academy’s M12 kit consists of roughly 350 tan-colored plastic parts, a couple of pieces of fine rope, a decal sheet and a pair of rubber-band tracks. The tracks are the T49 3-bar steel cleat type, which may not be the most appropriate type. Most pictures that I have seen show the M12 fitted with either plain rubber block or rubber chevron type tracks. Though the overall quality of the parts is quite good, a few of them are plagued with deep ejector-pin marks in places that are visible.

There’s a lot going for this kit. The 155mm is awesome, with lots of details and a separate breech that can be left open. The kit also comes with a rather complete interior for the driver’s compartment. This includes a separate floor, a detailed transmission, seats, steering levers, and even pedals! Luckily, the hatches are all separate parts that can be glued in the open position. The rear spade can be positioned in the raised or lowered configuration, thanks to a rather complex system of pulleys. The pulleys and their attachment brackets are tiny, so a lot of care will be needed in this area.

Now for the best part: the suspension. This has to be the best Sherman suspension I have seen so far – in plastic, that is. The bogies are of the so-called early type with straight return roller arms and small spacer for the roller. The main bogie housings, springs (in pairs), roadwheel arms (in pairs) and track support skids are separate parts. The housings are nicely textured and have casting numbers. Academy has included two types of track support skids, namely the initial curved type, and the more common forward protruding type. The latter are a bit thick and have no bolt heads on them. The kit also comes with a choice of open-spoked and solid-pressed roadwheels and idlers, as well as with two types of sprockets. The solid type wheels have grease nibs and detail on both sides. The open-spoked wheels also have grease nibs, something neither the equivalent Tamiya or Italeri (and DML) parts have.

Included in the box is also a fair number of accessories, most of which are found on a separate, generic US vehicle parts sprue that has nothing to do with Academy’s previously-released AFV accessory sets. What’s interesting is that more than half the parts on this sprue are not used on the M12. These include .50 cal. and 30. cal. machine guns, field bags, tow cable ends, pioneer tools and fuel filler caps. It is obvious that Academy designed this sprue for use in future US vehicle kits.

Finally, the decal sheet provides markings for four different vehicles serving in the ETO during the 1944-45 period.

Conclusion

In terms of quality, this kit far outclasses anything Academy has produced before. With proper care, it can be turned into a very good-looking replica of a very interesting, if not common, piece of US military hardware. I sincerely hope that Academy will come through with a series of Sherman-based vehicles, designed around the engineering and components used for the M12.

I highly recommend this kit to everyone, especially the US armor enthusiasts. And even if you don’t feel like building a M12, buy it anyway and use the parts to upgrade your other Sherman projects! The suspension and driver’s compartment are nearly a drop fit on Tamiya’s Sherman, and the extra set of sprockets, wheels and idlers can be used to upgrade yet another kit. Compared to what you’d have to pay just to get a Sherman suspension and interior in resin, it’s definitely worth the investment…

Charby