I was immediately struck by the fact that this box is significantly larger than that its brethren come in, and is quite full of plastic.  The kit provides a number of options, as well as some very useful spare parts.  Among the options are an armoured roof for the fighting compartment (seen on some Second World War vehicles and on many postwar ones, including French, Korean, and Yugoslavian vehicles); early or late gun barrels; muzzle brake or cap for the early barrel; .nicely detailed 30 calibre or .50 calibre machine guns for the turret roof; gas and diesel engine decks to build either the M36 or M36B2; early and late cast differential housings; and a complete extra glacis plate with a bow machine gun position for some postwar vehicles.  Except for the M4A3-based M36B1, just about any M36 variant can be built from this kit.

 

Beginning at the ground, the tracks are single-piece vinyl representations of T51 rubber-block track; the detail on them is quite nice, with good representations of the end connectors, although there is no space visible between the track blocks (as there are on AFV Club and Italeri VVSS tracks).  I have to say that they are not quite as nice as AFV Club's vinyl tracks, however.  The suspension is Academy's excellent Type 2C-2 Intermediate volute type, with raised return rollers and a choice of skids (only the later style is applicable to the M36, however).  Unfortunately, however, many of the M36s that I have seen, either in person or in photos, seem to have the Type 2D Late volutes with the upswept return roller arms.  If you wish to build one of these, you may have to swap these volutes out with some Tamiya or Italeri ones.  Both open spoked and solid spoked wheels and idlers are included, with separate back pieces for the solid spoked wheels and idlers.

 

I am very impressed by the interior which Academy has included in this kit.  Academy's M10 family drivers' compartment area in particular is very comprehensive, with a nice transmission and full controls (unlike the AFV Club versions).  I am very happy that Academy includes nicely detailed periscopes with this kit; I wish other manufacturers would include these items (for instance, I was very disappointed that Tamiya's rather pricey M26 Pershing kit did not include any periscopes), since they are essential to making the vehicle appear active.  The ammo tubes in the hull are marked as M10 (hence 3" AT), but should work fine.

 

Interestingly, the upper hull is one of the pieces that is unique to this kit; presumably the separate glacis plate for the version with the bow MG mad e this necessary.  A new hull rear plate is also included, which thankfully does not have the outlines of the tools marked on them to aid in part placement (shades of Aurora!).  Note that at least some M36s, both wartime and postwar, did not have the mounting points for the applique armour on the sides, so depending on the vehicle you are doing you may have to remove these.  The tools are typical Academy, which means that they are quite good.  A nice touch is an optional bent-over radio antenna mount.

 

The turret is, of course, all new, and Academy has done a nice job capturing the complexities of this turret.  The 90mm gun in particular is very well done; the breech could serve as the basis for an interior in a Pershing (hmmm ...).  There are a number of options here, including an armoured roof for the fighting compartment (this seems to be the postwar version, not one of the makeshift versions seen on US vehicles during World War II), a muzzle brake or cap for the 90mm M1 barrel, and a 90mm M3A1 barrel with an evacuator on it.  Regrettably, the ammo racks in the turret bustle are empty; photoetched 90mm shell casing bases would be an ideal detail to add here.  On the outside, all of the tie-downs are moulded to the turret side, but should look fine with judicious placement of stowage.

 

Markings are provided for four different vehicles, in any colour you wish as long as it's Olive Drab: a Korean example from 1953 (seen on p. 70 of Concord's US Tank Destroyers in Combat 1941-1945; this vehicle should have the 90mm M3A1 gun); a French one in Indochina, also in 1953 (actually an M36B2, with diesel engine (parts C6, C19, and C20), pictured on p. 49 and in the colour plates of Squadron/Signal's US Tank Destroyers in Action; note that you will have to cut away the side fenders to build this vehicle; these vehicles usually had T54E1 steel chevron tracks with extended end connectors, and French M36s do not seem to have had bow MGs); and two US Army examples, one in Germany in March 1945 (from the 2nd Cavalry, pictured on p. 58 of Concord's US Tank Destroyers in Combat 1941-1945, as well as on P. 79 of Allied-Axis #12, where one can see that this vehicle has a .50 calibre mounted at the turret front and has T54E1 steel chevron tracks with two different styles (!) of extended end connectors fitted; as well, there are no applique armour bolts on the hull side ) and the other in France in November 1944 (705th Tank Destroyer Battalion).

 

Overall, I am very happy with this kit; with a little TLC and some photoetched headlight guards, this should build up into an excellent rendition of one of the American "big game hunters" or "kitty tamers" from the final months of World War II.  Kudos to Academy for catering the the Olive Drab side!