M10 Booker Combat Vehicle Pre-Production

Magic Factory, 1/35 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Summary

B a c k g r o u n d

The M10 Booker is an armored infantry support vehicle produced by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) for the United States Army, developed from the GDLS Griffin II armoured fighting vehicle as the winner of its Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program in June 2022. The initial contract is for 96 low rate initial production (LRIP) vehicles, the first of which were delivered in February 2024.

C l a s s i f i c a t i o n

The vehicle has been called a light tank by some military officers and defence media due to its design and appearance, although Army officials related to the MPF program consider this incorrect. The vehicle weighs about 42 tons, which is equivalent to various medium and main battle tanks operated by other nations.

By design, it is not a tank by modern standards, and will, according to description, essentially serve the role of an assault gun.*

F i r s t L o o k

Magic Factory is first to market with their striking pre-production M10 Booker US Combat Vehicle kit.

The kit comprises 415 parts in grey plastic excluding tracks, 19 x photo-etched parts on one fret; 1x sheet of coated lens stickers, 14 x polythene caps; self adhesive die-cut painting masks; turned metal barrel and a 15 page instruction booklet.

The tracks are made up from an additional 1,344 parts in grey plastic, 352 x metal track pins and an assembly jig.

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Thumbnail panels:

Let’s start with the tracks. These appear to represent T161 tracks that are often seen on Bradley IFVs.

Each link is made up from four separate track pads (two outer and two inner), an end connector on each side, two metal track pins and a separate guide horn. If I have counted correctly that’s nine separate parts for each track link. There are 88 links per side.

These are some of the most detailed tracks that I have seen.

The tracks will be fully workable, but it is also worth noting that the T-161 track is “live”, and therefore does not sag at all along the top run.

In my opinion, this kit could really benefit from a set of full-length flexible tracks or simple link-and-length tracks as an option. By all means include the super detailed tracks, but I do hope that Magic Factory considers offering the easier option for the average modeller in future releases.
 
The road wheels are attached to swing arms, which in turn are joined to suspension adjustment levers that may be set at one of three optional heights - raised, standard and lowered.

Magic Factory's surface textures feature convincing and restrained raised and recessed detail.

The instructions are laid out logically over 15 pages and the assembly sequence is clearly indicated in text and illustrations.

Turret and hull sub-assemblies are broken down conventionally.

Detail parts are really nicely presented too.

Smaller details plus mesh are supplied in a photo-etched fret. 19 parts are supplied on the single fret.

Clear parts are free from distortion.

A number of multi-media additions are present in the box.

The sheet of coated lens stickers will add a realistic finish to the vision blocks.

Self adhesive die-cut painting masks will make painting much faster and easier.

The turned metal barrel is a luxurious finishing touch.

Markings for four vehicles are included on the kit's decal sheet.

They are printed perfectly.

C o n c l u s i o n

Magic Factory's 1/35 scale M10 Booker Combat Vehicle Pre-Production is remarkably detailed replica of this interesting pre-production vehicle.

Highly Recommended to experienced modellers

* Historical background courtesy of Wikipedia.

Thanks to Magic Factory for the sample