Has anyone done the 10mm conversion themselves? Should I try it without any specialist tools or get a shop to do it for me?

How much will a shop charge roughly?

I got the 10mm bolt through rear kit from CRC and a Superstar 10mm axle.

it's very easy, and afterwards when your freehub won't turn it is because you have forgotten to put the spacer back in

search on the hope site, there's a teardown video which should help. You just follow that and pop the new axle in.

they use drifts and other things im not aware of or own…

well if you're worried, there's a set of drifts and everything you need available.

i think it's this here: http://shop.18bikes.co.uk/products.php?plid=m12b0s406p661

I made do with what I had available