These 2 M1A1s have been on the bench for a while as most of my buddies in MSN chat know . The one on the bottom is the DML M1A1 HA, the one on the top is the Trumpter M1A1with mine plow (yet to be built ) . I'm thinking about trying a dio with these two tanks , something like the plow tank crossing into a mine field and the 2nd tank on a asphalt road providing cover . I think a good title would be " I've got your back buddy " . Still a ways to go with these two tanks - update to follow - toad out




close up of the DML tank


close up of the Trumpter tank


front view - DML on the left - Trump. on the right


left hand side of DML tank , the side rails are a bit short so I used evergreen rod to re-place them

Howdy TT,

And many thx for the side-by-side. I have been going back and forth looking at the photos and trying to pick out any differences.....
So which one is your fav?

Tread.

I also see you've done some skirt surgery. I've got an M1A1 I'm working on that I've delicately cut off the lefthand side skirt (between the second and third skirt from the rear) and assembled it in the opened position for track inspection (based this on a neat USMC Task Force Tarawa photo).
I also had to scratchbuild the small I-beam section that sticks out at a downward angle and (I assume) supports the skirt itself.

Oops!! Sorry, just remembered. If you've got any photos of that area of the M1A1 I would dearly love to see them sir!

Thx,

Tread.

I'd hate to be at a model show and some bloody tank driver looks down at my model and points at the tracks and says "Well, heck. That ain't what it looks like for Kricky sake!"

Sorry Tread but the only pictures I found with the skirt open had two of my men standing in front of it adjusting track tension. Maybe BroAbrams or someone else will have some better ones for you. Thanks!

Toadster, very clean.

Which build did you prefer???


Steve

Hey WWH and Treadhead.....my favorite build of these two would have to be the Trumpeter, due to the ease of the build and better fit. The DML's handrails leave a lot to be desired IMHO.

Nice looking pair turrettoad. Its clear from the pictures that the trumpeter has less touching up to get it built. Im amazed sometimes at the quality of some of dragon´s work! They are starting to get a name of taking shortcuts more often. Maybe they´re working too close with Italeri.
The dio idea sounds cool, but will be quite big in size when finished. These two alone, take up a lot of room.

Okay great job on both I have started the Dragon one the old M1A1 HA kit have the barrel from Model point and using the tracks Big Foot from Afv club now I see on your Trumpeter that your turret fits all Right but have heard that you need to put a Piece of plastic piece as Turett is lop sided is this true?
I have two of these kits also one with and one with the plow would like to do one of each reason why I ask (++) (:-)

Yeah, I have several.

http://community.webshots.com/user/m1a1abrams
http://community.webshots.com/user/m1a1abrams

Rob

TT,thought of any names?
Maybe Assasinator?
Or
Assasinator Squad? #:-) (++) (++) (++) (++) (++)

Very goodlis build TT 13 Someday they vill b an expertlies build Manie warm wishes #:-) (++)

Many thx for the links BroAbrams!!!!

Tread out.

Carlton, how hard would it be to remove the turret basket bars from the Dragon one. I never realized how freakin fat they are. They scale out to .028 so some .030 wire would do the trick. I have a nice little way to straighten wire, if only I had a camera to demonstrate with.

Rob

Nice builds Carlton! The dio idea sounds good too. How did you paint the vision blocks? They have a nice bluish tint to them (++)

Okay, I got all the pictures up now, they were kindly posted by Kees van de Pols at Tanxheaven. They are much easier to browse as well, this would be Kees' doing, so you can find the running gear in it's own page and the hull in it's page.

Rob

http://tanxheaven.com/m1a1/m1a1rob.htm

turrettoad13

Nice pics you have shown here. It is quite unusual to see 2 kit by a different manufacturer side by side to give us a chance to compare them. I saw you thought the trumpeter was the better build and was wondering how do they compare to the real thing. Is there much dimensional difference between the 2 kits?

I very much like your idea of combining the two of them into the same dio and I have to say that the quality of your builds is excellent. I look forward to seeing some paint on these beasts.

Lee

Very nice work Lord Toad.

They both look great so far. I am looking foward to seeing the completed pics :-)
Is this a new trend for you? Building 2 of the same model, by different manufacturers?

Thanks for putting them side by side for a comparison
Again Great Work Most "Expertile"!

Manie warm wishes (++) #:-) (++)

Looking good TT, how many M1A1's have you done? 4 or 5? the dio sounds like a good Idea.
keep up the good work.

TT,

I think you MUST correct the front left side of the Trumpeter kit turret if you want to put these two models on one diorama. On your fourth picture it is awfully obvious that the turret of Trumpeter kit is very wrong shape! It sometime doesn't show on finished models, but in direct comparison with DML kit is is way too easy to notice. I know it is some extra work, but it is worth it!

Everything else looks great so far!
Keep us updated on the progress of this build!

Best Regards,
Pawel

Lord Toady,

Really really awesome! I like the clean build, and can't wait to see them finished.

Toadster,
real nice comparism, got a couple M1's on my shelf, too..... Vodnik's right, too bad Trumpeter did that mistake on the turret front , should be easy enough for you to fix, don't forget that!
Andreas

Thanks to all for the comments , I really do appreciate it . I had to widen the bustle rack on the DML tank just a bit to make it fit to the new rails . The rails are a touch thick but after paint and gear are added I think they won't look so bad . I'm in the process of correcting the trump. turret tonight (us. time ) . I really didn't plan on building the DML tank again (i allready have 2 of them but i got it cheap 15 $ ) so this little dim light bulb of an idea got way out of hand (at least that is what Mrs. Toad says ) . Update to follow , I'll even throw in the base for free #:-)

Turret Toad,
NICE ABRAMS's. I heard scuttle butt that the Trump is a bad copy. The DML kit looks better the part. Whats yur opinion? Todd

Trumpeter's Abrams is a decent kit. Personally, I prefer the DML and Italeri Abrams kits, but the Trumpeter Abrams builds into a very good Abrams. Only real problem is the left front turret face is a bit short. Requires a wedge of sheet styrene to build up the turret face. Quick and relatively easy fix to give yourself an accurate Abrams kit.