I picked up this kit based on many comments here about how it looked, my like for Academy kits, and the excellent price. I haven't yet seen any build logs online, aside from the great and detailed information that Pawel Krupowicz (Vodnick) has provided on his blog. I know very little about the actual tank, aside from what I have read and learned through comments here, and this build will be right out of the box, though I will look for aftermarket tracks. The Bronco T-158LL seem to be out of stock everywhere, probably due to all the new Abrams kits that have been released.

The box and contents. Sprues are carefully packaged but there was one piece knocked free. No damage visible and all parts are fully formed. I did see some small sink marks, and the styrene tracks have the same cupped tread that the molding left on the vinyl tracks.


Instructions start with the lower hull assembly. There are two inserts to hold the sides vertical, and strengthen the hull for assembly. I noted in handling the parts that the plastic feels different-lighter, almost like the soft, rubbery plastic of some 1/72 figures, but not quite. It is also more brittle. The moldings are thin, or thinner than what I am used to. Having just finished the Italeri 1/9 WLA with its heavy plastic, the contrast is significant. The Academy parts appear sharply detailed and take the Tamiya extra thin cement I am using very well.



As I was pressing the hull side into place, the center piece snapped. I was trying to dry fit, but the locating pins on the side would have been better off with a little cement to put things in.


Fit of the parts appears to be very good so far.




Next up is assembly of the road wheels and drive sprocket and also the suspension arms. The wheels are placed on the sprue with the connection points at the edge. No seam line down the middle to clean up, and only three little nubs.








The front suspension piece has a sink mark that will need some attention. I dry fit all the suspension arms to the hull.





The instructions only show one style of drive sprocket, but there are two included in the kit. For Abrams experts, which would be correct for the TUSK I version? Are both in use or has one replaced the other?


It doesn't seem like a lot of work, but this was 1 1/2 hours with the kids bouncing around me. Let me know if there is anything I missed or need to fix before I go to far.

Thanks Russ, I have been waiting to see this build.

Jay

You need to use the sprocket with the mud relief holes.
Good start so far!

Olivier

As Olivier says, the sprockets with mud release holes are the correct ones. All Abrams (since inception) have had the holes to allow mud to strain through and not clog the tracks. Older mold technology didn't allow the holes to be molded, hence the sprockets w/out them in older models. I'm not sure why they still include them though.

Thank you both for the reply. I will go with the correct part. I have a bit more progress but will post pictures tomorrow, hopefully.

Here is the update for the little I was able to get done. First, the drive sprockets with the mud holes. They need some clean-up, inside and out, but look nice.



Then I skipped forward a bit in the instructions. The next steps are to attach the road wheels and brackets for the side skirts. I want to paint before I do the wheels and the brackets will get knocked off in handling, so I moved on to other areas I could do without undoing too much work.

The belly armor was added. I hadn't realized it was spaced, but it makes sense.




I did add the return rollers, and then moved on to the assembly of the rear hull.





The kit is set up with large locator pins and holes for sub assemblies and large openings for tabs to ensure secure parts locating. The metal grilles for the air intake and exhaust (I believe) fit into tabs like a hinge point, as near as I can tell from the instructions. You have to match the location of the bolt heads to the drawing to tell if they are the right way around.





I had some trouble with the cover. I couldn't really find a good photo of it installed, and the part wouldn't fit as it has locator tabs that are too big, and the part inside is a bit thick as well. I also couldn't tell where it was supposed to fit based on the instructions, but it only fits one way on the kit piece.





If that is where it goes, I will place it. I added the rest of the details, including the tail lights (minus lenses), phone box, hinge brackets, etc, and then attached to the hull.







I haven't photographed the tracks, but the vinyl tracks, while very nice looking, don't have the hollow guide horns and there are sink marks on each track pad. The styrene parts have sink marks on the track pads as well. Still trying to find a store that has the T-158LL in stock. I have a Dragon M1A1 AIM kit but haven't looked in the box to see if the tracks will work. So far, the kit has been easy to construct and the details and instructions are nice, aside from that one bit with the exhaust cover. The handles on it are also molded solid and will be replaced with wire.

Looking good so far. Part E26, the exhaust deflector, is only installed when towing another tank so the hot exhaust gasses don't melt any plastic parts on the tank being towed, like the headlights. When not installed, it is sometimes hung on the side turret rails.

Thank you, Gino. It isn't listed as optional in the instructions, which would have been good to know. I've been looking over all your Abrams comments to learn what I can about them.

The kit has a lot of small sink marks. Don't know if it just mine or a general issue. Periscopes for the driver's hatch have them on all three faces. I ordered the Bronco T-158LL, not in stock but expected in the next 2-3 weeks. Should have done it when my kit first arrived but I kept thinking they would show up somewhere. They are available on Amazon, only $58.

Here are a few photos from what I was able to accomplish over the weekend. I took a few detail photos of the upper hull as well. There are handed holes for locator pins so you don't mix up left and right side parts.









There is a slight offset and gap where the mud flap meets the hull and doesn't quite meet the bolt strip.




That rectangular piece is for the locator tab on the rear hull to attach the two parts. Handed again, just to make sure you get the open side to the back.

The driver's periscopes have sink marks on all three lenses. I tried to highlight them with a marker. I filed all three faces flat as they weren't too deep.





There was a small sink mark on the back of the periscope cover that I had to fill.





Starting manual 2 now. There are etch parts to attack. The first part is conduit that meets up with molded on detail. Before I add details, I wanted to see how the upper and lower hull sections matched. The front end has two large pins that insert into large receiving holes on the lower hull. Remembering my experience with the support piece, I used very gentle pressure to dry fit the parts together without breaking or bending anything. The two parts mated quite well and with slight pressure gaps vanished.










The tabs on the lower hull are needed to support the upper hull as the plastic is quite thin and flexible. It appears that this kit will be open above the tracks, but this section will be well hidden behind the side skirts and TUSK armor.

I took photos of the tracks to show the track pad faces, both the vinyl and the styrene attachment piece. The sink mark on the styrene is the same on both track pads from the two G sprues. Sorry for the cat hair. I hate it, but the rest of the family loves it and won't let me send it away.




One thing I haven't mentioned is that on the sprues, the letter is a large tab with the letter cut out, making for quick and easy identification.

Here are a few small updates. First, there are two small etch pieces that go on the rear deck. The etch in this kit is steel, which isn't as easy to work with as brass. There are also two small parts for conduit that attach to the headlights. With the difficulty of cutting the steel, and then removing the burrs, I ended up destroying one piece. I fashioned a replacement from some thin wire. I also assembled the tow bar and dry fit it to the front of the hull. I didn't add the attachment pins as I was afraid I would lose them while handling the kit.






The next step is assembly of the side skirts. The three options are for the TUSK I and II packages, or plain for the Sep V2. I have opted for the TUSK I version. All of the locator pin holes needed to be enlarged. Keep everything flat. Once it was assembled I did a dry test fit, and everything lined up.








Next up is the main gun assembly. The barrel parts are seperated into sections. The mold seam is fine but there was some flash at the muzzle and the opening was asymmetrical. The barrel is then mounted into the turret base.







The turret has some holes to open for the TUSK versions, different holes for the SEP 2. The top and bottom are then joined and you begin adding details to the turret roof. The join between the top and bottom was excellent. The conduit cover for the coaxial .50 cal extends into the armored junction box but should not be glued there. It will slide back and forth, allowing the main gun to elevate.










Next up are some of the sights and the coaxial gun mount. I left the gun off for now. There is one minor error-part E55 is a handle and not part of what I believe is the FLIR setup. The two doors will open and close freely with careful assembly, but are not tight. The loader's hatch is very simple and does have some interior detail if you wish to put a figure in place.





The gunner's sight, GPS and armor around the hatch are next up. There are some ejector pin marks on the armor shield that need to be cleaned up. I missed two on the front piece. They are raised which does make it easier to deal with them. The turret top blow off panel is also added.






Next up is assembly of the commander's hatch. I made it as far as the periscope lenses. Every lens had sink marks. I am in the process of trying to clean them up.


If I missed anything let me know. If I got terminology wrong, I am sorry. I am learning about this as I go.

I've managed to get some of the turret details completed. First up was assembly of the shield and gun for the loader's hatch. There are a number of ejector pin marks, mostly on the inner surfaces but also a few on the front faces. They are raised for the most part, but I have now encountered a few that were slightly impressed into the part. Some are tricky as there is some bolt head detail adjacent to them. There is a bit of residue on the parts from cleanup, but it will be gone before painting. The gun shield is dry fit for easier painting.








Next up is the commander's cupola. Again, there is some basic inner detail on the hatch, but also some ejector pin marks. I opted to leave it closed as I have no figure and there is no interior. Again, parts were dry fit. All of the clear parts for the armored glass have creasing lines in them. The plastic was not hot enough when it was in the mold. I learned that researching ways to try to fix it. Aside from making my own new parts, it can't be fixed.











Next step is the rear turret basket. One nice touch is the scale drawing that shows the assembled baskets with the etch mesh in place. Again, the steel etch is difficult to cut. Parts are very delicate. The AC unit is then built and installed. It might be easier to do it earlier in the assembly process but I followed the instructions. I had to open the locator holes a bit but it went in just fine. Detail on the part is quite nice.













Next up will be assembly of the side baskets and other turret details. The instructions have three separate sections for the three build options so you do need to make sure you are following the correct portion. Am I correct in guessing that there will be some variation in actual deployment based on what components are used and taken off?

Looking good so far. It looks to be going together pretty easily with no major issues.




Not really. Iraq is the only place where M1A2s have deployed with TUSK. No US Army tanks (M1A1, M1A2, nor M1A2 SEP) have been deployed to A'stan. Only a few (one company at a time, 14 tanks/Co) USMC M1A1s with partial TUSK (belly armor, thermal sight on the TC's .50 cal, and the Loader's gun shields) were deployed to A'stan. They were pulled out in Sep '13 and have not returned. No M1A2 SEP V2 has been deployed in combat yet.

The levels of TUSK (TUSK I or TUSK II) depends on location, time, and threat present. TUSK is a system of add-on parts that can be added or deleted as needed depending on the threat. Most of the kit (belly armor, side ERA blocks, gunner's and TC shields, etc.) are all TUSK I components. The only additional pieces that make it TUSK II are the curved ceramic armor plates on the sides of the turret and hull. The rest of the TUSK parts are the same TUSK I underneath. Think of them as layers of protection w/TUSK II being another layer on just the sides of the tank.

Gino, thank you for the feedback. This does go together quickly, and is a fairly easy build. If I had consistent bench time it would have only taken a couple of days. Even at an hour or less at night it has been fast. I misplaced my camera but assembled the items for the turret sides. That finished the build. The fourth section of the manual is all for the M1A2 SEP 2 version. I will post pictures as soon as I find the camera. Tracks are on their way. I can start painting and decide on the marking scheme.

One other question. Is the tow bar painted in NATO green?

Looking forward to seeing it done.

Yes, the tow bar is usually NATO green.

Check your PMs too.

Found my camera, so here are the photos of the final turret assembly. The smoke grenade discharger is made of three parts, with the launcher face mating with a small gap, and the visible tubes have a small step at the join that also needs to be cleaned up. The tow cable mounting holes will also need some filler as there are sizeable notches along the bottom of the turret. The anti-skid texture on the top of the side stowage boxes is coarser than that on the turret top. I left off the fuel and water cans and spare wheels and tracks. The fuel can has a separate middle handle that is slightly smaller than the opening, leaving a small gap.











I assembled the coaxial .50 cal. There are a couple of ejector pin marks that need to be addressed. I dry fit it in place and will need to adjust the base a bit (the attachment was a bit fiddly) as the gun points considerably to the left.



Now I need to go over the kit, fill holes and mask the clear parts and get ready for painting. The Bronco tracks arrived as well-much faster than I expected. Not in stock, but arrived 10 days later. Assembly is tedious, but will look better than the kit tracks. Even the spare track links have small sink marks on the tread face. My kit at least molded in a hurry.

Just a small update. I used the kit supplied masks to cover all the glass. Some of the masks, like those for the shield on the commander's .50 cal, are labeled backwards-front mask fits to the rear, and vice versa. Fit was generally quite good except for the shield around the commander's hatch. I could not get the masks to fit well for the front face. I also added the interior bracing for the side skirts. Much of the detail is hidden from view. I test fit the parts to the skirts to make sure the locator holes were large enough and would fit without fussing. I mixed up some paint, using Tamiya deck tan, flesh and a (very) little yellow, and came up with Tamiya buff. I added more flesh and yellow and the color came up less gray. Hobbytown just closed, so I don't have a local shop anymore, so I use what I have.







In the last photo, the turret is unpainted. I am using this base coat to find all the gaps I need to fill. Not too many, but a few here and there. The Bronco tracks are coming along very slowly. The first run will be hidden as I had issues with gaps along the outside edge.

Nice work, I have enjoyed following your build.

Good job for the assembly. Academy look like they have done some progress but the number of ill-placed ejector pin marks is impressive in some areas

Olivier

Thank you both for watching, and sorry for the long delay. My biggest issue has been time, followed by color. My base coat was very tan in sunlight. The lamps at my bench are all very white so it was hard to see, but outside it was almost the color of cardboard. I mixed back and forth, adding more deck tan, a bit of yellow, some white, and came up with a color that seems to match, or at least is closer to, the color of the vehicles I see passing on the highway now and then. I took a photo outside, but with the smoke in the air (all the way from California, on top of local fires) there is already a yellowish tint to the light outside.



Everything is painted, and the darker color shows through just a bit in shadows and recesses, so it should provide a nice highlight. I tried to work with the etch panels to remove the spring in them by annealing them.


Still stiff and springy. So I headed them even more. The whole thing was glowing red.


Still stiff but it does bend a little. Just not very much. Would the Dragon stickers work in place of these? In the second photo you can see in the background a spare drive sprocket face. I cut it off the unused sprocket section and sanded it down, drilling out the bolt holes. I also purchased the Tamiya and Meng accessory sets. The water cans are shown below in order, with the Academy at the end.



Academy and Meng fuel cans.



There are a few small details that didn't show up very well in the initial photos, but are much clearer with a coat of paint.





Missing from the kit is a blue force tracker.

Gino (HeavyArty) posted photos of the TUSK tanks that includes an image for one of the decal options.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/243509&page=1

Here is another which has the tow cables mounted to the hull front:

http://www.moddb.com/groups/tanks/images/m1a2-tusk

And here is one that I like that shows good detail of the tracks and rear hull:

https://mistertretiakpresents.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/i09_00485381.jpg


Do the spare tracks on the baskets attach through the guide tooth? Is there a special bracket for the road wheel or would it attach in a similar fashion? Just bolt heads welded to the top hull for mounting spares there or something specific?

Also, this page, fourth image from the bottom.

http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/pics/m1abrams.html

It shows the DUKE antenna (I believe). Not included in the kit. Several other photos show it as well. What does it mount to? Third photo from the bottom has some tape or similar along the turret edges. I have again seen it several times. What is it?

Russ,
The kit does come with a DUKE antenna, part D31. The Blue Force Tracker antenna is parts D33 and D36.

yes, spare tracks and road wheels are attached to the bustle rack with spare guide teeth/horns. And the spare road wheel in front of the CTV is bolted by removing one of those 4 bots and then re=threaded back.

The tape you see on different tracks is VELCRO. It is used to attach the MILES system receivers.

Pete, thanks for the info. Now that my memory has been slapped back into play, I do recall seeing the DUKE antenna on the D sprue. Believing I wouldn't need any parts from it, I sent it away, along with the last two manual sections, where the SEP 2 parts would be used. I have some resin bits which include the DUKE antenna and blue force tracker. Just need to make a pyramid cover for it and a mounting base. Would the DUKE attach with just a base to the turret rear or is it attached to a box or complicated setup?

For those who want the M1A2 SEP V2, as an option, here are some action photos from Combined Resolve VII.
https://www.dvidshub.net/image/2800849/combined-resolve-vii

And Anakonda 2016, in Poland:
https://www.dvidshub.net/image/2646963/anakonda-2016

The Defense video imagery system is new to me. Don't know how many others were not aware either, so here is the main page, searched under M1A2 Abrams Tank:
https://www.dvidshub.net/search?q=m1a2+abrams+tank

Russ,

Regarding your question on CREW placement and associated parts. Below are a few pics that might help. Basically the system placement was up to a number of variables such as the system itself, vehicle version (i.e. space constraints), and what the particular contractor was told to do. System placement was standardized some time ago under various contracts and can now be seen on the M1A2 SEP V2 with its standard mounting location/parts. For us as modelers the antenna(s), mounting bracket, cables, and a control box will make the finished product really stand out! The best advice is find a reference photo of the particular vehicle and go from there. Cheers,

Tim

This M1A2 has a single antennae likely mounted just outside of the bustle rack with the control box mounted in the bustle rack directly behind the TC position.


USMC Abrams with dual antennae - the mount can clearly be seen here and the control box likely in the bustle rack - note that we were always told not to put anything on top of the control box due to heat dissipation.




Good example of alternate mounting point on the outside of the bustle rack as opposed to directly on the back - again local differences.


EAS V2 arriving at Graf - clearly see the standard mounting configuration for all V2s and the upcoming V3s


This is my M1A2 TUSK II with the CREW equipment mounted. I had to put the mounts inside the bustle rack - never saw that - due to being an old kit with tons of damage. The control box is pretty simple and the cabling when new was black and if you were lucky to have a paint shop trip - pretty rare - then they got painted.