I'm asking for all experts for help on this questions I'm in the process of builiding all of the abrams family. from the xm1 to the M2A2 with the tusks kit added on it.my questions are this what would i need to do in order but build each one, Example what would needed to be done to backdate or update each one and what kit would be the best one for each build, and i would like to see internit pics of each one bc im planing on putting more interner parts in as well, was their much change from the XM1 internally to the M1A2, would the kit that dragon made that has internal parts be good for each one to get a good rep of each interner would the vanderin internal kit work or is it not worth the money that i would be spending on it also what extra kits could i get to make each one better as far as detail gose on these abrams . The members that im looking at building are the

XM1 what kit would work best for this build and what needed to be done to upgrad and back date it any good refences and internal and external pics would be great as well on this. has anyone ever built this one before i would love to see some examples of it from other members

M1 what kit would work best for this build and what needed to be done to upgrad and back date it any good refences and internal and external pics would be great as well on this. has anyone ever built this one before i would love to see some examples of it from other members

M1A1 what kit would work best for this build and what needed to be done to upgrad and back date it any good refences and internal and external pics would be great as well on this. has anyone ever built this one before i would love to see some examples of it from other members

M1A1HC what kit would work best for this build and what needed to be done to upgrad and back date it any good refences and internal and external pics would be great as well on this. has anyone ever built this one before i would love to see some examples of it from other members

M1A1D what kit would work best for this build and what needed to be done to upgrad and back date it any good refences and internal and external pics would be great as well on this. has anyone ever built this one before i would love to see some examples of it from other members

M1A1 AIM what kit would work best for this build and what needed to be done to upgrad and back date it any good refences and internal and external pics would be great as well on this. has anyone ever built this one before i would love to see some examples of it from other members |

M1A2 what kit would work best for this build and what needed to be done to upgrad and back date it any good refences and internal and external pics would be great as well on this. has anyone ever built this one before i would love to see some examples of it from other members

M1A2 SEP what kit would work best for this build and what needed to be done to upgrad and back date it any good refences and internal and external pics would be great as well on this. has anyone ever built this one before i would love to see some examples of it from other members

Also did all of these Adrams have Anti Spill on the surfaces so that soldiers would not slip of when they they on the Tank itself. Thanks for your help on this major project everyone

In that family is also the M1IP, which comes just before the M1A1. There are others who will help with your question, I just wanted all the brothers in the Family to be represented. Good luck.

For the M1A1 AIM & D the Dragon AIM kit and for the M1A2 SEP also the Dragon offering.

I believe the M1A1D is one of the options in the Dragon AIM kit, so The AIM and SEP kits should work for all but the XM1, M1, and IP M1. The Dragon Panther II hull is an early hull. (that's why I had an extra mine roller kit) I used it to build an M1 and a IP M1. The First Tamiya M1 was for the tank "Thunder Bolt", so if you can find one, it would work for an XM1. The XM1 and M1 both had the short turret and 105 gun like in the early Tamiya kit. The IP M1 had the longer turret without the "man hole cover" like the M1A1's have, but with a 105 gun. I used a "heavily modified" Trumpeter turret and gun out of my scrap box.

Jerry

For the XM1 and very early M1, the original 1982 Tamiya kit is the best (you'll have to hunt for one on E-bay, probably). You may want to add detail to the exhaust system, using the Dragon kit as a guide. Tamiya only depicts the outer screening, with no hint of the large louvers inside, and there is no detail underneath at all. Steve Zaloga once sawed the rear grill off, sanded it thin from behind, and used an X-acto blade to pop out each individual rectangular opening to make the grill hollow, so he could remount it on a scratchbuilt exhaust with all the angled internal louvers made from sheet styrene. Whew!
The only other early kit is the old Esci/Ertl/AMT version, and its exhaust system was even worse, resembling venetian blinds. Both kits depict the very early pattern blow out panels on the turret roof, which were tapered rather than rectangular. You'll need to saw out the whole top rear of the turret deck and replace it with sheet styrene if you want a standard production M1 with the three rectangular panels.
The Tamiya kit had vinyl tracks, while the Esci kit had link and length styrene tracks, though the detail was pretty poor (AFV Club to the rescue).
Now the Academy M1A1 kit is awful for the vehicle it is supposed to depict, because it does not have the lengthened turret needed for that series, but that means that if you absolutely cannot find the original Tamiya kit, you could possibly adapt its turret shell to depict an early M1, though you'd need to modify the blow out panels and source your own 105 mm gun.

Squadron Publications has a couple of very good books available on the M1 Abrams and also Pawel Krupowicz has a review of all the M1 kits prior to the Dragon AIM and SEP kits on his web site, Vodnik.net , with a lot of good info in it. Perth Military Modeling web site has a ton of pictures of M1's also.

Jerry