As a fan of modern armor I would like to hear some opinions wtih regards to the M-60 series of tanks. In particular, comments would be appreciated regarding their M-60A1 and M-60A3. How do the ESCI ERTL kits stack up against similar Tamiya and Academy offerings.?

They are all pretty good kits, although I personally prefer the Esci/ERTL M60 mold. It is still widely available under the Italeri brand, and also on Ebay. There is a comparison article at MissingLynx that tells you pretty much all you need to know.

http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/modern/jcm60/jcm60.htm

The only one easy to find is the Italeri Blazer kit, but it no longer builds into a US tank, just an Israeli tank. The Italeri M60A1 is good, but just builds into an A1. The Revell M60A3TTS is the best of the bunch, but it twice the price of the almost identical Italeri kits.

Gunze Sangyo also reboxed the Esci M60A1 with USMC ERA.

Did Italeri remove the plain M60A1 sprues when they reboxed the Esci Blazer kit? I have two ESCI/ERTL M60A1 Blazer kits, and both of them have all the parts necessary to build a US/NATO M60A1.

Yes, that is correct.

When Italeri "retooled" the IDF M60 Blazer, they removed the standard commander's cupola (A35 & A36) as well as the plain 105mm main gun (D1 & D2). They left the commander's cupola hatch as an unused part though.

The removal of these four simple parts prevent you from building the Italeri M60 Blazer into a standard non-IDF M60A1. Out of box, you must use the Urdan cupola and thermal wrapped gun tube. You'd need a replacement cupola and aftermarket barrel to make a standard A1.

The Esci/Ertl/AMT M60 Blazer has all the parts for the M60A1. It can normally be found cheaper than the Italeri versions.

Here's the live link to the M60 comparison. As stated, the Esci/Ertl kit is definitely the way to go if you can find one.

The Academy M60 kits are a viable, and sometimes more available, option. It's true that the suspension needs some work, and there are a few fiddly build issues (the turret to turret ring fit is mentioned in the comparison article), but you can turn out a pretty nice replica with a little patience.

-YL