Hi all,

Since starting to get into armor models, I wanted to get one or the other of the 1/35 Dragon Abrams kits #3535 or #3536, which are the M1A1 AIM and M1A2 SEP, respectively. I understand that these are/were the best two M1 models out there. The bad part is that they are both, apparently, out of production and impossible to get. I was told by a hobby shop in California that Dragon has promised that #3535 will be returning, sometime late spring 2012, but that #3536 is unavailable and won't be again.

So, a few questions. Am I correct in my 'knowledge' that these are the best M1 tanks available, and secondly, what does anyone know about the availability, either now or in the future? Is the hobby store correct? Are there better Abrams tank models in 1/35 still available right now? Thanks!

Accuracy wise, they are the best kits on the market. However they are not the easiest kits to build. There are a whole load of great Abrams builds on the site which will help with the build

The only other Abrams I've built is the Tamiya M1A2 which is a very easy kit to put together. It may not be as accurate or detailed as the Dragon offerings, but with a little work can be improved. The biggest improvement to make is the addition of the anti-slip coating using careful masking and a textured spray.

I'm not sure about the production status of either kit, but the M1A1 is currently available from Hobby Easy:

http://www.hobbyeasy.com/en/data/25654.html

HTH

Anirudh