Hi guys!

I have recently taken at interest in the M1A1 / M1A2 Abrams series of tanks, and even though I have read a bit about them I still consider myself a novice on the subject.

I am lucky enough to have Dragon's M1A1 AIM in my stash (purchased after reading the great reviews and comments on these kits here on Armorama).

So, now for my first question (I am sure there will be more):

I am interested at some point in building an M1A1 HA as fielded in the Balkans (IFOR) in the 90's. Is it possible to use Dragon's M1A1 AIM for this, and - if so - are there there any items that need to be converted, deleted or added to build a 90's M1A1 HA?

My second question is regarding these rather rare Forest Green Abrams (M1A1's I believe). Were these only used by the Marines, or did the Army have them as well? My idea is to potentially build one with TUSK 1 mounted, so that would perhaps make it an Army and not Marine version? I have seen the post here with pics of the Green tanks, but on the vehicle with TUSK 1 mounted I am unable to see the smoke dischargers to establish if it is a Marine or Army vehicle.

Here is the post I am referring to:

http://armorama.com/forums/157895&page=1

Thanks for your help, I am sure that more questions will come :-)

Cheers,
Sven

All M1A1 both marines and us armay were in the 3 color nato camoflage M1A1 aim is just a upgraded M1A1 heavy armor aim refers to a tank that has been rebuilt and the milige has been brought back to zero so it like having a new tank those forest green ones may be a result of repainting not sure the reason for it ont wat to tell a army abrams from its marine cousin is that the marines use a different pattern of snoke dishcharger

All that Nick states above is correct, albiet hard to read w/o punctuation and capitals. Here is an article I wrote that may help sort it out.

Abrams Varieties

In addition to the article (which was written a few years ago) the latest version is the M1A2 SEP v2, which has a CROWS 2 remote weapons system on the turret roof as opposed to the .50 cal on the CWS (Commander's Weapon Station). Most units are now being fielded the M1A2 SEP v2.

The overall green tanks used in the Iraq invasion were an anomaly. As far as I know, only a few were used by the USMC and one or two by the US Army (you can see these in the thread you referanced).

Thanks guys, this will be very helpful.

It was my understanding that the AIM program was simply a total renovation of older vehicles, but in some cases it seems as even some of the latest upgrades were included at the same time?

The problem I had with the link I referred to is that in the pics of the vehicle with Tusk mounted, the smoke dischargers were not visible (or not even mounted?) which makes it hard for me to tell if it is a USMC or Army vehicle.

Thanks again!
Sven

AIM is a rebuild program. Tanks that are rebuilt are also brought up to date with the latest features at the time they go through as well. The Dragon AIM is current as of about '05. If you want it to be older than that, there are a couple things that need to be left off. The most notable is the T/I phone box and the slave cable receptacle box on the right rear of the hull. You may want to use the older hatches (without flange around them) supplied in the kit as well.

The green tank w/TUSK in the other post is an Army tank. The bumper numbers are for 1st Armored Div.

Thanks Gino!

Much appreciated! :-)