Hey All,

I just got the Tankograd M1A2 SEP V2 Abrams book by Ralph Zwilling. First off, thanks to those who recommended this book, it's great!

I have some questions about the tank details. The M2HB-QCB machine gun, as photographed in the CROWS unit, shows three rods equally space around the barrel, connecting a 'fluted' tip to the base of the barrel. I believe that this very distinctive hardware is part of the electronic simulation capability that is used during training, but I could be wrong. Can anyone explain what those rods and tip are for, and secondly, if anyone makes any models of this?

Page 21 of this book shows the sight that is mounted on the coaxial MG, a device on the left rear of the turret with orange 'mars light', and the Main Gun Signature Simulator (MGSS), an egg crate looking device on the front left corner of the tank, all part of the MILES II system. Does any company model these pieces of hardware?

Lastly, on page 32, the lower right photo shows shows a sort of flat metallic 'L' shaped item that sits on top of each of the front CIPs, and appear to continue across the top of the turret. Does anyone know what these items are?

Related to the above request for info, I would like to build the 'training tank' that is shown on upper half of page 21 of the 'Abrams in Detail', the Wings and Wheels No. 18, shown in the snow in Germany, with a tan mine plow (yes, I know that tank is an M1A1 AIM, not an M1A2 SEP V2), but it does have the the same 'rods' on the 50 cal MG.

Hi Carl,
the three rod device on the .50 cal. is the blank firing adaptor. The three rods are the connection betweeen the mounting part on the rear barrel and the frontal device that blocks and refects the gases of the blank round. The only replication of the BFA is on the .50 cal barrel on Academy`s M113 kit. As for the other parts of the MILES II/MGSS system, no luck so far in 1/35 scale.
HTH
Hans-Hermann

Concur... How goes it, Curt? If you're handy, you may be able to "scratch-build/kit-bash" some of the items that you're interested in. It just takes some careful dissemination of what you're looking at and then applying your talents in making something out of some of the most rudimentary materials. EVERGREEN and PLASTRUCT make some nice sheet plastic, tubing, and a host of other stuff that may help you in your efforts.

As to the amber revolving light, check out ebay- you can readily access 1/24-1/25-1/32-1/35 parts and after-market items. You might even be able to glean that revolving light from some model Police and Fire vehicles or from dedicated stores that sell these things- There are literally Tens-of Thousands of parts out there that you can directly use or slightly modify for your purposes in modelling that Abrams... Browse through your spare parts; you never know what you might find that you can alter, cut and fiddle around with. Master Modeller Shep Paine called it "IMAGINEERING"... It's not that hard, really, once you get started... Good Luck to you...

Here are some views of the M19 Blank Firing Adapter :







H.P.

Trumpeter's M1A2 kit has parts for the MILES gear set-up. It includes the BFA, CVKI (Combat Vehicle Kill Indicator - yellow light), new Hoffman Device (mounted on top of mantlet), and some antennas and such.

OOPS! Didn't know the TRUMPY kit contains all that stuff...

I THINK that's the version I bought to scratch build my Crusader. (No sense wasting money on a good kit, right?)
If I have those parts, they're anyone's for the asking, once I get home in a month.

[quote]Can anyone explain what those rods and tip are for, and secondly, if anyone makes any models of this?

1. It is indeed a BFA. The .50 cal operates by a method of blowback vs. a conventional gas system. The cup captures the gasses and makes the barrel recoil back. Normally the round would do this but a blank really has no bullet to speak of. The 3 rods simply anchor the BFA in place.

shows a sort of flat metallic 'L' shaped item that sits on top of each of the front CIPs.

2. The L shaped items are made of velcro and allow you to flip the panel reversing the polarity as it appears in a thermal sight. The panel has a special tape on one side but not the other. Thus turning the panel off or on per se. No power is required for it.

Hope this helps.

I never did say thank you to all of you who gave me the answers I requested here. I have the Trumpeter 5 in 1 M1A1 kit, so thank you to Gino for letting me know I already have parts for some of this equipment! And many thanks to the others for more info and ideas for me!

I've been busy working on my first M1A1 AIM, which is just about done, after intermittent work over the last year and a half. I think it's turning out pretty decent for a first crack at this tank...and I only have 7 more to do, which all will benefit from this first build, which has a LOT of issues. So...4 more AIMs, 2 M1A2 SEPs, and 1 M1A2 SEP V2 to go!