Its been a long time since I've dug this bad boy out of the closet.

This model has been dropped, fallen off a shelf, and has ended up with broken and missing parts. I pulled it out to try my colors for the 7th Corps colors and got lost in rebuilding it all over again. I've been at it all week and it's pretty dang close to being complete. Since I've got missing parts I'm going with the "Red Storm Rising" concept I started with this one a long time ago. This one is in Germany, circa December 1989 - February 1990 with the 35th AD. This is my take on a winter scheme where most of the white wash has already been rained off of the underlying camo paint. The tracks are completely wrong for this time period, but Dragon did not make the tracks the correct width and these are all I have that will fit the model. I could widen the drive sprockets, but there are all sorts of complications that come with that modification and this is almost finished anyways so I'm leaving them. The correct tracks are actually mounted on the turret in WWII German Panzer style lol.

So far this has been immensely fun with all of the imaginary building and painting that has gone into this model. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.










I had too much light coming in through the window and its washed out the colors a bit, but I'll get better pictures when its finished.

I have another one of these that I've just started on right behind this one. We'll see how far I get before I need to put it down lol. The second M1 is the M1A1 HA (Iraq 2003) the my dad started and then decided to take parts off of it to use elsewhere, leaving me to have to invent even more parts to replace the missing pieces, but I'm going to back date this one as close as I can to an M1A-nothing. Still going with the "Red Storm Rising" theme.

Have a great day my friends!

Looks good, Mike. Looking forward to seeing the completed model.

'It looks like those sneaky Russkies have an ATGM that can get through our turret armor; have to put something more on the front.'

Like what you did, and it also looks as you had some fun with the build. Just one of things I like about our hobby.

Looks pretty nice. Good book too, along w/Team Yankee. They were pretty scary at the time when WWIII was possible w/the Red Menace in Europe.

Looks good, Mike.
I read 'Team Yankee' every six months or so, and have passed on a few copies too. Excellent reading.

I'm about to finish my umpteenth re-reading of 'Red Storm Rising'. I'm at the point where Chicago and Boston are escorting the battered USS Providence. I like your M1,is she one of Mackall's Blackhorse tanks? I like to do things like this too. I'm working up projects based on the old Roleplaying Game 'Twilight 2000", are you familiar with that game? Very 80s, very 'Cold War Gone Hot' ala 'Red Storm' and 'Team Yankee'.

I'm hoping we will see an M1IP from MENG or someone before too long.

Thanks everybody! I still haven't finished this one, but I did start on another Dragon M1A1 and I'm converting it to an M1. I thought about making it into an IP, but I think a Forest Green plain-Jane M1 will be more fun to make from this kit.

So far I've been working on the drive sprockets and cutting the correct treads into all of the track blocks.

I took the round hump off of the turret and added the weld lines back to it, but I need to actually sand all of the non-slip texture off of the turret and I'll more than likely have to add these lines all over again after that.








I've got the Verlinden book on the M1, M1IP, and M1A1 and I love how its been written from a modellers point of view. He seems to cover all of the little things that would make a difference between the three models and so far that's made my job a lot easier.

I've never played Twilight 2000, nor have I heard of it, but Car Wars was pretty big with my little brother back in the day.

I'm finding that I like theoretical builds more than historic builds because you can do things slightly different than the plethora of models that have already been built on the same subject.

In the end, its all fun.

Red Army by Ralph Peters is a great book as well. Maybe not as technical as Clancy, but a great book told from the Soviet side.

Unfortunately, you can't easily make an M1 from the Dragon M1A1. The turret is too long for an M1. The turret would need to be reduced in length by about 5mm across the whole front and around the mantlet, which is also different. It will make into an M1IP with less work since the IP used the same turret as an M1A1.

Sorry Mike, but to Gino: Would the old Academy kit be a good basis from which to do a vanilla M1?
I have a Tamiya kit that I snagged for a couple of bucks at a show that's 90% built that I could use also, I suppose, but I also have a couple of those Academy kits, one "OIF", one original release, that I got for nothing as part of a package deal....
Just wondering here at the moment, but I've been wanting to do something speculative, like Mike's build, from "Team Yankee" for a while.
And, Peters' book in another one one my annual read list, very good, even scary.

The original M1 was a very different tank altogether. Like I noted, the original M1 had a shorter turret, by about 5mm in 1/35 scale at the front. Also, the rear deck did not have the inspection hatches, the barrel is totally different (M68 105mm), the left side of the hull did not have the NBC filter and associated parts, the headlight guards were straight as opposed to having a step. The earlier ones had the full skirt with no cut out for the sprocket and the retaining ring on the sprocket, etc., etc., etc. ...

It is easier to start with the original Tamiya M1 kit and add details to it.

This thread has a good description of how to build an M1IP from the original Tamiya M1 kit as well.

Would Mackall's 11ACR Tank be a baseline M1 or the transitional M1 IP (or IPM1) with the longer turret?

Or would it be an M1 with the bustle rack?

Just curious because I've always wanted to do a Red Storm Rising and a Team Yankee Tank, two of the reasons I went into armor modeling.

11ACR generally had the newest, most updated equipment since they were the first-line defense against the Red Menace. So, depending on when you are having WWIII occur, it could be any of the types you listed. I don't remember if the book gives a date, its been a long time since I read it.

I don't remember either. Just it was a 105mm Armed Abrams. Same thing with Team Yankee, they were 105mm Armed Abrams, but Team Yankee was in a Mechanized Infantry Division, and had M113 attached.

THe IP M1's not only had a shorter turret but a different blow off panel configuration. It was three panels, a large center panel with two equal sized panels to the side.

Kody,

If it was my question it was more general, since there has been documented four 105mm Abram.

1) Basic
2) Add on Bustle Rack
3) Short Turret IP
4) Long Turret IP

Derek

Anna, I loved Twilight 2000.....we had a ball with it. I couldn't get enough of those novels either. I'm still war gaming the Fulda gap with hex and counter games and WW3 25 years later. Thanks for the memories....

My best,

Bill

Wow, you guys are really making me feel a bit dumb lol. I haven't read Red Storm Rising since I was a teen and I've not read Team Yankee at all.

I think you're right Gino. I should start with the Tamiya M1 and just detail that. But according to the info I have I can make an M1 with this kit and still pull it off to most viewers. Its just going into my personal collection anyways.

Besides, this project should turn out to be pretty fun.

As long as they don't know what an actual M1 looked like. The turret is still too big for an M1; an M1IP maybe, but not an M1.