Decisions, decisions...

There are at this moment, some very nice kits of the M1 Abrams tank available in 1/35 scale. These would include the Dragon 2009 releases, as well as offerings by Tamiya, Meng, Rye Field Model and finally, now a completely new tooling Academy kit.

While attention to significantly improving accuracy, is evident in these kits, none of them have proven to be "perfect", in the eyes of most rivet counters. I do have great respect for those experts, like Pawel "Vodnik" Krupowicz, who have great knowledge of the Abrams. Individuals, like Pawel have helped push the industry to a higher standard and given me greater insight, into what is correct and what is not on Abrams kits. Pawel is currently working on a comparison, that includes, the Tamiya, Dragon, Meng, Rye & the new Academy offerings. I look forward to seeing this.

Unfortunately, I could not wait, for all of the reviews/build blogs/comparisons to come in. I'd been wanting to purchase a better M1 kit for about the last 2 years. My interest in the Abrams had been increasing tremendously, over 3 or 4 years, while I was building other subjects. Dragon had the best one to date, but for some reason, I held off purchasing one. In the meantime, I had built 3 Abrams kits; Trumpeter (00335) USMC M1A1HA with TWMP...Antiskid molded poorly (too large..looks bad), fit issues and blatant inaccuracies. Academy (13202) M1A1 Abrams “Iraq 2003” kit...Antiskid not present (minor issue) , minor fit issues, fairly easy build, but major turret inaccuracy. Tamiya (35269) M1A2 Abrams Operation Iraqi Freedom kit...I built my as an M1A1 (this is a kit option)...Antiskid not present (minor issue), however very easy build with some minor inaccuracies. I was ready for something a bit better.

I had to do my own quick research, as I was dying to pick up, at least one of these new (or newer, in the case of the Dragon one) kits. I read reviews that were available and compared pictures of sprues.

I had a difficult time deciding. I narrowed my choices down to the Dragon M1A2 SEP v2, Meng TUSK and the Rye TUSK kits. I wasn't too hot on either the Meng or Rye kits, because they could only be build as TUSKs. On a side note, the Rye kit does come with some coolers, which I thought was a nice touch, but this was not a deciding factor for me. Accuracy, ease of build and build options were the biggest factors I was considering. In the midst of committing to purchasing one of these kits, Academy announced an M1A2 SEP v2/ TUSK I/ TUSK II kit release.

For a lot of modelers, who have either read negative reviews or built the Academy (13202) Iraq 2003 kit, an Academy offering might be immediately dismissed. That kit, #13202, was a combination of their 1992 kit (1345) and some new parts. I added my own antiskid, using Mig Productions Antiskid, which was actually kind of fun. I added a conduit to the APU, which seems to have been overlooked in few other kits, including Tamiya and Trumpeter. I had to swap the tracks for ones with the proper Bigfoot tread style. None of these things were much of an issue for me. However, the worst part was that the turret was not the proper dimensions. I had read about this, but until I built one, I didn't realize how significant this was. I would really not recommend the 13202 kit, due to the turret issue. That being said, Academy generally has produced some very accurate kits over the years. I think the 13202 kit was a rush to market, that was not of their usual standard. Their M113 line is a good example of their usually higher standard.

I was able to find an inbox review of the new Academy kit. Immediately, I noted that the kit appeared to be new tooling. I quickly scanned every sprue shot and determined that there was in fact not a single old sprue in the kit. Other things excited me as well. The barrel is a multi section design...no barrel seams to sand! It has AntiSkid molded on...it appeared to be rather fine, in the images, which is good, in my opinion...fine or none is my preference, as too heavy is impossible to correct. It has BigFoot style tracks, even though they are the one piece style, as opposed to individual links. It has masks for the clear parts. It has clear parts for 2 versions for the wheel hubs. It comes with a tow bar and a DUKE antenna, which saves on the aftermarket expenses a bit. The Tank Commander's periscopes are molded as one clear insert piece. The turret seemed to have more correct dimensions, then their 13202 kit, based on Academy completed promo shots, that I saw about a week later. Best of all, the kit can be built as an M1A2 SEP v2, TUSK I or a TUSK II. Options and a possible very easy build! I thought I might have a winner.

Indecision had me in its maddening grips. I needed to see some reviews. I needed to purchase a new M1 kit, soon. This whole ordeal had been running on for about 4 months, at this point. I finally just went ahead and ordered the Academy kit, based on my observations and the low selling price. At the moment, they sell for about $20 USD cheaper on average, than the Dragon, Meng or Rye kits. They also retail at only $58. I got mine for $40 USD, which was not on sale. It arrived yesterday. The size of the box was larger than I expected. It contained a nice PE sheet, crisp molding, excellent decals and possibly the best instructions, I’ve seen to date.

So far, I’m very impressed with what Academy has done with this kit. I don’t think I’m going to be disappointed with this one. The only negatives, I’ve noted thus far, is that it doesn’t have the added option of building an A1, which is not a deal breaker, lack of individual tracks and no crew accessories. Figures would have been cool. There are aftermarket items for all of that stuff anyway. I think it appears to be a great base kit for a SEP v2 or a TUSK...you can simply add what you feel you need to. I’m not suggesting that anyone buy this kit over another. I’m just explaining what my choice was based on. We each have our own methods and opinions. Some modelers have limitations of price. This kit has a full retail of only $58, while current SALE prices for the Meng and Rye kits are $64-$71. That is still less than the other kits, when they are one sale. Unless the experts prove it too be as bad as the 13202 kit, it seems like the best value of the offerings. The thing I like the most, is that Academy made a kit with 100% new tooling and gave the option of building it as a non TUSK, SEPv2!

Anyway, that is why I chose the Academy M1A2 SEP v2/ TUSK kit (#13298). I'm not sure when I'll start building this kit, but I'll try to document it. I'm leaning 95% toward building it as a M1A2 SEP v2, if you didn’t guess that already.

Joe, I really appreciate your candor and reasoning. I am at the same place you were before you picked up the Academy kit. I have a few things I am working on at the present so I can wait for Pawel to make more progress on his comparison. Happy modeling!

Regards,

Eric

Not a bad choice at all
I apologize for slow progress (or the lack of it) of my article. It's quite a lot of work and it's difficult for me to find time for it recently

Joe, I think you made an excellent choice and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this forum. Seriously, when you factor in the price, accuracy, and buildability, new Academy M1A2 is the way to go it seems. I'll be traveling to South Korea this week so I'll be picking up a couple of these at like $32 USD each - definitely within my budget.

No need to apologize, Pawel. Take your time and do it well.

Man get it started

I'm eager to see Pawel's comparison too, but I'm afraid I couldn't wait and bought one each of Meng, Rye and Academy (so that's my modelling budget for the year all gone on Abrams...)

My own impression is the Academy kit is really nice, and compares very favourably with the Meng and Rye kits (and for that matter, the Dragon one too). It has a couple of areas of clunky details like the rubber-band tracks, but from what I can see, Academy did their research - and in some cases better than their rivals.

Like you say, it has NOTHING in common with Academy's previous awful Abrams kits.

I was half-heartedly considering the Meng Abrams as I enjoyed building their M2A3 Bradley. I must admit, I completely discounted the Academy kit until reading your well reasoned post. Thanks to you Joe, I took a close look at it and, for many of the same reasons you wrote about, I decided it was the one for me. At $45 shipped from a US seller, I couldn't pass it up.