All,

I have seen this photo posted many times in the past and in various places, but I am thinking that I might want to model this one. I love the heavy weathering and rust on this one. I'm sure that if no one else can, Gino can tell me what version of the M1 this is. Is this an M1A1 AIM? Or another version? Army or Marine (it does look like the stencil on the side towards the rear reads USMC, so I gather Marine)? I note that this tank has one of the very few 'track retainers' (probably not the correct term) that I have ever seen on an M1. It so happens that I have an Eduard photo etch set that includes these retainers, so that would not be a problem to model. I also note the exhaust 'diverter' that maybe a problem to scratch build, as I've never seen one in plastic like the one on this tank. I still have a few Dragon M1A1 AIM kits left, so if this is an AIM, I'm good to go. Are there any other pieces/parts on this tank that would be considered unusual, or something that I would need to be careful to include or delete if I built this tank?

Any thoughts anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

I don't have an answer for you, but I got to say, I've used thia picture so many time over the yeara to get ideas or inspiration for builds. I love it!

Curt,
That tank is a USMC M1A1 HC. The track retaining ring was installed as a precaution to prevent throwing track at the sprocket. This tank was from a tank platoon that was attached to a Marine Amphibious Unit, hence the weathered/rusty appearance. If I remember correctly, this tank was later involved in an accident in Guam, where the tank slipped off of a LCAC, into deep water and the driver was lost.

A M1A1 AIM kit is probably the best starting point and will need the 8 shot smoke grenade launchers from the DML 3533 kit or the Tamiya M1A2 kit, a bustle rack extension, the Missile Countermeasure Device (MCD) Tamiya M1A2 kit(?) added to the AIM kit.

I am sure that Gino will wade in with details to cover anything that I forgot to mention.

HTH

John

Jason: You are so right!!!

John: Thanks for the info. I have older Tamiya and Academy M1 kits that I might be able to find parts from for this build. The MCD is, I assume, the item on top of the turret, just above the smoke grenade launcher, and which appears to have a cover on it?

How terrible if a soldier was killed in an accident involving this tank...

Is this it?

http://www.stripes.com/news/marianas-dive-team-recovers-battle-tank-that-fell-off-hovercraft-1.19304

The photo of the recovered tank certainly looks like it has the same markings as the tank in the picture that I first posted. How very sad.

John covered it well. It is a USMC M1A1 HC (Heavy Common). The Dragon AIM is a good starting point. In addition to the extra parts you would need that John mentioned, you would also need to source a Deep Water Fording Kit (DWFK) exhaust snorkel base.

Thanks, Gino. I had purchased the Trumpeter 5 in 1 Abrams kit for the mine plow when I thought I'd need the plow for my Thunder Run exhibit tank, but I ended up using the Tamiya Abrams mine plow instead. To me, both the Trumpeter and Tamiya plows are almost identical. The Trumpeter also has some nice extras, such as the Deep Water Fording base, the USMC Smoke Dischargers, and a number of the parts needed for field exercises, as you had pointed out long ago in another thread. That Trumpeter kit looks like it's going to have been well worth its purchase price for these extras, alone!

Curt,
That article is the one...

Gino,
Thanks for the assist. I knew that I was forgetting something...

JC