Trumpeter have posted images from the instructions for their 1/16 M1A1 on FB and on their own site:

http://www.trumpeter-china.com/index.php?g=home&m=product&a=show&id=2993

TBH I'm pessimistic about this one. The plans on the painting guide show some odd features:

- coax MG is level with the main gun
- hull is a mixture of M1A1 and M1A2 SEP features

Could be instruction goofs, but I also noticed the MG on prototype model Trumpy showed at Nuremberg. So we should wait for actual sprue shots, but safest not to get too excited just yet.

Aussie markings are a nice addition though.

Apart from the kangaroo decals, there's not much Australian about those markings. Was hoping for the bustle rack extension (was present from delivery of the Abrams to Australia) and the fridge

This reminds me of the Hooben Abrams:

http://hooben.com/product_info.php?cPath=31&products_id=355

It cant be better if you can point out where have issues on the kit and do some compare so that we can see the difference.in case it indeed wrong when it comes out.

There are plenty of guys on this site better-qualified than I am to advise, but here are the things that look wrong to me:

I would wait to see the actual plastic before passing judgement.

The drawings are a bit off. The coax is correct though. It should be in line with the main gun. The T/I box on the right rear is a feature of later M1A1 AIM tanks, so it is correct depending on when you are depicting. The NBC overpressure system is on the wrong side of the hull. It also has the exhaust and upper right rear deck corner are A2 features.

Yes, I agree it's not the finished product - on the other hand, if there are errors, better Trumpy fix them before they release it...

Surely the coax is too low? It shouldn't be on the angle of the mantlet but further up. The NBC outlet seems to be on both sides of the hull. And I think the T/I box should sit further up - happy to be corrected.

You can see at least a couple of these features on the model shown at Nuremberg.

http://data3.primeportal.net/models/thomas_voigt11/trumpeter-hobby_boss/index.php?Page=2

I bought the kit and I am very disappointed in it. I love all my Trumpeter 1/16 scale kits - except this one. I have the T34/76 1942, the MRAP M-ATV, the SU-100, and a T34/85 all in 1/16 scale, but this kit is the worst offering I have ever seen from Trumpeter in any scale. The driver's hatch molding is messed up (sunken down in the back and raised in the front). The NBC venting is indeed molded on both sides of the tank instead of just on the left side. I was able to cut it off and fix it with styrene, but it was a PITA. The front track skirts are molded very poorly with a huge 1/4" x 1/2" gap that must be filled. The front mud guard springs are molded even worse. The rubber skirts on the fenders have no fastener detail or line seperating them from the metal part of the fender. The turret basket is about 1/4" too long so it doesn't match up to the rest of the side bars on the turret. Had to cut about 1/4" off the basket length to get it to fit. There is a big open spot on the back of the tank below the engine access doors that is supposed to have a cover, but it is not included in the kit so there is just a big open hole. This is an M1A1. It had the older onboard generator so it should have the gas cap on the left rear of the tank. Trumpeter molded the access hatches on the back of the tank that hold the battery packs that are used on the M1A2 version of the tank *and* the filler cap for the generator. The tank should have one or the other and not both. In this case the M1A1 should not have the extra access hatches. It should only have the filler cap. The barrel is horrible. Had to put it on my lathe in order to get rid of all the molding lines. If you mount it the way they tell you to in the instructions, it will seat too far back into the mount causing a gap around the base of it. It will also be too short because it is basically being mounted in the position it would take during recoil after firing the main gun.

Other than those MAJOR issues...the kit molding is quite detailed for an M1A1 version. It does have a pretty nice anti-slip texture molded into the surface of the tank although there are many place it should be but it isn't. I have been able to fix most of the problems, but the fixes aren't perfect. For a tank in 1/16 scale, you get more detail in a 1/35 scale tank. Way too many molded in details for a tank of this size. I would give this tank zero stars if you don't have the ability to fix the major problems with it. I'd give it a 2/5 now that I've mostly assembled it and fixed the major issues.

Most of the issues can be fixed with some patience or hidden well enough not to matter, but for a tank of this price tag the mistakes in the moldings are deplorable. It does has more detail than the Heng Long 1/16 scale R/C tank I have. It's funny because the tank includes the SEP hood, but not the base as someone pointed out. It includes the photo etch mesh for the extended bustle, but not the bustle itself.

Overall, I would not recommend the tank to anyone to purchase. The painting and marking guide above does include the mistakes I've mentioned. They are just hard to see in some cases. The instruction booklet also had the mistakes on it so they seem to be make from the CAD drawings used to make the molds.