OK, i know an aussie M1A1 topic isent about US armour, however i do have a question about US Abrams.

As some of you may know the Australian Defence Force has purchased 59 M1A1 Abrams AIM tanks to replace the Leopard AS1 MBT. This means Australia is the 4th? Country to buy abrams for there army.

Being an aussie digger, i thought i would build a 1/35 M1A1 for somthing different then buliding M113's, ASLAV's and AS1's.

Now, Ive never built an Abrams before and only having a slight idea what they would look like (The aussie version) i thought i would ask for some help.

Im painting the beast in the standerd Australian 3 colour cam, Ive looked around the web for cammo M1A1's but i can only find the tanks in there desert clothes.... Does anyone have any pictures of an abrams tank, real or model, that shows an M1 in near perfect condition.

I guess seeing how that the aussie tanks will be new and and un-used i would paint them to repersent that. Where does the first signs of wear show?, how much does it show?, what do they look like when there being packed for transport? What do they look like fresh off the production line? Do they come complete ready to go into the unit? Things like this i need help on.... I have a rough idea, but i want to get a near 100% in the final product.

Oh yeah also, do US crews carry there M16 in the tank with them like aussie crews? Ive had a look at some of the changes Australia will make to suit them for our use, one of these is F88 Steyr mounts.

Any help would be awesome, and i will love to hear any ideas on building my Abrams...... Im starting buliding a new tank blind!

Thanks in advance.
Jason

Hello Jason,
I have a picture of an Aussie M1A1 in the Aussie paint scheme, the bad news is I am in Iraq and don't have access to it. The picture was taken after the contract was signed for the new vehicle. You may want to look at GDLS (General Dynamics Land Systems) website, or the Austrailian Ministry of Defense's website for photos. I believe that's were I found a copy.

Semper FI
Andy

Ive looked over every part of both sites and then some....... I cant find it anywere
Thanks for you help anyway mate. I will keep looking....

G'day Jason,
Jason here. Try this site mate

http://defencemodels.com.au/Projects/ABRAMS.asp

Have a chat to Russ and he may be the man who can help.
I have been toying with the idea of doing an M1 as well. With the MCRS camo (same as whats on the Leo). But like all big projects, other kits/jobs show up to stuff evrything up. But it will be done one day.

As for wear and tear, if you have seen a brand new ASLAV , or rebuilt M113/Leopard the wear is on the front and belly of the hull. Well this is were most of the wear was on my M113's. But then again I had a nasty problem of not seeing tree stumps in time.

Any way try Russ. I found him to be very helpfull.

Cheers Jason

Wouldn't the Aussies just use the standard 3-Color scheme. The whole point of the factory applies CARC finish was to make the vehicles identical so that an opposing force couldn't easily tell the difference between vehicles, branches of services, or allied countries for that matter.

Using the same paint scheme would also make interchanging supplies easier between forces.

Just my unqualified thoughts...

I was thinking something similar ref the factory applied paint. Its my understanding that the paint is applied via robot/computer. So, I would think that if the fatcory painted it, it would be a case of the standard NATO 3 tone pattern, but in this case with the Aussie colours. For my AS-2, I'll be giving this method a go.
Nato Green = Tan
Nato Brown = OD
Black stays black.

It sure won't look like an AS-1 Leo pattern, but I think it would at least be plausible.

The other option I was considering was to transpose the AS-1 pattern & colours over the AS-2.

The US 3 tone cam would work well in the US, but in Australia we have very dry bush. Thats why our cam is much lighter. I can see the ADF painting them the Australian cam patten.

Got a copy of the Chef or army's press release, it details what were getting. Thanks for the help guys....

There is a rack for one M16A1 rifle by the tank commander's right leg. It mounts barrel down and is held in place with a short bungee cord.

The tank comes with one M16A2 so the rifle doesn't quite fit in there as neatly as an M16A1. This is because the hand guards on the M16A1 were V-shaped on the side and the M16A2 had round hand guards. You can see in the photo that the rifle rack is a fairly simple affair and the metal piece with the V cut out is where the hand guard would rest.

I'm not familiar with a Steyr F88, but if it is a straight assault rifle, it should fit in the same spot with minor difficulty.