Hi,
I completed my build of this Abrams variant. I posted some pics of it earlier here and on ML forum. (Thanks for the Big A members who thought like me that a propane tank is not a heresy They sure will recognize themselves )





I uploaded a full article on my personal site(link below).
Enjoy the visit,
olivier

Looks pretty good. Good job. Figures look a little pale and lifeless though.

Nice job Olivier. I saw this one over on ML as well, and though I didn't give much thought to the propane tank the one thing I wondered about is all the crew stowage on top of the blast panels. I read a post a year or so back by a tanker who said that the stowage shouldn't be covering up the blast panels. (at least not in a combat zone) Can any of our in service members give me the lowdown on this? Gino, Rob, are you out there? Also what did you use for the smoke grenades, that's a nice touch.

Cheers,
Mike

Howdy Mike. In theory(GD engineers) and according to the operators manual you are not supposed to stow anything on top of the blowout panels in a combat environment. If you have a "bustle event" the resulting blast from the ammo lighting off may supposedly be diverted to the crew compartment via the ammo doors. But then again the ammo doors are pretty robust. In reality we are tasked with carrying a lot more gear than the tank was designed to hold. That is another reason why everyone has come up with all sorts of bustle rack and turret side extensions. Just putting the APU in there necessitated that. Bottom line, if it did not go on top it would not be able to go. The risk is acceptable for mission essential stuff. Out here.

Very nice, only thing I'd recommend is tie some of that gear down, such as the helmet and ammo box, and like Gino said, the figures do look a bit pale, almost like they weren't even painted.
-Shain

I don't think this is heresy, just a fire hazard

Anyway, well done. I especially like the indentation on the MRE boxes. While I would guess this was as much accidental from putting them together, the effect of "used" is all the same there.

I will definitely second the suggestion for straps to tie this down. Just cut some strips of standard paper, paint them and glue them down. A long strap or two across the top gear should fix this. I know this would be pinning down the gear to a blast panel, but in the instaneous explosion of a blast panel, with all the force going up, I would bet my money on the panel being able to a.) snap any fabric tie down strap, and b.) hurl off any loaded gear.

Oh and as for the "lifeless" figures, true, but my excuse would be from all the fine sand covering them; painting figures well is hard (and harder still when they are glued to the model.

Jeff

I will second what Mike said about stowage. Evven though the TMs say not to stow anything on the blast panels, with the amount of gear we carry, you have to. Don't really think they would be an issue if the panels blew or if there was some other type of fire, etc.

As to the propane tank, as I stated in the other post, the ammo and fuel all over the tank is a fire hazard as well, along with the RPG and main gun rounds being fired at it. Combat is hazardous. We manage this risk/hazard on a daily basis in the military, it is what we do.

Thanks for setting me straight on that Mike & Gino.

Cheers,
Mike

Bison,
Much better crew gear than your M1A1 USMC, the straps on your seabags look nice. Where did you get the shackles for the tow cables? Kit extras or scratchbuilt? Just curious, I had a hard time locating any, had to scratchbuild them myself, of the 4 I made, only 1 looked decent.

Also, checked out your link, I just realized your site was the one I used most often during my build of Tamiya's USMC M1046 Humvee OIF. Thanks for the help, it placed 1st at the local IPMS show in February. Your is awesome.


Again, nice M1A2, you are getting better with each build.

Ryan

High praise coming from Ryan (melon) who has, to date, produced the best abrams I have seen.

Oliver I think the engine deck mesh is very well done (along with everything else but I thought I'd make a note of this).

Hi all
thanks for your kind comments and observations.
So I'll tie down the gear, ont that hard to do. As far as the kit figures are concerned, ... well, painting figures is not the best thing I can do. I feel pretty much happy with 120mm figures. However I'll try to get them more living and sun-burnt ! They aren't glued in their station, I guess I've already thought I would have to do so

The shackles come from my spare parts box. As far as I remember some come from a Tamiya Bradley (the little ones). Don't remember for the big one on the grab handle. When I scratchbuild mine, I use fuse wire. Easy to bend and to flaten at the ends.

Melon, I'm pleased you enjoyed my Hummer too. The seabag is the one provided in the kit. I removed the original straps and replaced them with lead foil as I wanted different looking bags (another one is in the turret bustle rack).

olivier

Very enjoyable looking model. Although like a few have said, it's preferable to keep the blow-outs clean, the only thing GD has ever said when asked about it(field reps, etc) to me, was don't use one of those 10 ton ratchet straps on them. The force of a blast will knock most junk off if it's not strapped down with a strong strap. Hence our bustle rack extensions, 25MM cans, you name it, to move as much stuff off.

Thankfully, you did not put any items on your sponson box lids. Noticed a lot of people using Tamiya's idea of stowage and placing tentage and what not on the sponsons, a definite no no.

Some loose items on a tank are acceptable. The kevlar, etc, may only be up there a short while, or the loader may be preparing to dismount. MRE boxes may have been wedged further back, and slid forward.

I liked your model, one of the ones that looks closer towards the Armored Winnebago that we tend to see when we have to carry all the crap.

Jed Sargent

Here are a few photos to reinforce what Gino was saying about gear covering the blast panels. Tankers carry a lot of gear and have to put it somewhere!

For the most part, the panels are clear but some "overflow" from the bustle rack is unavoidable.

Really nice and interesting pics Brent, thanks for sharing.
It seems to me the BRE on the first pic is a Marine one on an Army M1A2. Is it correct ?
It appears too that a lot of stuff is "hiding" the APU. I thought this would have been clear to avoid fire setting with the exhaust heat.
Any comment on this.

TIA
olivier

Oliver,
US Army is now using the USMC BRE (Bustle Rack Extension). 1CAV started getting that type last year. As to the APU, there isn't one in the bustle. The tank in the pic is an M1A2 SEP, there is the TMU (Thermal Management Unit, air conditioner) under there though. Can see it is a SEP from the 2nd pic down, there are the fittings on the hull side at the rear, under the CIP is a small box and the plate that run on top of the hull for the internal APU. Also, it is a 1CAV M1A2, 1CAV has all SEPs.

Got it,
thanks for that Gino. We should have bird of prey eyes to see this from afar !
Is the Internal APU "visible" from outside ? I've seen pics of the TMU in the BRE but none of the new APU so far.

olivier

APU itself is not visible from exterior, the exhaust is visible from the rear, and other fittings can be seen on the side and top of the hull.

Here is a pic of Gunnie's great looking M1A2 SEP. You can see the fittings and exhaust that he added to accurately portray the IAPU.

Most of our SEP TMS's(Thermal Management Systems) dont' stay working, on a regular basis, but if they were, it would be an extreme no-no to put gear on top of it, since the fins need to have as much airflow as possible. If the air doesn't flow, you burn out your components, and then you don't get that enjoyable cool breeze.

One thing none of the pictures show(and it can be noticeable), on an M1A2 SEP, there is an armored box that covers the hydraulic and AC lines that run into the turret, from underneath the bustle rack. I'll try and snag a picture at some point.

But those are the three identifying items on a SEP. The VCSU from the TMS(armored AC box), the rear deck modification for the UAPU(under armor apu, not fielded yet), and the armored cover for the hoses, under the bustle rack and over to the corner behind the TC.

Jed Sargent

I thought I read somewhere that Nomex suits were more common than camo battledress for M1 crews.
Bison, I've just started building a Tammy Humvee. Did Melon say you have a feature on it? and Happy Anniversary for yesterday. One year of Armorama.
Tom

Bison,
It's OK I've found your site. Good One!
Tom