Hello all, I was wondering if someone could answer some questions for me? I was considering making a USMC M1A1 as seen in OIF, and was wondering which kit would be best for this project without excessive correction of kit deficiencies? Also, who makes the additional components I would need for a current Marine M1A1 as opposed to a basic M1A1? (Anti-missile device, bustle rack air filtration system, new-style smoke grenade clusters, 'bigfoot' tracks, etc.) Any info on this would be greatly appreciated

Chris, not being ANY kind of expert on the M1a1, I would give one word of advice - WAIT! , Dragon are bringing out a NEW M1 in the next few months and from what I can surmise, it'll be the best yet. Of course the M1 Specialists may disagree...Jim

Got any links to info on this kit?

Not yet, but I can confidently predict that we will have one of the first reviews anywhere on the 'web....Jim

Jim, is right - the new DML kit is worth the wait and indeed Armorama is the best place too look for info about this new kit, as I'm DML's consultant in this project

But please note that the next new Abrams kit released by DML will be M1A1 AIM with only Army parts and decals included. The next release will be M1A2 SEP, also Army tank. The USMC variant based on new kit tooling was not announced yet, but of course it is likely to be released some time after those mentioned versions.

Now ansering your question about what is available today - the best one for USMC M1A1HC is Tamiya M1A2 kit, which also includes parts for Army M1A1HC and USMC M1A1HC. For more information about various Abrams kit available on the market check my article here: http://vodnik2.republika.pl/pages/m1-comparison/m1comp1.htm. Please note that this article does not include information about new Academy OIF M1A1 kit and DML USMC "Baghdad" M1A1 kit released a couple of years ago, but they are both worse than Tamiya model.

And one more thing - you mentioned "bustle rack air filtration system". There is no such thing. M1A2 SEP uses VCSU (vapor compression system unit) that is a part of cooling system used on this tank, but this variant is only used by US Army, not Marines. All older variants used today carry APU (Auxiliary Power Supply) in the bustle rack.

Also smoke grenade launchers used by USMC are not really new, they are the same type as used e.g. on LAV-25 and AAVP7, just attached in pairs - two on each turret side. Marines decided to use them instead of the type used on Army tank to have one standard type on all vehicles.

Tamiya M1A2 kit includes both bustle rack mounted APU and USMC style grenade launchers.

"Big foot" track T158 are now standard used by both Army and Marines and they are slowly being replaced by slightly lighter T158LL version. Old T156 tracks are now obsolete and very rarely seen on tanks. The only kits with T156 tracks are Academy models and old Tamiya M1A1 kit.

Pawel

Chris, I agree with Pawel and Jim that if you want the most accurate Abrams kit, you may want to wait for the upcoming Dragon one. That's if you have patience for the next few months. For now, the best one in the market is the Tamiya OIF one. It is fairly accurate and has all the necessary accessories except for the Marine bustle rack extension (you can buy one from Eduard or scratch build one). There are previous posts at this web site on how to scratch build an extension.
You can buy the Tamiya kit for about $20 at Hobby Lobby when they have their 50% off sale. That's again if you are willing to wait for their sale and have the store near where you live.
As far as the upcoming AIM Abrams is concerned, you may have to get all the Marine specific accessories separately, which can easily be done by ordering the specific Tamiya OIF sprue (Sprue D- I cannot remember part number but you can ask me later) from Tamiya America. I bought an extra to update my old Dragon USMC Abrams for $10 ($5 for the sprue and $5 for UPS shipping). Hope this helps.
P2G