Hi all,

A friend of mine asked my if I could build a M1 Abrams for him. Well, no problem of course, but I'm not really into modern armour so I need some advice...

Which kits can you people recommend? There are a lot of Abrams kits!

The Abrams needs to be....

- Desert version (1st or 2nd gulf war)
- Without mine plow
- Some detail is appreciated

Please help us out of the modern US armour jungle

Martin

Best kit to get is the new Tamiya M1A1/A2 Abrams tank. Most accurate for an OIF version and can be made into a Desert Storm version as well. They make an earlier version that can be made into an good Desert Storm version.

EDIT Sabot, beat me to it, so let me second his choice.

Given your specifications, get Tamiya's M1A2 Abrams kit. You can build it as a US Army M1A1HA, US Army M1A2 Abrams, or a USMC M1A1 with the Missile Countermeasure Device (MCD) (a large square box on the top front left of the turret.

Vodnik did a review of M1A1/A2 kits on the market about a year or two ago. I cannot recommend reading this more highly. You will not find a more comprehensive review of Abrams kits on the internet.

Vodnik's M1A1/A2 review

Jeff

Lots of choices out there. Tamiya's new M1A1/A2 OIF kit is the easiest to build and the newest tooled. Not necessarily the best. They all have their goods and bads. Here is a rundown of most of the available kits


Tamiya's lacks the prominant anti-slip coating. It does come with a nice USMC MCD, APU, and some modern stowage and two descent figures.

Dragon's is a close second to Tamiya. It is a little harder to build, but does have the anti-slip coating. All of Dragon's M1A1/A2s also come with a partial interior. The newest Dragon USMC M1A1HC Baghdad kit also comes with a nice selection of gear, MRE boxes, and PE for the Bustle Rack Extension (BRE), however, the BRE is a US Army 3ID type, not USMC type. Dragon has also announced an all new tooled M1A1AIM to be out this fall. The M1A1 AIM will share most of its componenets with their recently released M1 Panther II mine clearing vehicle. Many improvements have been indicated over the Panther II as well. http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/dragon/dr3534.htm

Trumpeter is about on par with Dragon. It has the mud relief holes in the rear sprockets, one of only two kits to have these. It also comes with some extra ammo boxes and gear.

Academy's is horrible. It has a sprue with some updated parts that are great for OIF, such as USMC Bustle Rack Extension, new style sprockets with mud relief holes, smoke grenades for launchers, USMC MCD, nice APU, etc. Other than the new items, it is the same old bad Academy kit with short M1 turret and old style T-156 tracks that haven't been used since the early 1990s.

Italeris is an improved copy of the Trumpeter M1A1HC.


Here is a side-by-side review of most M1 Abrams kits out there.

http://vodnik2.republika.pl/pages/m1-comparison/m1comp1.htm

Review of new Tamiya M1A1/A2 OIF kit:
http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/tamiya/tam35269.htm

Review of new Academy M1A1 Iraq, 2003 kit:
http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/academy/acd13202.htm

Review of Dragon M1A1 USMC Bahgdad 2003 kit:
http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/dragon/dr3533.htm


EDIT: Guess we were all posting about the ame time. There should be plenty of info above for an informed decision.

Good Luck.

Wow thanks guys, looks like it's all the info I need

I think I'll go for the Tamiya M1A2

Yes definitely go for the Tamiya one. I constructed that model recently and found it very accurately made. You do have the choice to either make it into a M1A2 or M1A1. This is the desert version im talking about.

You can check out my photo gallery for a few photos on the M1A2 i created. Its not my best effort by any means but it would give you a good indication on what to expect for that kit.