A repost from the campaigns entry, but with a few more details....

Well I've been working on the M1. I love the extended bustle rack! Was a pain to build but would be easy with a hold and fold, two straight razors and a pair of tweezers and two MK1 thumbs takes some patience Most major components like the APU, hatches, and baskets are not glued yet. Gotta get the skirts and mg mounts done and I can get to the fun part Great kit overall, gotta be patient with cleanup and some pre-fitting but it can be done filler-free.

Major problems are the same as everyone else has noted:

-the MUST FIX problem with the large, thick moulded 'support' under the forward sponsoon above the roller that must be shaved or removed or the track will not fit. It takes some effort so doing it on an assembled model would be very tough.

-some cleanup on small parts is tedious

-various instruction part # mistakes and lack of clarity for parts placement have you flipping constantly to the paint scheme photos and refferences. The last one I remember was the tail light guards are backwards(U24/25). Other ones are mixed backwards in the COMPONENT build(i.e. 3 of the 4 parts in a given assembly are correct and one is backwards). If I remember one of the parts of the smoke dischargers was wrong for each side. TEST FIT, TEST FIT, TEST FIT. You should be doing it anyway.....

-generally either perfect fit or a handfull of parts have lousy fit(front suspension arm halves and engine cover U13 take some very carefull reworking in particular)....Sanding the angle sharper on the foward edge of U13 got it fit flush. The forward arms (V5/4) should have the locating 'block' shaved off and the round ends of the gas struts (V10/11) should be sanded/thinned by 50% so the halves (V23/24 &V15/16) will mate flush. Main bustle rack mounting brackets(to the rear of the turret) have some fit issues too(N16/17). They can be tweaked to fit so tack glue it and check before comitting. Some are complaining about the main engine cover having issues but I had it friction fitted and taped it on when gluing the hull halves so it worked out ok for me.

-running gear is tough to get lined up, the seemingly agressive locator notches are worthless-keep a ruler handy. Not to bad if you get the front two arms set on the model(don't trust the allignment on the worktable) with a rear arm friction fit for refference. Then friction fit the main arms, check multiple times with a straightedge, and glue from behind..

-another instruction problem-PAY ATTENTION TO ALL DRILL WARNINGS, a couple are out of sequence-check em all off before putting the hull/turret halves together.

-PE is not for the faint of heart, definately not a first timers model

-plastic barrel takes some carefull cleanup and is much better then the metal one. Need to be carefull with allignment of the two main parts.

-mantlet is a poor fit on the top front edge that cleaning up will not fix-fixed with super thin strip styrene. The opening for the mantlet does take a little tweaking/sanding so there will be room for a layer of paint, its way too tight.

-instructions extremely vague on certain components, mainly the headlight assemblies and some turret conduit and hatch details. Also be religious fully checking off all parts numbers as you go along. U18 is a part on the side of the upper hull that almost disappears in the drawings(shown in step 8 ). There is no clear mounting refference for how it fits nor location tabs. It should align flush with the top of the hull so there is a small gap at the bottom to allow for the skirt and pe 'hinges' to clear.

-no additional instructions for mounting accessories such as the spare roadwheels. I will have to wait to see whats left on the sprues.

-be CAREFULL with decals-do NOT trust the instructions, the APU and other stenciling should be checked with refferences, and apparently the kit's "68" is too big with corrected ones provided but not updated on the instructions. Even the markings drawings show the somewhat gigantic ones.

Sounds like a lot, but no more then any huge parts count kit. Still nothing like the average ship model. The great detail of the kit easilly outweighs any minor flaws. Just prefit everything at least 3-4 times and you will be fine. I have only spent about 10 evenings to get to this point. A couple fresh 400/600 sanding sticks with a deft touch make quick work of prepping parts.

In primer for final fit checks:




The instructions in Dragon kits have had these issues before and it is REDICULOUS that such an essential and easy to redo part of the kit is so overlooked. Its one thing to have the tooling made up or designed with an error, but this is one darn sheet of PAPER. Making an effort to get this right, with multi-part assemblies shown assembled CLEARLY; and a nicer full-color markings sheet(ala Trumpeter) would go a long way for their kits.

Now you are just scaring us eh.

Perhaps what might be useful is if you "corrected" or highlighted the flaws through the build instructions and display the updated copy to all? As im still waiting for the kit to arrive in my LHS, i cant really imagine all the points you talk about.

Appreciate you sharing your experience on the kit though.

One of our other members here did a very extensive build of this too that I just found today and it hits all the same things. I will find it and link it here.

Lawrence(lquah) did a huge build article on this:

https://www.planetarmor.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2360&page=2

He missed part U18 too(although I hadn't painted mine yet . I guarantee if someone doesn't tell you what step it's on and say 'find it' it would take at least half an hour. I did a few different things but he clearly illustrates the major stuff clearly. Major props to his effort

And 10 evenings of only a few hours is pretty gosh darn quick Especially considering every single part is tweaked and flash-free.

Thanks for sharing your work/frustrations there.

I too have found these instructions to be a mess and really hard to understand. I have been going through mine with a red pen and a highlighter making all the corrections that I can find.

My question is for you. You have built your model with the extended bustle rack with the APU also mounted on the rear of the turret. The instructions only show one vehicle with this extended rack but it doesn't show an APU mounted at all. Are the instructions wrong on this one or are you modeling another vehicle?

Again thanks for sharing

Jeff

Nah, the APU looks good so I am probably going to mount it. Its not glued in yet. The soldiers in my personal army at home wanted one so I hooked them up at the supply depot. I always build models for myself, and will use creative accuracy. Do we know for sure that it never, ever had it or just base everything on a set a photos anyway? Ships are more like that, within 30 minutes the refference photos are no longer 100% accurate.

There's also no replacement mesh if you decide not to use it

Heh heh I think I am going to do the same thing myself. I was just curious thats all. Wasn't sure if it was a goof on the instructions or not. I don't like making things totally up but I don't think its going to harm anything and yeah it looks cool.




Yeah I am the same. I figure 98% of the people in my life who may ever see my finished kit will be hard pressed to identify it as an Abrams nevermind pointing out an APU that shouldn't be there.

Jeff

I have most of the model 'primed' in ODS sand as a basecoat for the modern sand FS color. I'm doing the LAV at the same time so at least I am getting more then one model out of a paint mix session I hate the camera I have at home but it kinda gives a general idea. I used the plastic barrell as it looks much better then the aluminum one.

hey

Looks good your abrams.
Wich version youre gonna made?

,Gijs

I think "All bout da bones" but with a little creative license The APU, front tow bar, and a bit light on the weathering.

what kind of surface primer do you use?

Tamiya spray primer, definately the best stuff

I wish my camera took half-decent pictures. I did the AB work today. Oversprayed/shaded with the modern sand over the ODS sand. Mixed various shades for streaking and shading, went back over the darker highlights again with the original sand, and oversprayed the model again with the light sand to blend it all. I mixed some grey and sand in around the ventwork and preliminary grime. Its very hard to see in the photos, but its very obvious yet subtle in real life. I would imagine it would get a little richer in color when cleared. I'm trying to find that balance of looking used, yet clean, as I don't want it all dirtied up all by itself in the case. I did my LAV up at the same time so I don't have to mix paint 10 times again



I need to get more lights


I lost a small part and went into the unfinished Italeri M1A2 kit for a spare. WOW I've gotten so used to working with this, the Trumpy LAV with Eduard, and the Cyberhoby PIV ausf B and the Ital kit looks like it was carved out of wood

kevin do you know how many link are the track suppose to have?

I haven't gotten there yet. There should be no slack though. I never really count the magic tracks either way. I always leave the sprocket arms loose so they can be adjusted, or if the fit is too loose, just use a little CA or white glue that can be broken free if it needs adjustment before final gluing.

well i lost a couple of the tracks ( like 2 or 3 ) but most will be covered by side skirts so im not so worried

They usually have extra ones included

As we replied in your Track Help post, don't worry about the #. Just build them up and you will have enough. Also, why are you worrying about building the top run of tracks behind the skirts? No one will be able to see them. I don't build them. Just build enough to go around the front road wheel and rear sprocket and a few extra to fill the voids around the ends of the skirts. You won't be able to tell that there is nothing on the top run unless you pose the skirts opened up.

I am leaving the rear skirt section off the sprocket and just looking down from eye level you can see pretty far forward. Should I put the rear skirts on? I saw a ton of pics of them with them off and now everything has them on the tanks

You can leave them off. Many are removed to keep them from fouling the track with dirt and debris that can get caught there. All you have to do is make a partial upper run that goes forward till it can't be seen any longer. I have done it a few times and it comes out looking great, see results below.

I ended up going to the 'first' roller in the rear. I don't know why these would bother anyone, the magic tracks on this kit are super-duper easy to install. I just sanded the ejector marks on the outter edges, both sides on the runs fully visible on the front/rear. Nothing like the cyberhobby PIV to keep straight and get realistic slack(which were still quite easy, just delicate)... The M1's were a cakewalk, and took only minutes to set up