I saw this on Armorama.com. I can’t wait to get my hands on a few of these kits. Finally my Echelon decals will have a good home. I just have to get rid of the 5 or so M1 kits I already have.
Likewise , I can’t wait to get these kits . All my M1’s are Tamiya. Thanks for the post !
Frank
" PERSEVERANCE "
These will be the best M1’s around I agree. Again, Tamiya spending time updating old kits and being left behind in the dust. If Dragon is smart they won’t stop here, get some Chally 2’s out etc. Would be wicked if DML popped some trank transporters for US, Britian etc.
the sep version is coming out aswell soon
Wow, great to see Dragon extend their new aproach for superkits to some modern stuff.
finally!!! an abrams worth replacing my girlfriend for! 
i would love to see an abrams kit or conversion with the TUSK (tank urban survival kit ) that beast just looks awesome
Actually i don t think they are any different between a M1A1 and a M1A1 AIM ? AIM is just under a major over haul and servicing version right ?
Yes, M1A1 AIM is simply a rebuilt M1A1HC. AIM is Abrams Integrated Management program. They also add some new digital gear inside, but externally no different than an up to date M1A1HC.
The new kit will eclipse all other M1A1 kits in quality though.
Anyone know when this new kit will be released?
All the more reason to abandon the M1A2 comparison project!
I wonder if this kit comes with the revolutionary new warped hull technology we’ve come to crave from Dragon? [:p]
LOL larry, how is your project going? I haven’t seen anything on it in a while.
Besides that, I think the abrams is the best yet, they seem to have done their research better that tamyia. Anyone have the Panther 2, I read a review saying that it was one of the most acurate abrams out there. I never even knew that there were big holes in the drive sprocket to clear out mud. Dragon has topped themselves again.
I need momentum to keep projects going. I waited and waited for a mail order to get the correct tan color for Iraq war M1A2s, and eventually moved on to other projects. By the time the paint came, I had other things on the front burner. Now I’m working on painting an army for ancient wargaming, using huge numbers of very small miniatures (15mm tall).
I may wind up canning the M1A2 project if the new dragon kits are so obviously the way to go that they eclipse even the Tamiya kit, which is easily the one I liked the most, despite the lack of no-slip. I suspect this will be the case.
IIRC, it is supposed to be out in december. I am also hoping they will release an M1 version.
Is this an all new tooled version? It sure looks sweet. Bummer, because my Tamiya kit needs to sprayed with a base.
Yes, completely new tooling.They even retooled most of the items that were used in their M1 Panther 2, which was a complete retool over their older M1 kits. It should be awesome. Can’t wait.
Oooh… Damn, but that looks good.
I just picked up the Italeri kit with the resin engine/interior. Hope it works out reasonably.
NTM
The interior is not that great. The directions have you mounting the wall panels directly to the inside of the turret walls. This is incorrct. There is almost 18 inches of armor between the inner and outer walls of the turret, about 1/2 inch in 1/35. If you don’t take this into account, the interior pieces are all too far apart and the turret doesn’t look right. The gunner’s panel is way too far forward, practically on the front slope. Take a look at my USMC M1A1 turret interior to see the proper spacing. It is mainly based on the DML interior, which is much better than the Italeri one.
Here is a review of the Italeri M1A1 with interior from PMMS, if you haven’t seen it yet: http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/italeri/it6438.htm
Good luck with it.