Can anyone tell me which kits were made that depicted an early M1 with the 105mm cannon, 3-piece blast panels, no circular fitting for CITV, uncut rear side skirt, etc. Or if any of the later kits include any parts that can back-date it to an early version. I am aware of the Tamiya M1 kit #35124A but don’t know of any others. Also, which of these kits is better than the others. I would like to build a model depicting the first production M1 known as “Thunderbolt”. Thanks for any help.
Gus
The only two 1/35 scale M1 kits were the original Tamiya kit and the Esci/Ertl/AMT kit. Both are long OOP, but still obtainable on sites like eBay.
Esci/Amt/Ertl did an M1 and M1A1 that was just some detail parts that were added to the basic M1 kit along with a new gun tube. Very inaccurate as an M1A1. The M1 kit was not as good as the Tamiya kit, but when built, it looked like an M1.
Tamiya’s M1 was the only one that came with the Thunderbolt markings.
The Tamiya kit you have listed is the best to represent an early M1. It also has the “Thunderbolt” markings in it.
The other option was one by AMT/Esci/Ertl. They were innacurate and poorly molded.
To upgrade the Tamiya one, you may want to get new tracks for it. The kit ones are molded wrong with the center guide in the middle of each track block as opposed to connecting each track block. Armor Scale Models makes a set of T-156 tracks for them, but they can be hard to find.
Another option is to get Trumpeter’s Korean K1 or K1A1 kits and use their tracks. They have properly molded T-156 tracks.
Good luck.
EDIT: Looks like Rob beat me to it again. Great minds do think alike.
Rob, saw at M-L that you are PCSing to Riverside, CA (March ARB). What are you going to be doing out there?
If Rob is heading out to March ARB, I am sure myself and others local to the area can direct him to some of the many fine hobby shops around here in the So Cal area.
Thanks very much. I was not aware the the Thunderbolt decals were included in the Tamiya kit. Tried to get one on Ebay but was outbid. I think this might be a tough one to get. Thanks again.
Gus
If you can’t find the first Tamiya M1 kit, then this is your next best bet, the AMT/Ertl kit.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sealed-ERTL-WWII-Army-Model-Kit-MI-Abrams-Tank-MIB_W0QQitemZ110180456975
You can use the Tamiya M1A1 kit to dress up the lower hull and many detail parts on the Tamiya turret were unchanged from the M1 kit to the M1A1 kit.
I should have plenty of the Thunderbolt decals left, I’ve probably built more than a dozen of the original Tamiya kits.
Usually a Tamiya M1 Abrams kit pops up on Ebay about every week. Just be patient. It’s worth getting that one. That’s where I got mine: 
Jesse
I’ve built an updated version of the Tamiya kit, and it is very nice and an easy build. Everything fits well. Worst case scenario is you’ll sit there for 10 minutes with two parts firmyl held together while the superglue sets all the way, then for added safety run a bit of tenax into the joint as well after the CA is set. The only things I am not pleased with on the kit are due to myself and I can fix them with some replacements, and a refinish of the model.
Rob,
Thanks for that info. However the model at that link says it’s 1/72 scale. Which kit of theirs is 1/35?
Jesse,
That really looks great. Do you happen to have more photos of your build. I’d like to take a trip to the US Army Ordinance Museum in Maryland to see the original. There’s not a lot of photos of it on the web. I’ve only found about half a dozen or so.
Gus
Sure do. I live in Maryland and have been to Aberdeen to see the actual M1 “Thunderbolt”. Here are some pics:
This site has a bunch of pics from the Aberdeen M1 Abrams:
http://battletanks.com/m1_abrams.htm
Jesse
My apologies, I was watching the 1/72 scale kit and when I pasted the link, I copied the 1/72 scale link instead of the 1/35 scale kit. Here is the link I ran across of the 1/35 scale kit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-kits-AMT-Ertl-1-35-M1-Abrams-8670-PLUS-LAV-AT-8673_W0QQitemZ220162155144
http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Vintage-Military-Model-Kits-Patton-Tank-Abrams-Panzer_W0QQitemZ230182278551
http://cgi.ebay.com/ARMOR-LOT-1-35-DRAGON-SdKfz250-3-GREIF-1-35-TAMIYA-M1_W0QQitemZ180171402688
http://cgi.ebay.com/Tamiya-U-S-M-1-ABRAMS-Main-Battle-Tank-1-35_W0QQitemZ110182846603
As stated, the Tamiya kit is not hard to find and reasonably priced if you watch for the kit.
Jesse,
Very nice model. What color did you use for it? I really like the way it looks. I’ve been to that site and saw those photos. Unfortuneately, there just isn’t any good detail shots of it. There are some aspects of it that I was wondering about, so I’d like to try and make it out there and take some photos myself.
Rob,
Thank you for those links. I was only aware of one of those. The others will come in handy. Hopefully I can snag one of them (except for the Ertl one - $40 just for shipping is a little too high for me).
Gus
I used Model Master paints for the whole thing. Olive Drab for the base coat with post-shading. Rust for the tracks with Aircraft Interior Black for the pads and road wheels. OOB the build is really quick. I think it took me about two or three days to build which is REALLY fast for me. The figure is from the kit. I used the kit figure because my three year old daughter likes to give a “thumbs-up” and say “Aces”. So, naturally, she liked the figure.
Jesse