Welcome to the Slacker’s Guide to Choosing an M1A2 tank (the “SGCM-1”).
There’s so much talk here about which M1A2 kit to build in 1/35th scale that I’ve decided to build them all. By that, I mean the Trumpeter, Tamiya, Dragon and Italeri offerings, the ones you hear referenced the most. There may be others but they are not invited!
I will build them straight out of the box in each circumstance. I will not add AM stuff of any kind. Strictly kit! I will not convert the vehicles to accurize them. What’s in the box is what’ll be on the shelf.
As I go, I will report on progress, and post my normal terrible photos. I will keep close track of the time each takes to build and paint, and of any kit challenges along the way. When they are done, I will wrap it all up with side-by-side comparison photos, which will be of the aforesaid terrible quality.
First up is the Trumpeter M1A2. I picked it up at the normal exorbitant price of my LHS – $22.95! That’s a good seven dollars more than I’ve seen it online, but that’s life in the big city.
Hopefully there’s enough decal variation that I’ll be able to make four different vehicles. Stay tuned to this station for more details.
I appreciate the difficult work that lies ahead for you. As one who has four Abrams kits (with more on the wish list) on the shelf, I look forward in reading and viewing your unbiased results.
The decision to regulate the kits to strictly out of the box intrigues me. I am one who beileves that after market PE is needed to enhance and finish the box kit. Your findings may alter my perception of that notion.
And if I may ask a question to all of the Abrams enthusiasts here, Eduard, Voyager and Verlinden make several PE detail kits for several different model versions of the M1 Abrams for Tamiya, Dragon, and Italeri. Is there one PE detail kit that you prefer over another?
I don’t think it’s fair to judge the kits based on them being all gussied up with stuff you don’t get in the box. This is purely for how the model looks, and how difficult it is to build. It’s the kit, not the kit plus lots of other stuff. It is, after all, a slacker’s guide!
Not only that, but it would be hella expensive and time consuming to do each kit with the works.
Kudos to you for undertaking such a challenge!! And by the way, totally agree with your concept of judging the kits strictly based on what you get in the box. A lot of times aftermarket details go a long way towards improving the final result of a build, but they do mask (by definition) the original shortcomings the kit itself might have.
Looking forward to seeing the progress pictures, regardless of their quality [:D]
I have a few Abrams kits on the shelf and can’t wait to see your results as well. Will you do the same paint scheme on all the models are do something different on each kit?
Larry, good luck and keep us informed. I’m normally a WWII guy, but after seeing all the time and effort you’re going to put in, I might just take the modern AVF plunge.
I was about to say, well, maybe I shouldn’t bother then, but I took a peek at his site, and he seems to focus more on the accuracy of individual components than on overall build-up-ability. Wonk, not slacker!
I opened the box last night and was impressed by the no-slip surface on the vehicle. Of course, I can’t judge how accurate it is, but at least it’s there – a common gripe is that many M1 kits don’t have it.
Last night I assembled the wheels. They are molded ok, with some flash and a mold line that is easily removed along the middle if the tire. I guess you could even leave it on, as the wheels aren’t especially visible, but I took it off, slacker though I am. I also started to work on the lower hull, but got little done, as it was time for dinner and a movie with my better half.
I din’t say to gussy them up with aftermarket PE you don’t get with the box. Building them OOB is the only way to compare them side by side. I would think also that the only way to get a true picture of the task you are undertaking is to build them and not paint them. Let’s see what the model looks like bare naked without any paint or weathering that could possibly cover up any flaws.
An intriguing idea. What do others think? Should I paint them all together, and take pictures before and after they are all painted? In a way, that would simplify painting – it’d become a construction line of painting.
The only problem with this is that I’ll be doing some painting before contruction is over, particularly the wheels, which I will spray greyish-black, then spray the middle with the sand color using a template to cover the tire. Then the wheels and treads will go on the kit, finally the skirts.
By the way, I’ve got a question for the soldiers on the board. What’s the color scheme required for the Trumpeter M1A2 all about? The model does not say. It’s the sand color with OD painted in a camo scheme over it. Is that being used in Iraq now?
Nope, the instructions are wrong. The sand/OD green scheme was tested on the M1A2, when it was in development, out here at the NTC, never used operationally. The only colors currently in use are the Standard 3-color NATO and overall Sand. I believe all the units that have M1A2 (4ID, 1 CAV, 3 ACR) are all in Sand.
Thanks. I’d planned on building the kits exactly as the instructions tell you, but in this case, since it is flat-out wrong, I’ll skip that scheme and the decals and use some decals from one of the kits that has multiple options, like the Tamiya.
So if the only two colors that are in service are sand and 3-nato, then where does that all-forest green scheme come from that I see in the Echelon decal sheet?
Once again Larry, I appreciate your work on this project. Looking forward to the results.
Overall Forest Green is the base color before the brown and black are added to make the NATO Camo. Some vehicles can be seen in the Forest Green, but it is not the norm.