No idea on the fire truck.  I would personally rather have an Abrams.  The best M1A2 is the Dragon M1A2 SEP kit.  All the others are light years behind it.  Trumpeter's and Tamiya's are far inferior.

Of the three kits you've listed, the Tamiya TUSK II is better (Dragon's SEP is best), followed by the Tamiya M1A2 (which is a 3 in 1 kit that builds into an uncommon US Army M1A2, US Army M1A1 heavy and USMC M1A1 heavy). The Trumpeter kit is an early 2000s kit and not that great to begin with.

Mike: I"m hardly as knowledgeable as Gino and Rob but if I can jump in here, Tamiya's more recent kits are always some of the more expensive on the market. Dragon kits are generally more accurate since they tend to go back and redo parts to make sure everything is right or close to it- Tamiya will cut corners like using parts from their thirty year Abrams kit. On the other Tamiya kits are generally much easier to assemble with far fewer parts.

You might want to do a web search on the kit you're interested in with the word 'review' There are a number of good sites like Missing Lynx and Perth Military Modeling.

One of the guys linked this site which is very useful:

The Tamiya TUSK II has all the recent add on armor package whereas the Dragon SEP kit is a plain jane M1A2SEP. It is currently out of production, but can be readily found on eBay. The Dragon kit is a better, more accurate kit; however, it does not have the Tank Urban Survivability Kit II armor that was added to protect the tank during urban combat.

Gamera: Thanks for the tips on the manufacturers and the link, I checked it out (I read most of part one then skipped to part 6 and the conclusion because its 2:07 AM.) and I think I have an idea of what I  might do...

Rob: Thanks for the info. I think I'm going to go with the Tamiya M1A2 SEP TUSK I/II. I've had my eye on it anyways. Plus after reading the article, I'm leaning more towards that anyway. Thanks everyone.

Now onto my next venture... to get a job so I can buy this thing before my birthday in October.... Hah. If only jobs could come like model kits do....

MikeyBugs, be aware that the article linked above pre-dates the release of the "latest and greatest" Dragon M1A! AIM and M1A2 SEP kits. The Dragon kits described therein are earlier releases and, while good in their day, have been superseded.

Further, Pawel Krupowicz, the author of the article, was a technical advisor to Dragon during development of the newer kits, so they are as up to date as possible at the time of release (from memory, about 2007-ish).

Like the others have said, that article is outdated.  For the money, I would still get the Dragon  M1A2 SEP kit.  Tamiya's may already have the TUSK II parts, but it is lacking a bunch of details on both the basic kit and the TUSK II parts.  It is really a rip-off what Tamiya is charging for it.  If you really want TUSK on it, get Legend's TUSK II set to go along with it.

My apologies, I looked for a date and didn't quickly see it so I just posted it anyway figuring it would be of some use even if dated.

Hm... Ok... Well, I really just want the SEP. So, if you guys recommend it, I guess I'll go with the Dragon M1A2 SEP.  http://www.hlj.com/product/dra3536/Mil now is this kit? I don't know which kit to look for.

Just gonna throw my 2 cents in. I have 2 Tamiya m1a1's, one with the mineplow. I also have the dragon kit with a voyager model tusk upgrade kit. And I gotta say the drgon kit is way better.

MikeyBugs95

Hm... Ok... Well, I really just want the SEP. So, if you guys recommend it, I guess I'll go with the Dragon M1A2 SEP.  http://www.hlj.com/product/dra3536/Mil  now is this kit? I don't know which kit to look for.

Yes, that is the right one, #3536. Right now #3535 is the best M1A1AIM and #3536 is the best M1A2SEP available. The M1A2SEP is often easier to find because it is a less commonly used tank (only fielded by a few battalions in the US Army). Most modelers want the M1A1AIM because it is used by more units, the Marines, Aussies, etc. and therefore has a wider appeal. Many modelers buy the A2 thinking they can easily make it into an A1, but that isn't the case. They are quite similar but sport many minute differences to make a conversion from one to the other quite a chore.

 The Tamiya TUSK II kit was designed around their original M1 Abrams kit from the early 1980s. It's more of a "looks good enough for the casual observer" kit than an accurate representation. It is an impressive looking model when completed though.

I've built two of the three tanks and agree the Dragon M1A2 SEP is best but I also built the Trumpeter fire truck and strongly recommend it. It's complex but not overly difficult and the results are stunning. Buy that while deciding which Abrams to build.

Ok, for some reason it says that that kit is discontinued on HobbylincJapan's website... It is discontinued??

I'm probably going to ask for the truck for my birthday.... And try to buy the tank on my own. I just say the differences in pricing especially on eBay...

It must be out of stock until Dragon reissues kit. Dragon USA has kit listed as back ordered: www.dragonusaonline.com/item_detail.aspx

I see a couple of them on eBay in the $60 range. I would check the buy/sell/trade forums on sites like Missing Lynx or Armorama to see if someone has one up for sale. Or, post on those sites asking for one. Someone may have one they no longer want and offer to sell you their kit.