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Abrams etch

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  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 9:22 AM

There have been some issues with the Trumpeter kit since it was released in the early 2000s. Issues I recall right away are the bumps on the inner surfaces of the track blocks and the left face of the turret (right lower edge if you look at it from the front should be parallel to the ground, but instead it cants upwards). An easy fix if you have another Abrams kit handy (like the Tamiya kit) and can trace the face onto a piece of sheet styrene and add it to the Trumpeter kit. I've fixed it on one kit and left it alone on another.

It is a tricky build, but when done, it looks like an Abrams. For detail and accuracy, the newer Dragon AIM and SEP are the tops, but the Tamiya kits are better for ease of assembly and fit with the newer kits more accurate/detailed than the older ones. The Trumpeter and older Dragon Abrams kits are still a good value, but are much more involved builds due to fit issues, seams and mold marks. Definitely not box shakers!

  • Member since
    April 2005
Posted by Thunderbolt379 on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 6:57 AM

I ended up using the vinyl mesh after all -- I want this project off the bench asap and given that there'll be stowage in the rack, the mesh will suffice -- I guess! Also, I've not been ultra-impressed with the engineering of this kit... The detail level is superb, but it doesn't seem to go together very well, almost every part is a struggle, from obtrusive sprue gates to misalignments, to poor design strength and compromised detail. I guess it's all a trade off, and I'll not have to scratch anything like the number of details I do on a Tamiya kit, but at the same time I sorely miss Tamiya's buildability.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

http://worldinminiature.blogspot.com/

  • Member since
    April 2005
Posted by Thunderbolt379 on Monday, December 16, 2013 6:12 AM

Thanks, guys! I'll have a look for that Zoom set (TP 027), it looks like the best option. I was thinking I could also order up another Voyager part at the same time -- even if it doesn't fit the Trumpeter kit, there'll be other Tamiyas out there, I have at least two more in the stash!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

http://worldinminiature.blogspot.com/

  • Member since
    April 2005
  • From: Piscataway, NJ!
Posted by wing_nut on Sunday, December 15, 2013 7:21 PM

I used some grill screen used for models cars to scratch some water can racks.  Would work for that too

Marc  

  • Member since
    May 2005
Posted by pyrman64 on Sunday, December 15, 2013 6:06 PM

try the Zoom set from EDUARD

Greg H

"There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell." Gen. Wm T. Sherman (11 April 1880, Columbus, Ohio)

  • Member since
    April 2005
Abrams etch
Posted by Thunderbolt379 on Sunday, December 15, 2013 6:05 PM

Hi all,

I'm looking for an etched grill floor to go into the bustle rack of the Trumpeter M1A1HA, but having no luck locating one as yet. I used Voyager's excellent piece for the Tamiya kit a year or two back but am uncertain if it would fit Trumpeter. Does anyone know of an item made especially to fit this kit (#00334)?

Cheers, Mike/TB379

http://worldinminiature.blogspot.com/

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