Good thing I don't have photo hosting set up. I used the "yeller" decals on mine to. (exact same kit) I also didn't make antennas.  Nor stowage, etc., etc..  Bob

Thanks for the info.  My time was from 2000 to 2006.  The only thing they issued me was a HUMVEE HQ-328 out of Third Army.  I sure do miss it. :)

We painted the tan chevrons on our tanks in 1989. We were testing a new form of vehicle visual identification. Apparently, when everyone had the M1A1 in a factory fresh 3-color NATO paint scheme, it was hard to tell one tank from any other tank. I will admit that when we had old M60A3TTS tanks, after a short while, you could tell one tank from another due to the camouflage pattern, method of stowage and other company specific items.

USAREUR decided to implement the 2-digit number and chevron system. It worked pretty well, but it was a mess to apply with giant metal stencils and a hand paint brush.

Any way, the tank looks good.

I figured the chevrons would be black in color, from what I recall when I was over never saw a single tan/yellow chevron on any of the vehicles.  I honestly added it so I could see how the decals would look after I applied the under a dot filter.  The plan for this tank was always for practice.  With all of the tips on here from everyone on here, plus the experience (and aggravation) I couldn't be happier with it, warts and mistakes and all.  Thank you everyone for the help and tips. :)

You used the NATO camouflage markings and some of the markings are for a 3-color tank. Those yellow strips are just reflective tape used when the tanks are stationed in Germany. It makes the tank more visible to German car headlights. They wouldn't be on a tan tank. Likewise with the tan chevron, on a tan tank it's painted black.

That tank (HQ-66) would be the battalion commander's tank and would remain relatively clean so heavy weathering wouldn't be right. But it is your kit, build it as you like and have fun.

I have the Academy storage set that I may throw in, but was saving it for a future M1151 build.  It is lookin' a little nekkid next to my M-60 though. :)  the barrel does look a tad shiny, I will hit it with some dullcote tonight.  Thanks for the look out.

Looks pretty awesome to me! The barrel looks a little shiny but it could be the camera. And you might try to find some storage to toss in the turret bin but hey I'm nitpicking- she turned out pretty darn fine!

I believe I will call this one done.  My attempt at dot filtering wasn't bad, just need to get some more practice into it.  Overall, I am happy with my second armor build, my third build ever in this scale.  Not as heavily weathered as my M-60 build, but almost what I wanted.  minor touch-ups to the hub is all that is needed.

Was able to complete the painting of the base colors.  Murphy struck of course.  Some glue made a nice little swirl pattern on top of the turret hull.  Did not notice until I was about to start painting.  Also, a small part of the barrel where it connects to the turret has magically disappeared.  I am going to assume the carpet monster  from the next room made a go for it.

Had to double check my tracks! They are on correctly. (got lucky) Boy do I need to dust! Bob

No worries, I really don't need to add to the horde right now.

Thanks anyway guys! 

I meant you'd know a current going price offhand.

Rob Gronovius

Gino's selling one now on M-L, but the going eBay price is in the triple digits.

Sorry, already gone.

Thanks Rob for the head's up- that's a little rich for me!

Gino's selling one now on M-L, but the going eBay price is in the triple digits.

Thanks Rob, as I said the last thing I need to buy is another kit but if I see the Dragon M1A2 SEP for a good price at a show I may have to indulge myself...

The Dragon M1A2SEP, not the older Dragon M1A2, is the most accurate. The new Tamiya M1A2 SEP TUSK II has a bunch of new stuff, but I haven't gotten one to make an infomred comparison. I do have the Tamiya 3 in 1 M1A2 kit. It reuses a bunch of stuff from their older Abrams series and is a much easier build than the Dragon kit, but is a different variant than the Dragon SEP. Some of the new tooled Tamiya items are pretty decent.

Should be an easy fix.  Can do that tonight.

Mustang: Looks good! I like the wash you did on the sides of the hull, too bad you can't even really see it with the skirts in place though.

Gino & Rob: Just curious but are the Dragon M1A2 variants more accurate than the newer Tamiya kits like their M1A2 SEP TUSK II?

PS: At least I did spot the tracks being on backwards! 

Small issue, but your tracks are on backwards. The side skirts are simply called side skirts and often referred to by number 1-7 (i.e. remove the #7 side skirt before we go to the field).

I've been wanting to get my hands on a M1A2SEP.  Definitely will need to keep an eye out.

Small update, finished the tracks (to my satisfaction for now) and attached the side armor skirts.  If I have the terminology wrong on this, just let me know.  Enjoy...

MrT

Is there an accurate Abrams out there and if so who produces it?

Terry

Like Gino says, the newer Dragon AIM and SEP are great kits, about as accurate as you can get without shrinking the actual tank to 1/35 scale. Having said that, both the actual M1A1AIM and M1A2SEP are rebuilt tanks. Because of this, many variations exist between tanks based on the original age of the tank produced (the Abrams was in production for a couple decades and many different major and minor changes occurred due to upgrades, new component suppliers, etc.) and whether the tank was originally an XM1, M1, M1IP, M1A1 or M1A1 Heavy or M1A2 before it was rebuilt into an AIM or SEP.

So just because something on the Dragon kit doesn't look exactly like a photograph of a particular tank doesn't mean it isn't accurate, it just means the kit may have been based on a photo of a different tank.

Thank you all for the help and suggestions.  For this build, I am just looking for a good kit to work on my skills.  Besides, I am more peeved that when I was deployed I was stuck on a post were I couldn't get good pictures of some of the subjects I would like to model. :(

HeavyArty

Dragon's M1A1 AIM and M1A2 SEP are extremely accurate, about as near to perfect as can be. No kit is perfect, but I like to start with the best raw materials.  I would rather start with something else besides the Academy ones, which are close to the bottom on the accuracy scale.

Thank you sir!

Terry

Dragon's M1A1 AIM and M1A2 SEP are extremely accurate, about as near to perfect as can be. No kit is perfect, but I like to start with the best raw materials.  I would rather start with something else besides the Academy ones, which are close to the bottom on the accuracy scale.

HeavyArty

It depends on if you want an accurate model or not.  This boxing, the original M1A1 w/out the added sprue in the Iraq 2003 boxing, is even more out of wack.  The bigger issue here is the barrel is almost twice as thick and way shorter than it should be and the bore evac is huge.  Then you still have the short turret issue, no center hub on the sprockets, oversized and miss-shapened Gunner's Primary Sight box, overall soft details, etc., etc., ect...  Pretty much, "you get what you pay for."

Is there an accurate Abrams out there and if so who produces it?

Terry

It depends on if you want an accurate model or not.  This boxing, the original M1A1 w/out the added sprue in the Iraq 2003 boxing, is even more out of wack.  The bigger issue here is the barrel is almost twice as thick and way shorter than it should be and the bore evac is huge.  Then you still have the short turret issue, no center hub on the sprockets, oversized and miss-shapened Gunner's Primary Sight box, overall soft details, etc., etc., ect...  Pretty much, "you get what you pay for."

I agree with mj70. This is a nice model when built and fairly easy to boot. It would, however, take a lot to get it to be a "wonderful", exact m1a1. But having this on my shelf "as is", OOB, is good enough for me.

And mustang is doing well! Bob

I still think it makes a nice model despite the accuracy issues. Then again, it should, as Academy pretty much got its start copying Tamiya kits before developing their own stuff! Seems pretty common in the industry. Maybe its the way to go. If I recall correctly, the T-60 was Zvezda's first kit. Widely regarded as maybe the worst armor kit out there, and it was an original work :)