Hi Wooty, the kit was purchased in Oct of 2003, and it was the Trumpeter M1A1HA with the mine rollers. I have noticed that Trumpeter does modify the molds on a continuing basis. I purchased at the same time, one of the T-55 kits, the T-55B 1952 version. The reason I say this is that the turrent was slightly different than a earlier kit (the T69II) dated about 14 months earler. I think that most of the manufacturers do this, without saying anything.
Example; I purchased way back, in 1993 timeframe, the Tamyia T-62 kit, and around the same time I finally found the articles on how to fix the bugs in the kit, by Babic(sp?) that were done in 1988, in another magazine.
I noticed that the description on how to fix the hull errors, was not needed, as the Tamiya kit that this alread done. Other small fixes in detail, that Babic called out, had also been fixed.
In the mentioned above Trumpeter T-55 kit, Sewell, in his reviews of the T-55 kits, indicates that the turrent sits to far back on the hull top, and he then goes an describes a fix or solution to this. I noticed in my T-55 kit, that this was not needed, as it sat forward about 2mm from the earlier Trumpeter kit that I had done about 14 months earlier.
In the end, as I have said, I beleve that the manufacturers do fix small problems, if they can. It depends, I think, on the location of the error, and just how hard it would be, on the master of the mould.
This is why I check out revews and comments about each and every kit I choose to do, and I advoid the one's that seem to have to many errors. I just wait for a year or so, and then I purchase the kit, making sure that it is a recently produced one, not one that has sat on the shelf at the LHS. Sure, all kits will have errors/compromises of details, for it is sometimes hard to copy all of the details correctly, due to the moulding process. This is why it was noted above, that the M1A2's were all reworked tanks, and to make the tank model correct, you actually had to make a A1, then include the corrections
What I don't like is shorcuts in details, or simplifications, just to make it easier to produce the kit.
I hope that this helps!
Rob Savage
P.S. A question to all, have you noticed the same thing too, that after a time, the manufacturers will correct small errors in kits, without saying anything, that I have noticed?
RJS