M1A2 Abrams--*PICS*

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Manny: LOL, and yes as Phil said the anti-slip is molded on.

Doog: Yea basically ALICE and MOLLE packs are the army's fancy terms for rucksacks (they're acronyms and I forget what exactly they stand for) but probably not the best for your Sherman lol, and as Steve said It's the vehicles tow-bar folded up which I did based on the box art:

This shows what it looks like when extended. (top)

Thanks alot guys for the comments.

Chris,

Chris, well done! Boy does this bring back some memories!

Doog, that is the tow bar.

"ALICE packs"???!

"MOLLE packs"???!

Are they like "Kitbags and Rucksacks"??? Can I put them on my next Sherman? LOL!!

Seriously though--a great looking Abrams! (Man, I gotta build one of these some day!) What's that thing on the front hull, sorta hanging off there? I never saw that in a picture. What's it for?

Great finish and stowage looks great!  

Mansteins revenge wrote:

Nice...modern armor is not my cup of tea but if it were I would drink your tank with a lump of sugar...is the anti-slip surfacing pre-molded on ???

It is molded on. Very nicely defined, and not overly heavy. As far as I am aware, the only Abrams kits without the anti-slip texture are the Tamiya kits.

EDIT: And though I haven't seen one  in person, perhaps the Academy kits may not have the anti-slip, as they were originally Tami-clones.

I don't know if that's really anti-slip, or just the rough texture of the big steel.(?)

Anyways, I love this build, bro. Everything looks dead-on to me. I've always had a thing for the Abrams, and yes they're still carrying ALICE packs/rucks all over the sandbox. Makes us old-timers feel like it's still the same Army, as long as they've still got some of the old equipment.

I was considering a build of a USMC A1Heavy called "Stink Fist", but I backed off when I saw the kit price. I still might do it later this year, though...

Looks great to me.

Thanks Jeremy, Thanks alot for the info concerning the packs aswell, that was really bugging me.

Great work on your SEP Chris. Hope to do mine just as good as yours.

As for the ALICE packs, i have been advised by tankers in the field that most were still equipped with the ALICE packs in OIF so it wouldnt be inaccurate to have them loaded onto the SEP. The only unit i know of that had the MOLLE exclusively were the Stryker Brigade.