jugjunkie Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Hi guys, I'm busy with Academy's Abrams so I thought i'd just give a quick pitoral history of progress up to 2 days ago and then I'll continue with progress here. I'm building this for a GB on another site so some of you may have seen this before. Startup..... Plenty of filling needed.... Especially on the turret... but after plenty milliput and a primer coat.... Replaced the cross struts on the turret basket because they were too straight.... And the turret is now ready for primer.... Cheers Geoff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arkhunter2002 Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Looking great so far! Keep it up! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Niiiiice work on that turret basket! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GA.modelmaker Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 graat job so far on such a hard kit with many parts to do. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Looking very detailed there. Keep it up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 looks great there. Is the wire mesh PE, or plastic? If it's PE, how was it to work with? Aaron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jugjunkie Posted September 9, 2008 Author Share Posted September 9, 2008 looks great there. Is the wire mesh PE, or plastic? If it's PE, how was it to work with?Aaron Hi Aaron, I used bead making wire - comes in various gauges and colours. Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Huey Gunner Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Hi Aaron,I used bead making wire - comes in various gauges and colours. Cheers I think he mean't the basket bottoms. I'd like to know also. Very nice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantomconstructer Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 (edited) i should have bought this instead of the tamiya garbage. you got more acccessories. love the rack. Edited September 11, 2008 by phantomconstructer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lgl007 Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Phantomconsturctor... what's wrong with the Tamiya M1? Geoff... great job so far... -Greg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantomconstructer Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Phantomconsturctor... what's wrong with the Tamiya M1?Geoff... great job so far... -Greg first of all let me say awsome work on this kit. i like how you took the time to redo all the tiedowns, and i cannot wait to see it done. tamiya was the first m-1 kit to be released,(m-1 not m-1a1) and the desert storm and ods releases (m-1a1 and m-1a2) are just reissues. the toolings were not updaed enough. the tamiya turret and ods details are great, but the hull stinks, small details missing. the rear drive sprocket is one of my biggest gripes, it is not spoked. since i bought mine for the accessories it makes me mad that academy comes with the extended turret basket. plus i like academy accessories. for the money, i like this new tool academy one the best so far. i wish i waited to buy this one before i bought four tamiya ones. sorry to hijack the thread. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantomconstructer Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 just looked at some shots of the academy one, looks like they fixed the sprockets and retooled the hull more, does not look as naked as the tamiya one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
moeggo Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Looking Great Jug! I won the earlier boxing for this kit at a club comp the other day! Just got a barrel and stowage and PE for it the other day! Just have to get some different Tracks thou... Were did you get your ones from? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 (edited) for the money, i like this new tool academy one the best so far. i wish i waited to buy this one before i bought four tamiya ones. Sorry, but that is not a true statement at all. Yes, you get a few extra pieces and updated pieces in the Academy kit, but the rest is junk. The turret is incorrect since they used their original M1 turret which is 5mm too short in the front. The hull is exactly the same as the Tamiya hull. The tracks are the old style T156 tracks which haven't been used since before ODS ('90-'91) plus the center guide teeth are incorrectly molded in the center of each track block as opposed to between them. The overall detail is rather soft. The rear is missing the extra louver on the lower lip. The flange for the exhaust stack is incomplete. The decals are fiction and are totally wrong for an M1A1 (the 4ID decals belong to an M1A2, the USMC ones do not exist). Etc., etc., etc. I would buy it and use the new J sprue with the new and updated parts and trash the rest of it. Here is a review of the Academy one to back up what I say. All other current M1A1 kits are actually better, with the Tamiya M1A1/A2 kit only coming in third behind the newer Dragon M1A1 AIM and M1A2 SEP kits. For the money, Tamiyas is actually the best buy since it allows you to build an Army M1A1HC, M1A2, or a USMC M1A1HC. It is the only kit that gives you all 3 options. If your only concern is the mud relief holes on the rear sprockets, they are pretty easy to add w/a drill bit and a round file. The Tamiya kit may not be the best, but it is pretty good and comes with some nice added pieces...Oh yeah, its pretty accurate too. Edited September 22, 2008 by HeavyArty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HWR MKII Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 first of all let me say awsome work on this kit. i like how you took the time to redo all the tiedowns, and i cannot wait to see it done.tamiya was the first m-1 kit to be released,(m-1 not m-1a1) and the desert storm and ods releases (m-1a1 and m-1a2) are just reissues. the toolings were not updaed enough. the tamiya turret and ods details are great, but the hull stinks, small details missing. the rear drive sprocket is one of my biggest gripes, it is not spoked. since i bought mine for the accessories it makes me mad that academy comes with the extended turret basket. plus i like academy accessories. for the money, i like this new tool academy one the best so far. i wish i waited to buy this one before i bought four tamiya ones. sorry to hijack the thread. Sadly the academy M1 is little better than the tamiya one. The trumpeter M1s are also just is bad.they all have turret shape issues andhull detail issues. In terms of accuracy the newer Drago M1A1AIM and M1A2 SEP are literally almost 100% accurate. Great work on polishing up the academy one though. If you are interested in doing another i highly recommend the dragon offerings. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
madmike Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 One of our club members is about ready to prime his Dragon M1A1 AIM build. A fantastic kit. SD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vanilla gorilla Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 One of our club members is about ready to prime his Dragon M1A1 AIM build. A fantastic kit. SD I just picked up this kit. This is the right version for a modern USMC battle tank, yes? I've never done armor. Any major pitfalls to look out for? VG Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeavyArty Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 (edited) I just picked up this kit. This is the right version for a modern USMC battle tank, yes? I've never done armor. Any major pitfalls to look out for? VG The basic model is correct for a USMC tank. You have to swap the smoke grenade launchers out for USMC ones which have 8 individual tubes. You can see them below. Some have the mounting bars for the Missile Countermeasure Device (MCD) too, as the pic has. Tamiya's M1A1/A2 kit has the USMC parts in it too. Edited September 26, 2008 by HeavyArty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vanilla gorilla Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 The basic model is correct for a USMC tank. You have to swap the smoke grenade launchers out for USMC ones which have 8 individual tubes. You can see them below. Some have the mounting bars for the Missile Countermeasure Device (MCD) too, as the pic has. Tamiya's M1A1/A2 kit has the USMC parts in it too. Cool, thanks for the feedback. Also, I'm looking into an aftermarket "stowage" set up. Any opinions on which may be be better than another? Thanks again. VG Quote Link to post Share on other sites
okthree Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Cool, thanks for the feedback. Also, I'm looking into an aftermarket "stowage" set up. Any opinions on which may be be better than another? Thanks again. VG AEF designs makes some good stuff. Check them out at aefdesigns.com. Also I think Legend makes a pretty accurate stowage set for a OIF tank. Make sure you pick up their recent release, not the orginal set that includes an APU. See link below. http://www.www-legend.co.kr/01_afv01.html?...age=&spage= Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vanilla gorilla Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 AEF designs makes some good stuff. Check them out at aefdesigns.com. Also I think Legend makes a pretty accurate stowage set for a OIF tank. Make sure you pick up their recent release, not the orginal set that includes an APU. See link below.http://www.www-legend.co.kr/01_afv01.html?...age=&spage= Very cool. Exactly what I had in mind. Thanks. VG Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jugjunkie Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 I think he mean't the basket bottoms. I'd like to know also. Very nice. Been away from this kit for a while but back from tonight. Sorry for rudely not answering sooner guys but it's that damn life getting in the way again. Paul and Aaron - the mesh is photo etch from Aber. They make various patterns and they come in a sheet about 80 X 50 mm (you figuer the inches). Dave - the tracks I got from my local hobby store as you see in the very first pic they are made by AFV club and they are fantastic and reasonably well priced. Tonight I will be spraying the turret so pics tomorrow. Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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