Ok, so I’m building Soviet era armour up to 1991 the break up of the Soviet Union, but I have also decided to add some of the major western armour to my builds namely a Centurion, Chieftain, Chally 1 and Leo 1A5 with possibly an Italian M47 (I’m part Italian).
Now I feel that a M1 or IPM1 Abrams should feature in that list so my question goes out to the learned amongst you as to which is the best out of the box M1 or IPM1 kit currently or readily available in 1/35?
We’re talking pre-A1 production? I think one of the only available options (not necessarily the best) would be the Panda/Zimi Models M1 IP Abrams.
I know someone more knowledgable, like @tanknick22, who has built his fair share of Abrams variants can chime in with more correct information.
Here’s some background info on the M1 IP Abrams transitional upgrade.
105mm Gun Tank M1 Abrams ‘Improved Performance’ (M1IP) - Tank Encyclopedia
I actually cobbled together an M1 IP build, using a combination of Tamiya/Academy parts and after everything was said and done, I think it came out very nicely.
Tamiya M1 Abrams (35124). M1/M1IP conversion - Armor/AFV / Cold War - KitMaker Network
The Panda M1IP is a pretty good kit. It does have some errors though:
The biggest is the tracks. The outer part has the correct chevron pattern of T156 tracks, however, Panda molded the inner side of the tracks as T158 tracks. It can’t be both and should be the T156 tracks. Trumpeter made/makes a set of indi-link T156 tracks to replace them with.
Next, the barrel is too short by about 2mm forward of the bore evacuator. There is no AM replacement barrel for it that I know of, but you can take a Def Model late M68 barrel (35015) for an M60A3 and cut it off behind the bore evac and swap those sections. You will also have to add the muzzle reference sensor on the new barrel.
Also, the road wheels are a little off in that they are M1A1 wheels that have thinner rubber parts. This is a minor issue though as most can’t tell the difference between them. I don’t plan on replacing them on mine.
The mantlet bracket for the light/ranging gun is shown wrong in the instructions too. Use the straight bracket, Part B56, instead of the optional angled bracket, Part B1.
Lastly, the left rear fuel filler cap is molded 90 degrees off from where it should be. This can be shaved off and repositioned (if done carefully) or replaced by an AM one.
Other than that, it is pretty nice and should build up nicely.
The Panda M1IP has the correct ‘long’ M1A1-style turret but the ‘short’ M1-style mantlet. I would categorize that as a major accuracy error. One reason it gets overlooked is that many M1 drawings - including those in the Hunnicutt book - have the exact same error.
AFAIK every Abrams from the M1IP onwards had the ‘long’ mantlet, making many older M1 kits incorrect.
@SableLiger @HeavyArty @systemic
Thank you all for your input, so a Panda M1IP with replacement tracks, modified main gun, bracket on the mantlet all ok, just need to find/work out the short/long mantlet issue fix.
Hopefully this is a much better Panda kit than their Tangusta as that kit beat me and ended its life in the bin, I vowed to never build another of their kits again after that. Horrid hard brittle plastic that didn’t line up, gaps galore, instructions that made Dragon’s look god like and alignment pin’s at completely wrong angles.
What I personally did was use an M1A1 “long” turret, modified the top blast panels, removed the ring where the CITV was eventually added on the A2, and used the older M1 crosswind sensor.
A quick visual fix would be to cut the top plate of the mantlet off and replace it with thin plastic sheet. Not 100% accurate, but better.
If you fancy throwing money at the project, TRex just announced some awesome-looking updates to transform any of the older kits.
I have built the Panda M1 kit. The tracks were the biggest issue accuracy wise - I used them anyway. The commander MG cupola is a bit fiddly but not a showstopper. There is no system for the spaghetti straps stowage set up on the back of the turret- but it seems not a lot of crews used it so don’t really have to make it unless it is vehicle specific. Pretty good kit overall, I think the issues Gino noted are ones that most won’t know the difference anyway.
I shudder at the thought of panda kits the Husky one got shelved and ill use it for parts when I get the IFV versions. So, I feel your pain.
