I don’t see anyone accusing you of not saying it’s a nice buld, in fact, you said, “It still looks great.”
My point is, you say he didn’t build an A1, which may or may not be correct. The original photo, labeled as an M3A1, is indeed an A1, according to your own posts:
It also lacks the side ammo bins, which you say are also a feature of the A1:
So, going by your posts, the accuracy of the photo’s caption is not in doubt.
As for the model, it does not have all of the A1 attributes. It doesn’t even have all of the ones in the photo. But my point, for those who read it, is that those things do not an A1 make. It does not have to have all of the attributes you’ve alluded to - grenade boxes and periscopes. Those aren’t the changes that earned it a new designation.
It does have the pull handles for the fire suppression system - an A1 feature. The side firing ports are plated over - another A1 feature. The ramp plates aren’t plated over, but again, changes were often done in stages. I could find posts where you say the very same thing, but I have other things to do.
It has features of what I will call a “transitory” A1. In other words, an A1 (fire suppression) that has not had all of its bits removed yet. 
I’ll try not to veer off onto another very off topic subject. 
I have shown in other posts A1s that still had the ammo holders on the side, as the model does.
Again, I’d point to the current Sherman thread where KL says similar things about the evolution of Shermans,
In the end, I think we can all take a breath and say it’s a very nice build.