There’s about 6 inches of extra armor on the turret front of that three tone M1 with the TROPHY system, and no one has been able to explain it. Those are not test and evaluation tanks, there’s pics of lines of them
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Could it spaced armour ? 6in is a lot of armour (weight wise) for an area that is already sloped and angled anyway ?
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I had read they are meant as a counter weight to the trophy system until a new stronger turret motor is introduced.
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As Sean states above, they were M1A2 SEP v2 tanks used to test the TROPHY system. Additional steel plates had to be added to the front of the turret to balance it. This was rectified w/a larger turret motor and additional turret front slope armor integrated into M1A2 SEPv3 production vehicle.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TankPorn/comments/z8ohqu/the_m1a2_sepv2_protection_module_for_abrams_mbt/
looks like a solid plate.
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Wow, that’s awesome, thanks for the pics and explanation! Now, who’s gonna scratch build that front armor? Because we all know what happens when we scratch build things around here 
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Polish News report on Polish tankers training with their newly acquired M1A2 SEP v2 Abrams tanks.
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Just realized these had not been posted here yet. If you have an older Abrams M1A1 and newer version kit and want to add the anti-slip coating, it can easily be done using textured spray paint. You simply tape off the areas where you do not want the texture (white areas below) and spray the rest.
Here is the diagram to follow.
And the results.
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Is there a poster of this anywhere?
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So I have this Dragon #3535 M1A1 AIM kit in my stash…is there any cosmetic reason why one of these could not be a Desert Storm M1A1? The kit really seems to be awesome, and I would hate to have to buy another one.
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/dragon-3535-m1a1-aim--104764
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I think you can; the kit does have parts to build the M1A1 as used during ODS. Except you’ll have to use T-156 “chevron” tracks.
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I wouldn’t use any of the kit’s decals, since they represent vehicles from the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
You could use the generic marking for the tank itself, but you’ll need different unit markings.
You could replicate Eagle 66 - (then Capt) H. R. McMaster’s M1A1 Abrams during the Battle of 73 Easting.
There’s a soldi thread here that talks about building his tank.
CPT McMaster’s Abrams of 1991 Battle of 73 Easting - Armor/AFV / Modern - KitMaker Network
Ken and Gino can help you greatly with markings.
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Yes it can be made as a ODS M1A1. You do not need to use the T156 tracks though as some of them had T158 tracks like the kit has.
M1A1 in ODS w/T158 tracks.
None of the kit marking options are for ODS though. Some with Desert Storm markings below. The most common was the Coalition Chevron that was on all vehicles.
Many of the parts in the kit are not appropriate for ODS though.
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I may have some generic ODS decals in my stash from a Tamiya Decal collection.
I think I’ve used some of the decals on both my M2A1 and M2A2 Bradley builds; but i might still have these.
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Thank you everyone…I know the decals will not work as stated above… I was thinking of these…
I may end up purchasing a cheap Tamiya M1A1 kit and use the tracks…I do not feel like shelling out 50.00 for 3d printed or metal track, especially when you will only see about half.
I have also seen workable Trumpeter track…which looks like a nightmare to put together.
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I have a spare Tamiya M1A1 set if you need them.
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Thank you…do you know if they will fit on a Dragon kits sprocket…I was thinking that I may have to swap out the Dragon sprocket for the ones from the Tamiya kit.
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