G’day all
Since I was stuck in the duty room all weekend, I decided to take my DML kit in to do some work on it. I got this not long after it was released when Arms Corps Models was still active & was going to make an Aussie 1 ARMD REGT cab with Jason Miller’s conversion kit. Sadly he closed his business before I had a chance to get the pack, however I had already made a start & glued on some of the necessary bits Aussie Abrams have.
Given he has now posted some info on mouse house on what to do with the Meng M1A1 AIM for an Aussie tank, can I still go ahead with the Dragon kit, despite the Aussie specific bits I have glued on, to make a U.S. SEP V2?
As a ref for those with the instructions but not familiar with the changes…
-V19 sprocket ring rather than V20
-T5 + MA10 + MA11
-Q12 & Q13 turret blast panels rather than W15 &
W16
Thanks
Not as familiar with the A2 but I don’t think the sprocket ring and blast panels matter, or at least with the blast panels you can add gear to hide.
As I recall beside the turret changes like Citv, the engine deck is main difference and possibly the intake. You might be ok with 2 out if 3 mods. Someone will along shortly to correct anything I misspoke about.
Cheers for the reply tank_1812
Anybody else???
Ryan is right on point. The Aussie M1A1 and an M1A2 SEP v2 have very similar/the same basic parts like the sprockets and blast panels. The major difference is the left rear hull on the M1A2 SEP v2 where there is a Hawker Battery system in place of the fuel tank on an M1A1. The rest of the differences are on the turret w/the commander’s cupola, RWS, CITV, VCU, etc… You should be fine proceeding w/an M1A2 SEP v2 from the started kit.
Thanks Gino.
So the fact I have gone with V19 for the sprocket ring instead of V20 isn’t a deal breaker? What is the difference between the 2?
And the plain turret blast panels? Are these panels variant specific (the instructions do call out the panels with the 3 ‘discs’ on them), or do they get swapped out?
Since I’m asking questions about SEP V2’s…plain front fenders or X stamped?
Both type sprockets can be seen on M1A2 SEP v2 tanks. V20 is the older sprocket with a smooth inner circular ring. V19 is a newer, lighter sprocket with a scalloped inner ring. Either is correct.
As to the blast panels, the three disks were originally part of a cartridge reloading system for the rounds. Inside the panel was a ammo stacker that was attached to the blast plate by the three discs. The idea was to remove the entire panel and replace it with a fully loaded one to reload ammo. The system was not accepted and the idea abandoned early on in M1A1 development. However, there were a bunch of blast panels with the three disks already made. M1A2s were originally built from earlier M1 hulls and M1A1 turrets. Depending on the tank and when it was originally manufactured, it may have gotten the panels with disks, smooth panels, or panels with the disk holes filled in, but still visible. So all three types are possible on M1A2 SEP v2s.
The same on the fenders. Being built from original M1 hulls, they originally came with smooth fenders and straight headlight guards. However, later built M1A2s also came with X-stamped fenders and angled headlight guards. Lastly, new/replacement fenders are X-stamped and new headlight guards are angled. So again, it depends and both types were/are seen.
Same story on the engine intakes T5 or T6. T6 is the older style with one piece screen. T5 is the newer style w/two individual screens that can be removed when attaching deep water fording snorkels.
Outstanding info Gino.
Thank you immensely.
To a certain extent, I should apologise for, what may seem to some who just read the forums, little nit-picking questions. When a company offers up parts options on their kits, I like to ensure I capture the right detail for the particular tank variant I’m building, from amongst those options. Especially when that tank has some 30-40 years of service life with a lot of changes having been made in that time.
It would be great to see a site developed covering all these minutiae of the Abrams over its life - much like Byrden has done with the Tiger
1 Like
Osprey publishing’s most recent book on the Abrams is probably your best bet for an up to date overview of all variants. M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank 1993–2018: : New Vanguard Steven J. Zaloga Osprey Publishing