Most recommended 1/35 Abrams kit currently out there?

Armor/AFV Modern
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Hi All,

Seeking some advice since I have not really been following the latest releases…

I was happy (and somewhat lucky) to get the back-then elite Dragon M1A1 AIM multimedia kit 10+ years ago.

However things have changed… I have less patience to overly fiddly kits, and at the same time new releases came out.

So the question is, is there a kit out there now that has overall better quality? And maybe less complex buld. My ideal level would be an average Meng/Takom/RFM offering. Not too much PE, with an acceptable workable track set.

TUSK versions are out of the picture for now, I am aiming at a more classical look :slight_smile:

Any feedback is appreciated, thank you.

Adam

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I enjoy the Meng Abrams kits, but I adore the Rye Field ones. I know there are details not present and they’re not perfect kits, but they are close to Tamiya engineering and AFV Club details. I’ve had a great time building them in various iterations. The modern Tamiya and Academy kits I’d put in the next tier down. Dragon used to be state of the art and they still build nicely but they’ve been passed by technologically.

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Rye Field or Meng are the best out there.

An often asked question.

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I used to think that the Tamiya M1A2 kits were great till i found that RFM Abrams were hands down way better i completely replaced all my Tamiya Abrams builds with the RFM kits
I currently have 7 Abrams all Rye Field builds

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The answer to this sort of question is always nuanced. After a previous discussion on this topic, I purchased a Rye Field’s 5004 M1A2 SEP 3 in 1. As it turns out, being the very first Rye Field Abrams, it has problems that were corrected in later releases.

Regardless of research done in advance, I think it is my doom to always purchase the ‘wrong model’. That is not actually true, but it often feels that way.

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I’d put Academy’s M1A2 way ahead of Tamiya’s latest M1A2 and more on a level with Meng and Rye.

Voiio is another good option, although not always easy to find.

TBH you can’t really go wrong with Rye, Meng, Academy (M1A2), Voiio or Dragon IMO. All of them are excellent, none are perfect.

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Thank you all…most probably I will swap Dragon to RFM SEP v2 or 3.

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BTW would anyone know if the DEF T158 track set would fit RFM? Thank you.

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If you can wait for the updated Ukraine version of the Abrams - that is supposed to come with the workable track set. I wonder why they’ve refused to ship that with more recent M1s since it was used in the initial interior kit

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I put Tamiya, Trumpeter and Dragon’s 1 piece tracks on all my RFM Abrams kits

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Does the Abrams ever get used without the side plates that cover the running gear? During training? When the unit needs to move really fast? When the crew feels lucky? (That was a joke.) It seems like side plates are standard on all modern tanks.

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When they pretend to be T-72’s

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