I have the subject and below Rye Field Abrams tank coming from SprueBrothers tomorrow. Frankly, I’m not sure why I decided to get this tank, other than I thought it would be cool to have an RFM Dozer Blade for the Abrams. I’m not sure what specific tank(s) would be represented by this model, and it’s not real clear even from the images that RFM provides in the instructions for painting, what specific tanks the kit can or may represent. I know that HeavyArty has discussed some possibilities in various posts going back to late 2020, but even his posts don’t seem definitive (no insult meant to Gino at all!) I guess I will see if the actual box contents provide any better clarification when it arrives (supposedly tomorrow), but if not, I guess I’ll just have an interesting spare Dozer Blade that will fit an RFM Abrams, whenever I find the need for one in the future. Although, in the interim, if any of you happen to have photos of an actual USMC M1A1 FEP with a Dozer Blade installed, I’dd love to see it (them), as I’d like to build such a tank. Thanks in advance for any ideas anyone out there may have.
[RFMRM5048 1:35 Rye Field Model USMC M1A1 FEP Abrams with Combat Dozer Blade (Workable Track Links) - Sprue Brothers Models LLC]
Hi Curt,
Not sure which decals the kit includes but here are some examples you may be able to reference:
DEC 12, 2014
An M1A1 Abrams Tank uses a blade mounted onto the front in order to fill in a tank pit during breaching exercises aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, December 8. Marines with 2nd Tank Battalion along with 2nd CEB worked together to conduct breaching exercises in which they provided support fire while Assault Breacher Vehicles eliminated tank pits and created a lane in which tanks may safely travel, aboard Camp Lejeune, December 8-10.
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jerome Flint, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), M1A1 Abrams tank gunner and native of Lorain, Ohio, locks a dozer blade onto a tank before a live-fire range as part of Exercise Eager Lion 2014. Eager Lion is a recurring, multinational exercise designed to strengthen military-to-military relationships, increase interoperability between partner nations and enhance regional security. The 22nd MEU is deployed with the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force throughout U.S.
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Martin Cahill, right, ground guides Lance Cpl. Samuel Bagwell as he backs a M1A1 Abrams tank on forward operating base Shir Ghazay, Helmand province, Afghanistan, May 7, 2013. Cahill and Bagwell are both tank crewmen from Sacramento, Calif. and Tampa, Fla., respectively, and are both assigned to Delta Company, 1st Tank Battalion. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alejandro Pena/Released)
This one does not have a dozer blade, but it can be a candidate:
AUG 31, 2015
An M1A1 Abrams main battle tank, from Bravo Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, hides in the brush during a defensive maneuver at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Aug. 26, 2015. The tank, and the Marines operating it, was part of a company offensive and defensive exercise where platoons of tanks took turns patrolling and searching for each other to reinforce basic skills sets.
I hope it helps. I also think @Frenchy may have some more reference photos b/c that gentleman is like a digital library.
Well the Marine Corps got rid of the tanks “not long” after OIF so there isn’t much in the way of improvements that was done. Plus the Marines stayed with the M1A1 version. They did add some TUSK parts for a little bit.
This kit allows you to build a 2015/2016 or later Marine Abrams tank. You can build with or without the blade. The commanders weapon station is the big change, I think the rest of the FEP changes are internal electronics that cannot be modeled.
Ryan @Tank_1812 laid it out well. If you use the blade, it can only be a USMC tank. US Army did not buy the Pearson blade system. W/out the blade, it can be an Army National Guard tank as some NG units got the M1A1SA w/SCWS.
Thank you to all of you who responded to my rather vague request for information! Greatly appreciated, and now I have a place to start if I want to build my new tank! I have to say that I am sorry to see that the US Marines are divesting themselves of their tanks. I guess as a taxpayer, I should be glad that they are going to use the support of the army, who have tanks anyway, but, still, the philosophy of the 2 services is different, as far as I know. So, as a proponent of a VERY healthy US defense establishment, I’d still rather have the marines with their own armor.
