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I finished up model number 14 for the year over this pastweekend, which was the fantastic M1A2 SEP Abrams in 1/72 scale from Flyhawk. It was a fun build that's really got me into the swing of braille scale armor. It was painted with AK Real Colors CARC Tan and weathered with a couple of AMMO of Mig enamels. The kit I have came with a pine plow, but I decided against using it on this kit; I'll pick up another one and build it with the plow since it looks so cool. I'm also happy to report that I gave this tiny model to the superintendent on the job that I'm working on, who was a tank driver in the Army that spent lots of time driving around a real one of these. Comments and criticism welcomed as always!

Modern US Army M1A2 SEP MBT TUSK II Update 1:35 ET Model The Abrams Main Battle Tank has gone through many different upgrades during its long service life, starting as the M1A1 in 1985. The M1A2 improved on the basic design with improved armour and command options, which was in turn improved by the System Enhancement Package (SEP) which enhanced the armour further, incorporating graphite into the mix, with many original M1A1s and basic M1s upgraded at the same time as the new builds. The Dragon kit of the M1A2 Abrams in its SEP guise was a little rare at one point, but it appears to have been re-issued, much to the enjoyment of modellers, and consternation of the hoarders that were getting good money on eBay for their examples. The TUSK II is the second generation of the Tank Urban Survival Kit (TUSK), which adds a huge range of add-ons to improve survivability for the crew and offensive armaments in the urban environment. It adds a remote .50cal weapons station on the turret top between the two hatches, crew shields around the hatches, an infantry telephone, rear slat armour to protect the exhaust for the gas turbine engine, reactive armour and stand-off "shell" armour to protect against RPGs and other shaped charge weapons, as well as thermal sights for almost the whole crew. Underneath is a large keel-shaped section of extra armour that deflects the blast of an IED away from the crew compartment to reduce crew casualties in the event of a strike. The Kit There have been a couple of resin update sets for the TUSK and TUSK II Abrams for a while now, but this set is mostly Photo-Etch (PE), which I feel will give a much cleaner finish, and allow the parts to achieve a more scale representation. The set arrives in a flat brown box with a picture of the set on a kit pasted to the top, and immediately on picking up the box, you realise that this is going to be something special, because it weighs over 300 grams in the box. There's a reason for that though - There are TWENTY sheets of PE of differing gauges and four small bags of resin within the box, and a five page A4 instruction sheet that is printed on both sides. I doubt I actually need to state this, but I will - This set is not for the PE novice. It is for the experienced modeller, and a lot of folding or bending will be required to give a good finish. You will also need an M1A2 Sep kit from Dragon to put it all on, and bear in mind that this set ONLY provides the parts to convert the basic kit to a TUSK II vehicle - any additional kit improvements will have to be scratch-built or sourced from another set, such as ET Model's own that is available under the code E35-067. Construction begins with the keel for the hull, which is made from one single thick gauge part, with the edges folded up to mate with the sides of the hull like the real thing. Then it's a case of building up all of the reactive armour blocks for the side-skirts, which are formed from thinner gauge brass, and made up of the basic reactive block, and the curved shell-like outer section. This part will need annealing before being rolled to match the template shape on the instructions, and you will need to do thirty two of them! There are four slightly different shaped blocks for the front sections, which are assembled in separate diagrams. The front of the kit fenders is removed, and a new PE section is installed full length, with two PE suspension "hinges" for which you will need some 0.6mm rod to complete. Various slotted mounting rails are added to each side-skirt, and a triangular block is added to the front of each one, as well as a number of strips that install at the top of the skirts, ready for the armour blocks to be added. There is a diagram of how to lay out the blocks, which shows where to put the different front blocks, as well as some locking mechanisms that stop the blocks from getting lost if they are knocked off the vehicle. Next are the bullet-proof screens around the commander's hatch, for which you'll need a sheet of 1.5mm thick clear ABS sheet, which oddly isn't supplied with the set. It's easily obtained from model shops or from discarded packaging though, so it's nothing major. The commander's cupola has a three window section on the starboard, with a two window section to port with a high single panel, and a central section that is mounted on the gun pintle. The gunner's hatch is provided with a front bullet screen and two side-panels - he's clearly not as important as the well protected commander! The TUSK upgrade kits have an additional .50cal remote station mounted above the main gun barrel, and this isn't in the base kit, so is built up from a combination of PE and resin parts. Two of the bags of resin include breech, gun barrel and hand grips for this purpose. Its mount, ammo can and the bullet resistant conduit for the control systems is all made up from PE, and a spare ammo box on the front side of the turret is also provided with a mounting bracket, presumably for quick ammo replenishments of the new gun. The side baskets of the turret are covered in the shell shaped armour panels, which are mounted on two frames each side, onto which the individual curved parts are added. Another seven parts for each side will need forming to the afore-mentioned template, and their attachment brackets folded to fit. The final acts are to create a jammer for IEDs that sits between the two top hatches on a plate, and the rear mounted infantry telephone, which is made up from mostly PE parts, but with a resin handset inside allowing it to be posed with the door open displaying the interior. Conclusion This is a truly amazing set, and represents a huge undertaking by ET just in making it. Building it will require focus on the task in hand, otherwise I could foresee the modeller becoming over-faced with the sheer weight of parts. Take your time, relax and get used to handling large quantities of PE, and you'll do fine. It's one of those projects for long winter nights that will pay dividends, and when you've finished building it, you won't want to paint it and lose sight of all that lovely metal. Highly recommended to the PE competent. Available soon from White Ensign Models in the UK Review Sample courtesy of