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1/35 USMC M1A1 Abrams [Meng Models]


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Hi guys!

 

Here are some pics of my USMC M1A1 Abrams. It’s the Meng Models 1:35 scale kit; built as it comes out of the box. I just added some Tamiya stowage plus the markings for this specific tank I ordered from Italeri. The model is airbrushed&hairspray-chipped with Tamiya, it was weathered with Abteilung 502.

 

Looking forward to your feedback!

 

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  • 3 months later...

G'day Twelve Birds,

                                 Just got to say what a fantastic job you've done with this model. I did this kit about a year ago. It was one of the most enjoyable builds I've done. I'm ex-RAAF (Australian airforce) and I've been a military historian for many years after that. One of the things we do is collect real period photographs of various wars from WW1 through to both the Gulf wars. One of the things most people don't realise is how knocked around military equipment can get after it's been in the sky or on the field in combat. Your weathering and ageing is spot on. I particularly like the superficial scratches on the left side panel of the turret front. 'Something' has made a significant scratch but it hasn't gone through to the metal, like you'd get after an encounter with a tree branch or bursting through razor wire etc. Very realistic.

 

I've got film of the Australian Army's first Abrams going through a total factory refurbishment before they were delivered to Australia. The tanks were taken apart, completely. Each hull piece was extensively sand blasted and soaked in an anti-corrosion 'bath' to allow this solution to penetrate the first microscopic layers of the bare metal. Then they applied several coats of anti-rust primers and paints before laying down multiple coats of the US Army's 'sand' coloured paint. These pieces are 'baked' in huge ovens to make the undercoats and topcoats extremely resistant to corrosion from water and a long list of chemicals that can be found on a modern battlefield.    A serious scratch would expose a deep red anti-rust layer before getting down to bare metal. Only heavy ordinance fire from, say, .50 cal MGs or larger would instantly expose bare metal. Sometimes, repeated traffic of army boots, or screwdrivers and wrenches etc. will gradually wear away the surface coats and, eventually, get through to metal but this would take a long time.

That's why I think you've done such a good job on the weathering. These modern tanks are extremely well made. They can look very dirty but hardly anything effects their operation, except of course fire from another tank or anti-tank weapons system. As was shown in the Gulf wars, as good as some of Saddam's Russian tanks were, the Abrams could destroy them long before they came into range of the enemy's own tanks. So, correctly, you've shown your Abrams with only heavy battlefield wear and tear.

 

My next tank project will be a 1/16 scale M1A1 Abrams. It came in a huge box with a carry handle like a suitcase! The pictures of your model will be really helpful when I get to the painting phase of that build.

Thank you very much for sharing your build with us.

All the best from Hobart, Tasmania.

Cheers, Bill Halliwell

RAAFbloke  

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thank you all so much for your kind words; really appreciate it! I still think I might change the stowage, it's kind of generic and there's a few things missing – the original looks way cooler with additional storage racks and even a frickin' pirate flag 😉

 

 

This was my main reference for the build:

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Edited by Twelve Birds
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  • 3 months later...

I know the original post for this thread was quite some time ago (in forum terms, at least), but I wanted to throw in my compliments on the build as well.  I, too, plan to do a build to try to duplicate Marine M1A1 in the photo.  Someone was kind enough to send me an additional photo of the same tank, basically the view of the tank from the right rear.  I can only imagine the time and work that it took to create your model, and I'm anticipating a huge level of effort to try to make my model look like the photo(s).  I'm going to use the Meng TS-032, as you did, and I was able to get the Italeri decals, as well.  The Grim Reaper on the smoke storage compartments would have been difficult to do any other way, in my opinion.  I'm planning to do a mostly out of the box build, but I did find the Jolly Roger flag in an 'ETA Diorama Accessories' set, and found another aftermarket set that duplicates the wire spool (the item just to the right of the spare road wheel in the photo).   And lastly, to improve the accuracy, I got the (terribly expensive) T-Rex Studio resin road wheel set, the M1 MBT sprocket, and the spare road wheel set.   Adding up all the costs, this is going to be a very expensive build, but I hope mine turns out even half as good as yours!

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