1/35 Academy "2003 Iraq" M1A1 MBT

In order to consider yourself a tank modeler one should have built America's #1 MBT the M1 Abrams.  I had not so I needed to get to work on one right away.  Why did I choose the Academy version considering there are so many other decent kits on the market?  Well, that is easy; it was a gift from wife and kids.  After getting this kit I did some research on it and discovered that most hardcore military modelers did not give it good review mostly due to incorrect shape and/or size of turret.  Well this may be true but as I stated many times on this site I am not one of those "rivet counters" who go crazy over every minute detail and accuracy is number one priority.  So with that being said I thought it was a rather nice kit, well engineered, good parts count, high detail, and overall looks like a mean fighting machine M1A1 Abrams to me.  This was my 1st attempt at an armor kit in many years, and I have definitely improved upon many of my modeling and finishing skills since that last build so I could not wait to try out some of these newer more advanced techniques on an armor kit.  Most of these techniques focused on finishing with a lot of pre and post shading using my new, high tech airbrush.  I also got a little crazy trying out some weathering but not to much.  Finally the only thing that stands out with this build is my 1st attempt at recreating anti-slip surfaces found on many military vehicles such as this tank.  To accomplish this I created sort of a powdery paste using baking soda; my wife's only baking soda.  She still does not know what happen to that can.  I masked off area's and spread this paste over the tank; removed this mask and "voila" instant anti-skid or at least that what it is suppose to be.  I think my final opinion of this 1st attempt is "ok" but a little out of scale.  Take a look and see if you notice it.  Hope you enjoy my M1A1 Abrams MBT.  It was a really fun kit and started me off on a huge military and armor building phase; one in which I am still in!

Almost forgot the 1st few pictures of the M1A1 are taken side by side with my last armor build completed many years ago using more simplistic finishing techniques.  I thought this was an appropriate comparison considering it was my last build as well as in reality this is the tank the actual M1A1 replaced within the US Army and USMC units.  The comparison tank is a USMC M60A2.  The kit is a 30 year old Tamiya mold, which shows its age compared to more modern kits, but still holds it own as far as M60 tank models go.  Stay tuned for a quick review and picture show of this exact model on this site.