Know Your Abramswith Chris Townley
Fast forward a few years and I was staring at the Abrams frame and thinking to myself, “there are some bits here I have never used….”. Between the assembly guide in the box and the very useful step-by-step guide on the website I managed to get my test models built and ready for a visit to the spray booth. But I thought it may be worth a quick primer for those of you that are about to embark on the assembly journey
The M1 Abrams and IPM1 AbramsPersonally, I feel that these two versions have the most obvious differences that you can see at a glance, thanks to the change in the stowage bins.
The M1A1 Abrams and M1A1HC AbramsThese two tend to look a lot like the IPM1 at glance, especially if you are staring across the table at them, however there are a few key differences that once you know, will stand out.
The M1A1 Abrams (below left) has:• 120mm gun• Long stowage bin on turret side• Large stowage bustle on back of turret• Bazooka skirt cut-out in front of rear drive wheel• Smoke Discharger reload boxes below the dischargers• Two part blow-out panel on the top of the turret• Circular cover (for where the Commanders CTIV would be installed on later models) on the top of the turret
The M1A1HC Abrams (below right) has:• 120mm gun• Long stowage bin on turret side• Large stowage bustle on back of turret• Bazooka skirt cut-out in front of rear drive wheel• Smoke Discharger reload boxes below the dischargers• Two part blow-out panel on the top of the turret• Circular cover (for where the Commanders CTIV would be install on later models) on the top of the turret• APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) box on back right hand corner of hull
Hopefully this will help you spot the differences on the battlefield, but if you are looking for a little more help you can check out this handy guide that comes with the new Abrams box.~Chris