Elefant

Hi,

Here is a video of the building of the latest Tamiya release, the impressive M1A2.


Certainly my favorite Tamiya kit so far. Only one thing is missing, a 1/16 TC...(and maybe more markings)

(YouTube might have blocked the soundtrack so do not be surprised not to hear anything.)

Pcomm1.v2

Great! Looking forward to part 2.

Elefant

Thanks Pcomm.
The long awaited part 2 is now online. ;-)

Pcomm1.v2

Enjoyed part 2. Cool build, well done. John

Elefant

Thanks for your kind words, John.
Surprisedly, the community doesn’t show a lot of interest in this thread. Does this mean the M1 won’t sell well here in the US ? Or maybe am I missing something...

Anyway, just for you :-), here is the third part.

trackmech81

I cannot wait to get mine and start building. Just have to get past Christmas and save up.

Shorty54

Very nice, thanks for taking the time to show the videos.

TheBennyB

Appreciate the build log, nice work! Think there may be less comments/views just since the HL offering has been out for a bit and you'll always have the tammy haters. Your getting views just not comments.

Pcomm1.v2

I have had my Abram's kit for a few weeks now, but need to wait to after Christmas to start the build. Thank you for taking the time to video your built, super clean workmanship, great stuff. Your videos are helpful for anyone who is going to build this model. I believe the Abram's kit is popular world wide and the word from the AAF Museum is that they sold out the pre-order shipment immediately. Anyway they emailed and asked if I wanted to let my preorder go to someone else, because they had more customers than kits. I said no.



John

Markocaster

Super videos, thanks for posting, it is a most impressive model

Elefant

Thanks all for your comments.
John and Trackmech, you’ll surely enjoy this wonderful FO kit. Nevertheless, there are a couple of things which you should be aware of before taking the plunge.
1- Unless I’m blind I didn’t see any information about the lengths of optical fiber needed for the blackout headlights. Be sure to keep a sufficient length for the coaxial machine gun. Keep it in mind as the instructions does not mention the need of it until the mantlet step.
2- As Cleong wrote, the hinged mantlet cover design is very weak, I broke the articulation when I installed the turret cover for the first time. Be sure to use a good cement and be very careful when you close the turret.
3- The channel assignment with my radio system (MC-12 Graupner) was quite painful, I had to invert the channel 1 and 2 while in mode 2. It works now perfectly though.
4- Be sure not to throw in trash the sprues before checking them carefully. It appears that I lost 2 small parts used to retain the 2 tow cables. Ok, now I know I am really blind...

tankme

Nice build. I hope it is a popular kit so that Tamiya keeps selling kits. I didn't post earlier because personally won't be buying it and my reasons were stated in a previous thread. Not a Tamiya hater, but I do think they could have made the kit great instead of just OK.

philipat

Nice build. Thanks for the videos.

Cruiser133

I am seeing this kit is flying off the shelves which is impressive considering the price...

Pcomm1.v2

$986.00 USD delivered from the AAF Museum, about an average “hit” for a Tamiya modern rc tank f/o kit.

And only a few bucks more over a HL or Taigen IR Tamiya compatible upgraded conversion build.

Just saying, the Abrams is not a bad deal, though it is perhaps only an average deal.



John

Imex-Erik

I'll be watching, looking good so far!
As for interest in the Abrams I will tell you guys now the interest is not anything compared to the WWII tanks. The Leopard got at least x5 as many requests as the Abrams did for us and the HL version is flopping from what we hear (which makes since as the Abrams was finished YEARS before the Chally 2 was done and the Chally was released first). However, I do believe it will be a popular model for all brands, it just needs a few friends to play with right?

cleong

Anecdotal but over here, it appears to me that the Abrams is much sought-after as myself and five friends have bought them since it's launch. No other new tank launch was as well received (well perhaps the T90 but that doesn't count because it's still not battle-ready).

philipat

Friends...yes

Opponents...YES!

Elefant

Iraqi T-72M !!!!! Looking forward to the Waltersons...I just hope it won’t turn into a vaportank.

About the Tam M1A2, I noticed a strange behavior :
As you could see in the part 3 video on YouTube, the model can roll by itself on a slope until you activate the parking brake. This feature “blocks” the motors to keep the model in place.
Normally, it is quite easy to push the model by hand when it is turned off except when you just turned it off. This lasts about 5 minutes and after that, it is again easy to push it. How would you explain this ? The motors should not be blocked as the electronics are turned off...
Any idea ?

Shorty54

Are they using some sort of capacitor in the electronics?

Shad

Imex-Erik

I can't agree more
Nah, it is still being worked on. A small delay in production but we were just in communication a few days ago with them actually. As for the brake, that seems a bit strange. Normally to add brake to a brushed motor you would have to do it on the motor, but with the addition of all the new brushless motor brake software breakthroughs it would only be a matter of time before brushed seen some type of software braking. I would agree with Shorty54 with the caps. How about you replicate the motor brake (get the model to have braked motors) and then try to turn the power switch on and off a few times and then try to push it to see if that drains the caps and returns the motors to normal.
Just a side question, are you going to weather and paint this one or leave it close to how it is now? I'm always interested to see what people do with paint

StretchMaK

Awesome build vids. I tossed out the little "t" things for the cables also, oh well live and learn as they say. Your vids made me want to put the decals on mine.

Elefant

That’s what I thought too but the electronic boards are so small, the caps - if they do exist - must be quite small.

Elefant

I have not decided yet. My weathering skills are quite limited so I do not want to ruin this beauty. ;-)
Talking about that, what technic would you recommend to remove the shiny look of the decals (I usually do my own markings with masks but it is much easier with WWII tanks) ? Is there any magical product ? I planned to apply a matt clear coat at the very end of the project, but would it be enough ?
What clear coat in spray can would be perfectly compatible with the Tamiya paints (I used the acrylic and spray paints) ? I did not take my airbrush and compressor for this project due to my current physical condition, so I can’t use the water based clear coat I usually apply.

Elefant

Thanks StretchMak 👍
Now we are good to do little scratchbuilding for making these T...😜