Great. Oh yeah, how's the quality of the model? Is it plastic or metal hull?

Not sure you'd get a metal hull for 79GBP dude,its plastic like most other 1/16 tanks are.Overall the quality isnt too bad to be honest..

@Mr. Terminator

Yes, the HE Abrams accepts HL gears. The only concern is that if you intend to maintain the original suspension system then you'll need M26 or M41 (long shaft) gears.

Regards
Jose

Thanks Jose,i'll just get the ones you mention,theres always a faulty Bulldog or Pershing on ebay.Another thing,will the ESC thats in this tank accept more powerful motors,the ones in now aren't as big as HL motors from what i've seen...?? It's just a matter of sourcing the bits I need,then I can start to plan what i'm doing....Also i've been reading up on the Abrams and from what i've read the Unit in the Bustle rack is an air conditioning unit,is that correct...???

The APU provides power while the engine (turbine) is off, so it can lessen its heat signature while off. The SEP upgrade for the M1A2 has the APU under the armor, so its out of harms way, where earlier had it either in the bustle rack, or on the right rear. I also think that SEP gives a thermal management system to better the conditions inside for the crew and the electronics, keeping them within certain temp tolerances...

I understand what it all does,its just that from what i've read the unit in the bustle rack at the back,like on the model I have is the air conditioning unit or TMS that control temps inside the tank and it incorporates the VCSU and the unit on the rear is the APU.If thats the case then the model I have has'nt got 2 APU's.I also noticed that VS Tank sell the accessories to upgrade to the A2 and they advertise that unit that goes in the bustle rack as an air conditioning unit.From all this different info i'm getting confused to what the unit at the back of the turret on my tank really is and according to the literature i've been reading on the Abrams its a TMS air con unit and not an APU,it says the APU is mounted on the left rear sponson fuel cell area.My brain is starting to hurt...lol...This is where I got the info from...[link=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m1a2.htm]Abrams info[/link]

The hull mount (right-side rear) APUs were last fitted in 1993, after that M1A1's and M1A2's were fitted with the bustle-rack style APU, which is basically a fuel-powered generator.

M1A2 SEP's TMS (Thermal Management system aka fancy aircon) is in place of the bustle mounted APU, with the actual APU now fitted beneath the armor (UAAPU). I have attached 2 pics of the bustle APU, top showing fittings/access panels, and 1 of the M1A2SEP's TMS.

If you want Abrams reference images, contact me cuz I have 300-500 pics ready to go (went hunting for as many as I could before I started on my Abrams)

Thats great matey,cheers.So what the hell is the box on the rear on my model,the one the tail light is mounted on,i've never seen them on any Abrams pics..?

It's the pre-1993 power generator. They also put the Post-1993 power generator(the one in the bustle rack) on the rc tank. They're both power generators. Thats what the guys are talking about. The air conditioner isn't on the rc tank. THe air conditioner is the box with a slanted side that Wackywheelz posted.



*Edit Sorry, I don't know why it didn't make it smaller like other pictures.

That's the hull-mount APU, as fitted 1993 and before.

Hi Guys,

To add to that....

The TMS consists of an Air Handling Unit (AHU) and a Vapor Compression System Unit (VCSU) capable of providing 7.5 Kilowatts of cooling capacity for the crew and Line Repairable Units (LRUs). The AHU is mounted in the turret bustle and the VCSU is mounted forward of the Gunner's Primary Sight (GPS).

Here is a picture of the Under Armor Auxiliary Power Unit (UAAPU) and the TMS courtesy of globalsecurity.org

Keep tanking!!!

Patrick C.

This is a good reference pictures page for the Abrams:

http://m1a1.primeportal.net/photos.htm

hundreds of general and detail pics

Regards
Jose

So how? How about both of us order the M1A and then share the shipping cost together?

Thanks guys,you are all great helps.So the best bet is to remove the rear APU and graft the tail light back on,it catches stuff like kerbs when ascending or descending also it makes the tank not look right in my opinion.I've found a seller on ebay in Poland who has got the Bulldog and Pershing metal gearboxs with motors and long output shafts for £16.99 plus £6.95 postage to UK so i'll go for one of them,next would be propulsion to make it more controlable,it'd be nice to keep the HE sounds and have HL drive speeds but I don know if thats possible,i'll just source the S+S boards and a controller and go from there....

Termie, try my buddy [link=http://stores.ebay.co.uk/MilitaryMightUK]militarymightuk[/link], or [link=http://search.ebay.ie/_W0QQsassZblueslateman]blueslateman[/link]'s ebay store first before you go international - if they dont appear to have it visibly in stock, message them.

*************

All this Abrams talk has had me sporadically going out to work on mine (1/12). Tonight I've cut, primered, painted and prepped to attach a pair of Combat ID panels for the front of the turret face (just sitting on it for looks at the moment), also 2 days ago I lowered it so it sat more naturally and looks much better (and to scale) using a simple bar to restrict the suspension travel a little. From the factory it has lots of travel, but very rigid springs, so it sits at maximum suspension travel (as in very high) which bugged me... all fixed now [8D]

Gotta reweather it after its big cosmetic makeover from a few months back, its just sitting in Tamiya Light Sand basecoat...

Well, you could always just use the S&S HL electonics and add an Elmod Blaster 2, it uses sounds stored on an SD Card and one of the sets of sounds their website offers is M1A1 sounds. Infact this is what I will probably end up doing due to budget restraints

You'd need the booster + blaster 2 at least, TLS adds firing/turret functions

You're right, my bad. Looks like I got some saving up to do. Oh well, still waiting on mine to arrive. Shipped all the way to my delivery man in a day and a half, then they sit on it for 3 or 4 days I guess 11.00 GBP buys freakin awesome shipping these days. I've had packages coming from 100 miles away take longer than that.

I take it these El mod sound units are expensive then..? They do sound good so i'll have a look at them...

Thanks for the info about Militarymightuk Whacky,i'll send them a message and see if they can get the gearbox for me.Will the HL gearbox go with the drive wheels from a Tamiya Leopard 2..? That'd make it easier to covert to Leo 2 tracks.

I'm in no great rush to get it done as I'm still pretty active with the nitros at the minute and have a couple of things on the go.All info gathered though is graet as I can just use the thread as reference when I start the mods in the next few weeks.Any more info any of you guys have would help me a lot..Cheers fellas....

***EDIT*** A bit of research from some pics I plucked off one of the reference link sites that were posted has turned up with these Abrams with teardrop shaped front lights,just a pointer that some or all do have these lights on them Whacky,its one less alteration I have to make.The guard that goes around them is missing off the model and that's what makes them look a different shape I think.lol.

@MrTerminator

Sadly there are big differences in headlight shape and position. Look at the pics and you'll find that both headlights are equal, not symmetrical as in the HE Abrams. There are recesses in the glacis for both headlights and HE ones are clearly oversized, and this is just the beginning....
Nothing a little work and putty cannot overcome
Regards
Jose

Yeah they're a bit oversized and long, lacking the guards and on the real tank they face the same direction (not mirrored like HE has them).

here are some comparison photos, HE vs real

Well, mine finally got delivered and all I can say is wow.

Some people really talk bad about these things, but the relatively small and fixable inaccuracies aside, it makes a really good upgrade platform in my opinion. I got the M1A1 version and let me say this - everyone that says it doesn't have a working suspension must have an old version because mine has one.

Overall the tank looks pretty good, though the commander/.50cal/m240 really need to be replaced. I was also surprised to see a non-slip like texture applied to the walking surfaces of the upper hull. I did note the drivers hatch doesn't have any glass in the periscopes. I don't remember the name for them, but the small loop of cable hanging from the first side skirts that the crew uses to climb aboard, the space between the cable and the skirt is filled in. Would be easy to fix with a good Xacto knife though. There are also these wierd pegs about 1/8" thick behind each of the front lights and one on each side of the top of the hull under the turret. Oh, and the left front of the turret is angled a little farther back than the right one like Caragan1970 said it should be in the 1/9 Abrams thread.

I haven't run it yet because they sent me the wrong type of charger(US instead of UK). They said they would send me the right one but didn't. Oh well.

This thing makes my VSTank T-72 look like a midget It came with a cardboard T-72 target that is 1/16 scale and it looks EXACTLY like my VSTank T-72 even down to where the decals are. Creepy.

Yay for crappy cell phone pictures!

That's great dude,glad you like the first impressions,i'm gonna start on mine in around a fortnights time,gotta get some supplyies and paints and stuff,then I can start to buy the bits I need,whichever way,it's gonna work out cheaper modding these tanks than keeping and maintaining a fleet of nitro models,that's for sure.Can't wait to see the pics..

I understand about the lights now being symetrical,however they are the right shape,it's just a matter of lopping one off and replacing it the right way round....

Hey Squirrel,does the cannon recoil aswell as the tank.I think they have to as it seems its what makes them fire the projectile..?? What do you think of the suspension? I think its got potential to be made better but find it ok as it is....

I can't say for sure, I can't run it until I can get a charger since the shop sent me one with a UK charger even though they said they'd send it with a US charger. However I can push the barrel back about half an inch and it will spring back to the forward position, so I would presume that it does.

As for the suspension, I think a could stand to be just a tad bit lighter due to the tanks very light weight, and mine has a small amount of horizontal movement that I'm thinking may be just loose screws. But overall its pretty good.