Tag: WWII: American

Know Your Abrams

with Chris Townley

Earlier this week I found myself building some Abrams so I could figure out and test my paint scheme. It has been a while since I built one and they were the original M1 Abrams versions for my “Bannon’s Team Yankee” force, straight out the novel.

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 Abrams
Personally, 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 M1 Abrams (below left) has:
• 105mm gun
• Short stowage bins on turret side
• Full length bazooka skirts
• Three part blow-out panel on the top of the turret

The IPM1 Abrams (above right) has:
• 105mm 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
• Three part blow-out panel on the top of the turret

The M1A1 Abrams and M1A1HC Abrams
These 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 (above 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