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M1A2 Abrams sep with TUSK


Dogsbody
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Hello everyone, i've thought long and hard about posting my modelling efforts 'cause i'm not much of a modeller but here it goes. I started this one several months ago (I know: my tempo is not something to boast about ^_^ ).

So far I have no complaints about this kit. It fits reasonbly well and its detail is very good. My only gripe is the 2 piece barrel which means having to get rid of the seam. But other than that it's okay.

 

post-169612-0-24308900-1509809076_thumb.jpg

 

Rene

 

 

 

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Three tours in Iraq and I never saw this modification. I wonder how wide spread the usage was? Your kit looks good so far. Keep up the good work!

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Hi Rene, that looks like a killer tank kit. Can't wait to see the next steps. If you are fed up with getting rid of a gun seam with putty and sandpaper you can replace it with a metal one of an e.g. VoyageModel upgrade set.

 

Lars

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That is looking good so far, I am looking forward to seeing the finished model. If you wouldn't mind explaining, what is the TUSK add on? I am not very knowledgable about modern vehicles.

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Thanks everyone for your kind words. I will follow up on my progress. May take a little time, though ;)

 

@Old Marine: TUSK stands for Tank Urban Survival Kit. It contains all the add ons you can see in the photo of the kit. Tanks are extra vulnerable in build op areas where attacks can come from all directions. Usually the front part of the tank has the thickest armour and the sides, top and rear are weaker armoured. To give a tank a chance in urban area's these improvements were added.

 

This picture shows the Abrams with TUSK 1 on the left and TUSK 2 on the right.

 

post-169612-0-19224800-1509823771.jpg

 

Rene

 

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Patchcollector

Here is some Wiki info:

 

The Tank Urban Survival Kit (TUSK) is a series of improvements to the M1 Abrams intended to improve fighting ability in urban environments.Historically, urban and other close battlefields have been the worst place for tanks to fight. A tank's front armor is much stronger than that on the sides, top, or rear. In an urban environment, attacks can come from any direction, and attackers can get close enough to reliably hit weak points in the tank's armor or gain sufficient elevation to hit the top armor.
Armor upgrades include reactive armor on the sides of the tank and slat armor (similar to that on the Stryker) on the rear to protect against rocket-propelled grenades and other shaped charge warheads. A Transparent Armor Gun Shield and a thermal sight system are added to the loader's top-mounted M240B 7.62 mm machine gun, and a Kongsberg Gruppen Remote Weapon Turret carrying a .50 caliber machine gun (again similar to that used on the Stryker) is in place of the tank commander's original .50 caliber machine gun mount, wherein the commander had to expose himself to fire the weapon manually. An exterior telephone allows supporting infantry to communicate with the tank commander.
The TUSK system is a field-installable kit that allows tanks to be upgraded without needing to be recalled to a maintenance depot. While the reactive armor may not be needed in most situations, like those present in maneuver warfare, items like the rear slat armor, loader's gun shield, infantry phone (which saw use on Marine Corps M1A1s as early as 2003), and Kongsberg Remote Weapons Station for the .50 in caliber machine gun will be added to the entire M1A2 fleet over time.
On 29 August 2006, General Dynamics Land Systems received a U.S. Army order for 505 Tank Urban Survivability Kits (TUSK) for Abrams main battle tanks supporting operations in Iraq, under a US$45 million contract. Deliveries were expected to be completed by April 2009.Under a separate order, the U.S. Army awarded General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products (GDATP) US$30 million to produce reactive armor kits to equip M1A2s. The reactive tiles for the M1 will be locally produced at GDATP's Burlington Technology Center. Tiles will be produced at the company's reactive armor facility in Stone County Operations, McHenry, Mississippi. On 8 December 2006, the U.S. Army added Counter Improvised Explosive Device enhancements to the M1A1 and M1A2 TUSK, awarding GDLS $11.3 million contract, part of the $59 million package mentioned above. In December, GDLS also received an order, amounting to around 40% of a US$48 million order, for loader's thermal weapon sights being part of the TUSK system improvements for the M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams Tanks.

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TUSK is like the modern variation of the German Panzers (Pzkpfw III, IV & Panthers) and Jagdpanzers (Stug III) et.al. as they put armored skirts or (schurzen) on the sides to help protect the sides of their vehicles.

 

Semper Fi.

 

Manny

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Hello everyone, this is going to be a very small update on my progress. One of the things I had problems with was recreating the laser reflective vision blocks that can be seen in the drivers hatch for example. These block were introduced in he mid 1990's as a result of increased use of battlefield lasers. In this kit the blocks are done in transparant plastic so painting them up could be a solution but I found something better :)

 

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Reflective party confetti works a treat. It takes a little patience to cut the pieces to size but ik like the end result. Unfortunately the photos don't capture the effect too well.

 

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Rene

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Looks great, what glue did you use for the confetti pieces?

Hi Lars, I used cyanoacrylate glue (the thicker somewhat slower drying variant).

 

Rene

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  • 1 month later...

Hello everyone, finally found some time to continue this project. As you can see it is "track time". I enclose a picture of the manual that explains how the tracks are constructed. Quite an ingenious system that so far has my approval. You only need to glue the guide horns. The track pads click into place and so far seem to hold. The tracks are fully workable. The model has torsion bar suspension so if desired you can place the model on uneven ground. I glued mine rigid.

 

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post-169612-0-20036200-1515254062_thumb.jpg

 

Rene

 

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Nice progress Rene. Did it take a lot of time to assemble those tracks? And I've always wondered why more kit manufacturers don't use poly caps? Sure makes building and painting much easier.

Good luck on your continued build!

Terry

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Good to see that this project will be continued! Nice job on the tracks, they look VERY detailed. Can't wait to see more.

 

Lars

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Very nice, I'm in the process of building the M1-A1 HA Abrams. Although they came with the sectional tracks I ordered workable tracks from AFV Club. I really like the way they look. I haven't posted anything here regarding that model. I guess I'll just post the finished model.

 

Semper Fi.

 

Manny

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Thanks everyone!

 

@ Terry: the most time consuming part was cleaning up the individual parts. The assembly itself is very straightforward.

 

@ Manny: if you want feel free to post your results in this thread. There's always room for another Abrams :)

 

Rene

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  • 4 months later...

Hello everyone, it's been a while (to say the least) but I found some time to continue on the Abrams. It's barrel time and I have to say that I'm not that fond of split barrels that leave a seam over the entire lenght. This one is no different. As barrels go the Abrams barrel is quite complex in shape so removing the seam takes some care and a lot of patience. I know there are after market barrels available but I gave the kit one a shot (Mikie, if you read this: no pun intended ;)). There are still some little details to complete but the pictures show its current state.

 

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post-169612-0-28243900-1527952228_thumb.jpg

 

Rene

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Blacksmith

Ok, that HAS to qualify as a forum infraction...

 

For the sake of humanity, can a Moderator please intervene. :)

 

 

Looks like you are having a barrel of fun with this model!

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Ok, that HAS to qualify as a forum infraction...

 

For the sake of humanity, can a Moderator please intervene. :)

 

 

 

We don't PUNish people here for such comments.

 

Please carry on.

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