Reviews : Tamiya M1A2 Abrams

There really isn't anything to dislike about a Tamiya. This was another exceptional kit which was engineered and fit perfectly. As I've said before, you'll pay a little more, but they are worth the money. I wasn't sure what color it was molded in, so I bought a can of Tamiya Light Sand, but it was molded in a color that was close enough for me to save the can for another kit! The tracks in this kit aren't the rubber ones. They are plastic and need to be glued together. I'm not sure why the instructions indicated not using glue on the sprockets because the tracks won't turn,so I glued my sprockets in place to make them stay still while I assembled the tracks. There are pros and cons to the tracks. Pros: They won't pull anything crooked if it isn't quite dry, and they don't require any stapling or other securing to keep them in place. Con: They are tedious and time consuming to paint. I decided it was quicker to paint the whole outer surface black and then come back between them with the dark iron, than painting in between first and then the individual grips in black. It only took me one piece of track to figure it out---DUH! LOL. You won't be disappointed with this kit.

This is another of the long running near perfect models produced by Tamiya. No matter what they cast, you can believe it will be an easy build because of fit. I enjoyed assembling this tank for my collection. All in all it was fun to build except one item I would bring to Tamiyas attention. Wheels that turn but dont because of the static tracks. Really ? Not only are they static but they were in pieces that just werent any fun to glue together. Why?? Are rubber tracks that expensive to put in the kit ? I would give a few more bucks to have functioning tracks. Like all the other tanks Ive assembled. Okay Ill quit. It was an easy and fun tank to build. I would recommend it to any degree of builder. Maybe someone can help the less experienced ones with the tracks. Hey they dont have to work. Check out my photos.

Just got done with this model. Mine was molded in desert yellow instead OD. Typical for Tamyia ! Beautifully molded and engineered and just clicked together. Im a 1/35 scale Armor guy... but this 1/48 scale is neat..!! May switch scales for a while.. can fit a lot more of these on a shelf compared to the !/35's. Highly recommend this model. Great little build. what made it so enjoyable ...even being so small was the engineering of Tamyia.Last week I got done with a Monogram 1/35 of the M-48A2 Patton. After opening..the bottom of Turret and main Hull had 1966 stamped on it. !! That's the year I graduated in,lol lol !! Lots of puttying every where. Buy this Tamyia.

Worst Tamiya kit I have done. It was all prefect until I got to installing tracks. They are a pain to clean with so many attachments to the sprue and when put on the small roller, the ones with small peg to insert in the track piece the two sides are not exactly the same on both sides. Both sides were a real pain to glue together and no room for adjustment. Got them on where the gaps don’t show, but very disappointed with the model although it looks very good now, the track fit is a nightmare. Built a couple with Rubber tracks (one motorized) that went together with no problem. I wouldn’t buy another Tamiya with plastic tracks.

I decided to build this kit and try to get my dad to do so with me, but glue/paint fumes wouldn't allow that. I had an easy time with all, but the basket on the rear of the turret, and like mwzx225 said the tracks. The tracks are way too hard to put together, they have way to much clean up, and are very hard to get right, along with the basket just having too thing of parts, it made this kit hell for those parts. Other than that, it was a pretty basic kit. I don't recommend this kit to beginners, and only to highly experienced builders.