CyberHobby 1/35 M1A1 with Mine Plough
By John Newcome
Background
The M1 Abrams is the primary battle tank in the US arsenal. Since its introduction in 1986, over 9,000 units have been produced. Multiple versions of the M1 have been produced, including the M1, M1A1 and M1A2. Most differences between versions are from additional armor protection as well as additional electronic equipment. The M1 and M1A1 are the some of the most sophisticated tanks deployed worldwide. The 61.3-ton tank has been effectively deployed the 1991 Gulf War, Kosovo, Iraq in 2003 and Afghanistan.
The Kit
The subject of this review is the Cybermodeler/Dragon M1A1 with Mine Plough. This kit is part of their “Orange Box” value kits. “Orange Box” kits are basically a reboxing of older kits with additional part options added. I really like this concept of making something new out of something old. More importantly, it gives the modeler some added value at a very reasonable price. The Dragon M1A1 kit has was initially released in 1992. This kit includes parts from the original release plus a bonus. It also includes parts to construct four figures of the U.S. First Infantry Division, “Big Red One”.
The kit contains 300 parts, molded on 11 trees of light gray styrene. There is also a decal sheet with one marking option. A 4” length of copper chain and a clear acetate sheet is also provided. There is no photoetch provided in this kit. The Instructions are printed in color with clear assembly diagrams.
Even though this a reboxing of an older kit, all molding is clear and crisp with no flash; something we’ve come to expect from Dragon.
Aftermarket accessories
The kit comes with injection molded track links. For a first time armor builder, the injection molded tracks should be more than adequate.
For the more advanced modeler, aftermarket track link sets have been produced for the 1/35 M1A1.
- Trumpeter released a track set for the M1A1 in 2003 under part number TRP02032. It appears these are no longer in production but usually can be found on Ebay for around $15-$20.
- AFV Club, part number AF35012 and
- Bronco Models, part number AB3522.
A couple of photoetch sets have been produced for the M1A1.
- Tamiya, part number TAM35373, produced a small photoetch set that included an intake grill, turret bustle rack and MG mount.
- Eduard produced a few more comprehensive photoetch sets, part numbers EDU35333 and EDUB3503. These may be currently out of production but still may be available through other online sources.
Conclusion
The MSRP for this kit is $29.95 and represents a good value for the modeling dollar. This kit would be ideal for an experienced modeler who wants to try their hand at armor subjects. It is also a good, reasonably priced starting point for the experienced armor modeler with AMS.
Recommended. This could be a good project for a first time armor modeler.
Thank you to Dragon Models USA and Internet Modeler for the review sample.
