HL M1A2 ABRAMS upgrade/super detail .... Hopefully

[Vadermaker]

Hi there new here, but thought I'd jump in at the start of a project , HL M1A2 ABRAMS 1/16
Arrived last week , with substandard generic instructions, advertised with metallgetriebe (?) , thought this was metal gears...... Nah plastic .Anyway, performance is poor, soooooo new gearboxes were ordered along with JP480 motors , inline fuses to be fitted and pc fan to cool board. A HE Abrams was nabbed off ebay for £40 as a donor for stowage etc. will update with pics as this progresses.

[AlwynTurner]

Hi Vadermaker, great looking pair of tanks. I have been working on my own M1A2 project so will be following yours with great interest. Lots of pics please? Alwyn

[puramo]

Good deal

[Vadermaker]

Motors here , just need to collect inline fuses and we shall see if the combination of jp480 and metal gears gives the M1 some oomph

[Vadermaker]

Motors wired up with fuses (7 amp) and pinion fitted from HL metal gerboxes luckily I have a waterstones pinion puller

[Vadermaker]

Test run in the dark showed considerably more gutts but no improvement in speed , but happily climbed 45-50 degree slope of loose earth even with plastic tracks

[greengiant]

I have a HL Abrams on the way. I will do mine as the SEP model. Will follow your build with great interest.

[Vadermaker]

Have ordered ally mesh for the the bottom off the turret stowage racks, lots of online research being done on the abrams. Trying to find good ref for the non slip surface treatment I believe is found on the turret. Have sourced from my Star Wars work red clear plastic for the periscopes . Not sure whether to add the extended rear turret racks I've seen on a lot of M1 s .Also noted a lot of abrams have various panels and or wheels fitted that are green . Will be making a mold of a road wheel off the HL M1 for the stowage.need to watch footage of the smooth bore firing. To work out where to cut the barrel ready for recoil. I did this successfully on an M4 Sherman by reversing the recoil action to correct it (spring back / motor forward )will mod the smoker at this point with a bigger hole 1/8 inch to allow more air to be pushed in by piston. Things to research : better sound , out rigger bearings for sprocket shafts .

[AlwynTurner]

Hi Vadermaker, I found this useful for research
http://www.primeportal.net/tanks/jeff_d ... 2_details/
Lots of pics and some good ones of the rear turret racks.
Alwyn

[Vadermaker]

Excellent thanx for the link
Does anyone know if HL leopard 2a6 tracks will fit the abrams?