Re: Something I've been doing the past days
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:07 pm
Yep. The SEP v2 uses a Hawker battery system instead of the Under Armour APU (UAAPU). According to this, the UUAPU was found to be ineffective. So that area where the UAAPU was is now a battery box. I reckon the Hawker battery system works like the UAAPU, i.e., provides power to the tank without using the main engine, but this time providing it electrically rather than by a small internal combustion engine. Which is why in some of the reference pix of late model M1A1 (e.g., some M1A1AIM tanks IIRC) and early M1A2SEPs, there is an exhaust at the rear left, the exhaust is for the UAAPU. A battery doesn't produce emissions obviously so no exhaust is needed.
Here are reference photos of that area from two model kits:


The second photo has the exhaust, so that would mean it has the UAAPU. Note that the panels are the same. I reckon the difference between a tank with the Hawker battery system from a tank with a UAAPU is that the latter has an exhaust whereas the former does not. Also note that the difference might also be because these could be two different models from two different manufacturers. The first could be a Tamiya kit, the second would be the Dragon kit. Anyhow, what is important here is how the panels on the deck look like.
Removing the fuel cap is easy. All you need is a razor saw. Then just scribe the panel lines like I did. Just add an exhaust to make yours look like it has an UAAPU.
Here are reference photos of that area from two model kits:


The second photo has the exhaust, so that would mean it has the UAAPU. Note that the panels are the same. I reckon the difference between a tank with the Hawker battery system from a tank with a UAAPU is that the latter has an exhaust whereas the former does not. Also note that the difference might also be because these could be two different models from two different manufacturers. The first could be a Tamiya kit, the second would be the Dragon kit. Anyhow, what is important here is how the panels on the deck look like.
Removing the fuel cap is easy. All you need is a razor saw. Then just scribe the panel lines like I did. Just add an exhaust to make yours look like it has an UAAPU.