13298 1/35 US Army M1A2 Tusk II

I'm pretty sure I reviewed this before, but it dissapeared, so I'm doing it again. I've built this twice; it's one of the highlights of my 100+ piece armor collection. It can be built as one of three Abrams variants. For the money it simply cannot be topped. The parts are super crisp, the detail is amazing as well as accurate, the instructions are clear, photo etch is included as well as copious decals, and it comes with an excellent painting guide. Do not confuse it with the Academy Iraq 2003 release - that kit is trash. It has vinyl one piece tracks in the correct configuration (track pads). Many clear parts are included. It comes with the CROWS weapon station. This kit compares VERY favorably with the Tamiya TUSK II release but is better and for less money. Depending on the variant you build you'll have a lot of goodies left over for the parts box. I'm considering building a third one, as I just received the Hobby Boss M911 C-HET W/ M747 heavy equipment hauler and need a "clean" ( not covered in stowage) 1980's era Abrams for the trailer. In short I just can't say enough good things about this Academy kit. True, Meng, Dragon and Ryefield all make wonderful Abrams kits (Ryefield even has a complete interior and engine bay, and Meng has workable tracks and suspension...but do you really want or need that in a static display model?) But you'll pay considerably more for those kits. So I've done the calculus for you....get This Academy kit and you won't be sorry! Even a relative novice should be able to build this kit if they are willing to exercise patience and follow instructions carefully. The one caveat I'll add is that This kit comes with four instruction booklets, and you jump back and forth between them depending on which variant you build, so it helps to "know your Abrams". And I really shouldn't have to say this, but for those careless shoppers out there that think they're buying a toy for their child, This is not a toy - it is a scale model kit comprised of hundreds of parts, and yes, you have to assemble and paint it yourself.

This is an excellent kit. Parts fit great and you get a ton of extras like photoetch and lots of decals. This has a fairly high parts count, made evident by the inclusion of four seperate instruction booklets. Don’t let that steer you away as there are 3 ways to build this tank and the illustrations in the instructions are large and very detailed. Overall academy knocked this out of the park!

Kit is very detailed – more so than the 2012 Tamiya kit of the same subject (which I’ve also built). As such, it’s also a far more complex build but nothing an experienced modeler couldn’t easily handle (beginners should stick with the Tamiya offering). FYI - This is an ALL-NEW 2016 molding – nothing in common with the earlier mistake-riddled Academy M1A1 Iraq 2003 model.As it should, it has a very fine (and very realistic!) anti-slip texture, more accurate parts than not (i think), and more accessories and decal options (way more!) compared to Tamiya. You can also build the kit as a M1A2 SEP V2. Nice!Plus the price’s not bad at all (around $40 a pop) – competing kits from Meng & Rye Fields (for TUSK versions) and Dragon (V2 version) are far more expensive with little noticeable difference in detail and accuracy. Highly recommended for experienced/advanced level modelers.

This is an excellent kit and very detailed. I built the Tamiya M1 several years ago and this is a much better kit. It has a full set of vision blocks (unlike Tamiya) and the barrel is slide molded. There are a lot of parts but that just adds to the details. The kit includes PE for the turret baskets and has a nice antiskid texture.My only minor complaint is the lack of figures. I added a tank crew from MiniArt and a modern US stowage set from Tamiya (jerry cans, tarps, ammo cans). Both are available from Amazon. I'm still waiting on a couple of igloo coolers from Meng.All in all a fun build at a very reasonable price.

This is the only good Academy kit that was good in my opinion. It comes with a decent photo etch, and clear parts. There is a bit of flash on some small parts, but the parts fit together pretty good. I don't know if this was just my kit, but my gun barrel was warped. Very odd considering it's winter, and it is not hot at all. Overall it's a fun kit to build, with a bit of a challenge.

This is a great kit that provided a good challenge. Lots of small parts and clear instructions with parts for three different versions. The plastic is soft but brittle and I broke several parts removing them from the sprues. The tracks are rubber and fit very nicely. I haven’t made many models of this complexity but very happy from the long build.

This is a newer Academy release, and it is on par with Tamiya now. Detail, fit, Is just a awesome kit, It will take a little more effort and skill then a Tamiya kit but the end result was worth it. Also it has more detail then the Tamiya kit of the same type. More parts to glue on, where for easy of assembly Tamiya will mold it on.

I recently started building models again after a respite of 42 years. The Tamiya M1A2 was my first attempt, and I'm very impressed with the kits of today compared with those from two generations ago.First, the supplier, in Korea, did a superb job of shipping packaging and method. Tightly wrapped, signature required, and nothing damaged.Second, the initial inspection revealed no issues whatever. This is NOT a kit of newbies; a little superior to the Tamiya, IMHO, although the Tamiya was not a TUSK version. Zero flash, gorgeous detailing, and a ton of documentation for building the version(s) you want. Very much looking forward to starting this after the holidays. Retirement is starting to look pretty good! Great job, Academy!