| |
Echelon Fine Details US Army’s
Operation Iraqi Freedom M1A1HA (Heavy Common) Abrams (Part 4) (T35016)
by Frank De Sisto
Water-slide decal sheet in 1/35 scale. Price: $14.00 USD, includes shipping.
Echelon has come up with yet another interesting sheet to mark US Abrams
MBTs employed in the current war in Iraq. A total of seven different gun
tanks can be marked, as well as an M1 Panther II mine-clearing tank (in
this case, using kit decals and a bonus item on this sheet). The markings
for the following are supplied:
• /92, helmeted skull, (no name) of 3-7 Cav., painted in overall
sand.
• /92, helmeted skull, “BushPig Bandits/ Bad Boyz”,
of 3-7 Cav., painted in overall sand.
• Inverted “^” under “21”, white skull in
black diamond, 1-37 Armor, painted in NATO three-tone.
• “^” over “23”, white skull in black diamond,
1-37 Armor, painted in NATO three tone.
• Inverted “^” under “-12”, “Bang
Bus”, 2-70 Armor, painted in NATO three-tone.
• Inverted “^” under “-12”, “Big Bitch”,
2-70 Armor, painted in NATO three-tone.
• “^” over “92”, “Baghdad’s
Nightmare/ Chino/ Itchy”, 2-69 Armor, painted in overall sand.
• Bonus name “My Precious” for M1 Panther II, painted
in overall forest green.
I’ll start out by saying that I believe the bonus item, the name
“My Precious” is worth the price of admission on its own.
If you are a “Lord of the Rings” fan, you’ll understand.
For the rest of you, well, there is still much to satisfy. There are four
units represented, with two different color schemes spread among them.
All tanks have either names, art work (or both) as well as various kinds
of Tac numbers. There is complete unit stenciling and shipping data stencils,
as well as data stencils for the CIP panels and EAPU.
The instruction sheet is excellently presented (in my opinion, Echelon
has the best in the industry) and includes clear drawings of each vehicle
in usually more than one view. Each design has a call-out number on the
instruction sheet that matches to a number next to it on the decal sheet.
There are thumbnail drawings for some vehicles as well the Panther II,
CIP panels and EAPU. There are also three photos depicting vehicles catered
for on the sheet, although references will be helpful, especially regarding
stowage details. The decals themselves are superbly printed by Microscale.
They feature excellent registration and color saturation and are on a
very thin carrier film. As the manufacturer states, handle them with care!
Considering the quality, value for money and presentation, this one’s
an excellent deal.
Highly recommended.
Echelon Fine Details are available from retail and mail-order shops.
Or direct through their web-site at: pachome1.pacific.net.sg/kriegsketten/,
e-mail: kreigsketten@pacific.net.sg.
|
|
