which tank to buy ??

[captdoug51]

Need help in which 1:18 M1A 1 to buy

The Unimax Bravo Team or the Forces of Valor version
Both in desert tan

Detalil accuracy and newness is important to me

Thanks Doug

[dragon53]

CAPTDOUG51:

For what it's worth, here's an older thread comparing the BBI and FOV 1/18 Abrams.

Link: http://www.warbird-photos.com/gpxd/view ... lit=abrams

[ketelone]

FOV has far more detail. Bravo is more toy-like. Bravo of course costs much less.

[captdoug51]

Thanks!!

That helps

Doug

[tmanthegreat]

To add to the confusion, both have their positive and negative qualities. Certain details are replicated much better on the BBI version (probably more so overall). But the Bravo Team version is not significantly different and has its own positive qualities.

The BBI version replicates an earlier M1A1 from the Desert Storm era in the early 1990s; the Bravo Team version is a later-model M1A1 - and the small differences between the two are replicated enough that you can have both and not quite have duplication. The tan Bravo Team tank replicates a vehicle that took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and is from of one of the units that undertook the famed "Thunder Runs" into Baghdad in early April 2003.

One thing I really like about the Bravo Team version is that the crew figures actually stand in the hatches. On the BBI version, the hole is shallow and so the figure sits. The Bravo Team tank has rubbery plastic on the turret bustle, which can easily warp. The commanders 50 cal MG is also made of soft plastic. The Bravo Team vehicle is a good custom platform, in some ways better than the BBI version. I did some simple custom work to my Bravo Team M1A1 - everything from painting the commander's cuppola view-ports to replacing the MG, to installing an AC unit (made at one time by Pickelhaube) that helps keep the turret bustle from sagging. I've also added CID panels, wire antennas, and stowage to mine. Adding those details really brought out the Bravo Team tank - but are all things one doesn't really need to do with the BBI tank...