Desert Storm Abrams 1991

My first Ryefield Model kit. 

Vestigial torsion bar. Checking to see if it affects the fit of the swing arms (it doesn't). The fit of the swing arms is a bit loose. 

I'm going to let the swing arms dry for a day before mounting the road wheels.  

I've left off the parts that hold the side armour in place (C21 and C24) until after the suspension is assembled. 

Results of my first session. 

Road wheels and drive sprocket are keyed and are straightforward to assemble. Needed to ream the mounting holes a little to get a smooth fit. It is possible to install the road wheels wrong-side out. 

It took me a moment to figure out the assemble sequence of the barrel. Everything is keyed but the fit is not precise. Watch out for wobble. 

Laterally, it's straight but vertically.... woopsie. Good thing I checked it before the glue was fully set. I was able to remove the rise but then it was bending to the left. Spent the next half-hour straightening and rechecking.  

I glued part B15 to the upper hull first and let it dry overnight. The next day I glue the engine deck (A1) on but only on the righthand side. There is a seam between the two parts that is a little large. 

The fit of the turret is excellant. 

And it's HUGE. 

Ryefield's simple tracks.....  

Knock-out marks on every other trackpad. Sanded before gluing on the guide teeth.  

Closing the gap, I mean seam between B15 and A1. If I was to build this kit again, I would install A1 first. I might wait until after Step 11 (the fitting of the hull top to the bottom) to install B15.
 

The kit's individual track links are keyed and have a precise fit (which is good). Followed the instructions to the letter and the upper run is a half-link too long.....  

Hacked off one link at the end of the run and everything is good (enough). Note that I didn't sand off the knockout pin marks or fit the guide teeth to the upper run. 

Shimmed the end of the run to meet the track on the drive sprocket. Note the token torsion bar. 

Not all the road wheels were touching the track. 

So they were persuaded to.  

Filled the gap of B15 to the hull side with stretched sprue. 

I didn't install the engine doors at Step 7. I waited until after the hull was together to give them as much support as I could. 

The instruction were unclear about the position of the first skirt, door standoff thingy (C21). References to the rescue. 

My kit came with the updated instruction but there are still parts missing from them. 

Step 12 suggests that the side skirts should be assembled and then installed. During a do-over I would try adding the segments individually.