Introduction

Time for another clone bricks review. No not the Star Wars™ soldiers. Today I am looking at a Chinese clone. Specifically the Kazi M1A2 Abrams main battle tank. While I have seen a few video reviews of it, I could not find any in-depth written reviews of this set. I aim to change that. 

Set Information

• Title: M1A2 Abrams
• Number: KY10000
• Released: 2016?
• Part Count: 1463
• Price: Varies

Links: Amazon AliExpress

Packaging

My tank was shipped to me without a box. It took roughly 15 days to process and ship from China to Idaho, USA. 

The bags and instructions were tightly wrapped in bubble wrap to protect them during shipping. With the exception of the tracks and some larger pieces, all of the bags were numbered. I also received a small bonus sticker sheet, for some reason. There were two instruction booklets, one for the tank, and for for the all-terrain humvee (review coming soon). 

There is no DSS, as all of the details are printed parts.

Instructions

The instructions are clear with excellent parts differentiation and directions. 

Minifigures

Five minifigures are included with the set. They are (from left to right): 

• Militia Grenadier
• Militia AT (Anti-Tank)
• Gunner?
• Driver
• Commander?

The Militia grenadier is armed with what appears to be a M32 MGL. The Militia AT is armed with a RPG-7.  The gunner has a UMP 9mm with removable(!) suppressor. The driver and commander are unarmed. The figures only have front printing and good articulation. 

The M1A2 Abrams SEP

It is a a very large tank coming in at 27cm long (35cm to tip of barrel), 10cm tall, and 14cm wide. Here it is compared to a Sluban/Oxford tank and the taxi from set 60233 Donut Shop Opening. 

It absolutely dwarfs the taxi with it's menacing size. 

The turret spins 360 degrees and the M256 120mm smoothbore gun moves up and down. The turret is also fitted with a small rod to represent the gunner's coaxial M240 machine gun (mounted beside the cannon). The side mounted smoke grenade launchers and commander's independent thermal viewer (the drum-thingy in front of the loader's hatch) are also present. The tank commander has access to a M2 Browning 50 Caliber machine gun while the loader has a LSAT caseless light machine gun mounted over his hatch. (A Brickarms M60 would have been a better choice for the loader's weapon).  Unfortunately, the hatches are too small for minifigs to fit in. There are also 4 slightly larger-than-life ammunition boxes for the M2 machine gun mounted on the rear of the turret. 

The Coalition Identification Panels (the panels with black angles on them) and the battalion markings (F2 panels) are the only printed pieces in the set.

Interior

The driver's position is well detailed, but there is no way to easily remove/put in said figure without taking apart the front of the tank.  

The tank does not feature a turret basket, instead it has a space for two minifigures in the middle of the hull. The pair of white tiles are supposed to be data screens/controls. The minifigs can only fit if the are reclining backwards. A small rack of what appears to be SABOT anti-tank shells is also modeled. 

Behind this is the engine compartment. The gas turbine engine (similar to that of a jet) is well detailed and includes some minor details. I do not particularly like the inclusion of the transparent blue tile, as it seems to clash with the rest of the tank and feels out of place. The only way to open the top engine hatch is to remove the turret. 

The engine can also be accessed through a pair of doors on the rear of the tank, like the real thing. 

Exterior

Looking at the bottom of the tank, the is no working suspension, even though it is modeled. The tracks roll very smoothly, but only on rough surfaces, like carpet or cloth. 

Having no suspension, the tank simply rides high over obstacles. 

How it should actually happen. 

Here we see a short scene following the crushing of the car. One of the road wheels is swapped for a new one by a repair team. Meanwhile the commander berates the driver for his reckless behavior that damaged the tank. A special forces team provides 360 degree protection throughout the whole process. Not wanting to interrupt the commander, the gunner chats with the leader of the special forces team. 

With the repairs done, the special forces team escorts the repair crew back to the forward operating base (FOB), while the tank returns to it's original mission. 

Destroyed Building

Included with the set is a destroyed building, in which a pair of militia men have set up an ambush. The building has three floors and looks excellent. A stoplight(?) has been modeled as well as a barrel and signpost. Some TNT and a backpack are provided for the hostile soldiers to presumably use as a makeshift IED. 

Amusingly, the position of the soldiers will result in the grenadier being back-blasted by the RPG when it is fired. The building has some minor structural details that make it pop and look unique. 

 

Summary

 

As far as tank sets are concerned, this set is amazing. It has tons of detail, plenty of playability, and overall good looks. The figures could be better, as well as some of the accessories provided. The mold quality of the parts is rather high, however one of my parts was melted. 

Do I like the tank? Heck yeah! It is bada** and looks great displayed on my shelf next to it's 1/16th scale brother produced by Tamiya. Would I recommend it? Definitely, as long as you can find it for a reasonable price. 

Pros

• Realistically detailed
• Well made
• Tons of playability

Cons

• Lack of suspension

Odd minifigures

• Melted piece

Score

How do I rate this set?

• Design - 8/10 Looks like the real thing and features plenty of realistic design details
• Building Experience - 5/10 Not too boring, but not very exciting either. Building the tracks was rather laborious, as expected. 
• Features - 8/10 It has all of the functions that the real tank has and even includes multiple minifigures. 
• Playability - 7/10 I had fun setting up the repair diorama and enjoyed rolling it back and forth when testing the tracks. 
• Parts - 7/10 This set is a decent parts donor with a good variety of unique pieces and accessories
• Value for Money - Variable I got mine on sale for $35 with free shipping. Your experience may differ. 

8/10 - A fantastic replica of the venerable M1A2 Main Battle Tank and good addition to any fighting force. 

Thank you for reading through my review. C&C are always appreciated and needed, as I am constantly working to improve my review and presentation skills. 

I leave you now with the view that many Republican Guard tank crews experienced during Operation Desert Storm.  

 

Minifigures are still copyrighted by LEGO, so I don't think this is the right forum to post this.

I know this is an old thread, but I recently built this in stud.io and had significant trouble getting the 1x3 wedge plates on the turret to line up. Does it work on the set, or is it not possible to build with lego brand pieces. I have substituted appropriate parts, it is just this one area that is giving me trouble.