OK, there's several different points here. But the big one is that I may have misidentified the M1 subtype represented by the Vanishing Point model. This page shows where I went wrong. If you scroll down through the page you will find 4-view plans of the three main variants, the M1, the M1A1, and the M1A2. It looks as though I assumed the VP model was an M1A1 when it appears to be an M1. The difference is a shorter 105mm gun, which has the fume extractor closer to the breech. The M1A1 and M1A2 have a smoothbore 120mm gun. Yeah, some of us care about the details. If you're modelling current US forces, the DAZ model is the one to go for. Of course, it's not hard to composite the two models, making the DAZ hull and VP turret/gun invisible.