Hobby boss 1/35 leopard 2A5/2A6

[Jmart95]

I finally have made my decision on what to build, Hobby boss's German 2A5/2A6 kit. I've also got the trumpeter/hobby boss working tracks for this kit(to replace the kit vinyl tracks that were truly terrible), which is the only aftermarket I'll be adding, as well as some braded wire to replace the string included for the tow rope. I haven't decided whether I'll do the A5 or A6 yet, I believe the only difference is the barrel. Going to do some research tonight, and hopefully I can get a decent start tomorrow after work


Here's a sprue shot for the working tracks



instructions and painting/marking guide for the leopard in nato camo




precut lenses for the periscopes and optics units


the kit supplies "tow-rope" unfortunately has to go

[JediBoer]

Another Leopard build! Looking forward to the build!

[DBMiller]

Oh, man, I wish you well on those tracks! They look like the AFV Club tracks I bought for my Marder build. They were not easy to work with!

[PaulAyrey]

Looks like a pretty good kit. Can't wait to see your progress.

[schweinhund227]

Be careful with the Turret Bustle and accompanying Photo etch Baskets...

Do a lot of dry fitting since.. if installed incorrectly those will rub against the Rear Deck ! annoying at best !

if still.... after all they still rub ? You might have to add a very thin shim at the rear of Turret Ring.. to force the turret to tilt forward by
.3 or .5 mm to clear the deck.

Good luck !

This is a very early HobbyBoss kit and ... don't judge the rest of their releases.... the same way you might feel about this kit after it is built!



Take care.

[Jmart95]

Be careful with the Turret Bustle and accompanying Photo etch Baskets...

Do a lot of dry fitting since.. if installed incorrectly those will rub against the Rear Deck ! annoying at best !

if still.... after all they still rub ? You might have to add a very thin shim at the rear of Turret Ring.. to force the turret to tilt forward by
.3 or .5 mm to clear the deck.

Good luck !

This is a very early HobbyBoss kit and ... don't judge the rest of their releases.... the same way you might feel about this kit after it is built!



Take care.

Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely be taking extra precautions on the turret bin now, we'll see how it goes!

[cib2265]

agree with schweinhund - I"m building the HB 2A4 version (slad side turret) version of this kit - and I installed a post in the hull to support the rear deck, but I wish I had built the turret basket directly onto the turret instead of separately as the very vague instructions suggest. The fit is not very good.

Also watch the rear of the hull sides against the back plate, the fit is hard to get right, flash and bulges need to be filed down too.

Aside the fit issues and so-so instructions its a fun build - my first modern - I'm up to the painting stage at the moment (you can see the post as well)

good luck!

[DBMiller]

Here is a link on how to weather those tracks, just in case they are like mine or the Meng tracks mentioned in this post. They look like the same material.

https://trmreviewconnect.wordpress.com/ ... -1-tracks/

[Jmart95]

That looks great Cib! Thanks for the link DBMiller, I stopped using oils after it attacked the glue on a few different sets of tracks, but haven't decided about weather I'll use washes or pigments predominantly to get(well...attempt to get) the effect I want. Since the vallejo washes are pretty thick, I could see them working quite well for the tracks now that you mention them

With work being ridiculously crazy, I haven't had a chance to make an update, but I've been picking along at the kit every short chance that I get. I haven't added any of the smaller bits yet, or taken out the filler(that'll be fun ), but it's slowly coming up on the fun part, the painting stage. After starting this kit, not that it's a bad kit by any means, but I definitely think it would have been a better choice to have gotten the tamiya kit and the eduard pe, the detail is pretty soft and the fit is only decent at best for a modern kit(thanks to you guys for preparing me for it in the comments, at least I knew what I was getting into!). So far its gone together fine(though the gaps are a bit excessive in a few spots), but it's just not the best option for a 2a5 kit now that I've gotten into it.

[PaulAyrey]

Looks great!