DutchModeling`s (Seb`s) HobbyBoss Leopard 2 A5/A6 NL

[Schoof]

I`ll be doing this little thing for the Homeland GB

[youtube]vmv8qRSjmhE[/youtube]


Hope all goes well

[rm6239]

Hi Mate

Looking forward to seeing this come together.

cheers
Rossco

[Aliktren]

phew, I am not the only one building armor, will be watching this one with great interest and making notes

[Schoof]

Here is the official start to the build !

First some Wiki Wisdom....:

Leopard 2

The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s for the West German Army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and twelve other European countries, as well as several non-European nations. More than 3,480 Leopard 2s have been manufactured.[citation needed] The Leopard 2 first saw combat in Kosovo with the German Army and has also seen action in Afghanistan with the Danish and Canadian contributions to the International Security Assistance Force.

There are two main development batches of the tank, the original models up to Leopard 2A4, which have vertically faced turret armour, and the "improved" batch, namely the Leopard 2A5 and newer versions, which have angled arrow-shaped turret appliqué armour together with other improvements. All models feature digital fire control systems with laser rangefinders, a fully stabilized main gun and coaxial machine gun, and advanced night vision and sighting equipment (first vehicles used a low-light level TV system or LLLTV; thermal imaging was introduced later on). The tank has the ability to engage moving targets while moving over rough terrain.

In mid-1976 prototype 19 was assembled and shipped to the USA, together with hull number twenty and a special target vehicle to test the armour. The prototype was called Leopard 2AV (Austere Version) because it had a simplified fire control system. It arrived in the US by the end of August 1976, and comparative tests between the Leopard 2 and the XM1 (the prototype name for the M1 Abrams) prototypes were held from 1 September at Aberdeen Proving Ground, lasting until December 1976. The US Army reported that the Leopard 2 and the XM1 were comparable in firepower and mobility, but the XM1 was superior in armour protection. Today we know this was true as regards a hit by a hollow charge, but also against KE-attack the Leopard 2 was inferior compared to the original M1 (400~450 mm to 450~470 mm).[4][5] Its more traditional multi-fuel turbodiesel engine was also more reliable, and provided similar performance with less fuel consumption, with more noise but a smaller heat signature. This type of engine also allowed for quick engine startups and shutdowns to prevent the need for long idling periods on the battlefield. Hull twenty was fitted with simulation weights; it was discovered that these equaled only the weight of a turret without armour modules fitted, invalidating performance data. After the comparative test the Leopard 2 hulls returned to Germany for further evaluation, but turret 19 remained and was fitted to the hull of prototype seven, whilst its gun was changed for the 120 mm Rheinmetall. In tests until March 1977 it was found to be superior to the 105 mm L7 mounted on the Abrams, which was confirmed by subsequent NATO tank gunnery contests.[citation needed]

Development
Even as the Leopard 1 was entering service in 1965, an up-gunned version with the new Rheinmetall L44 120 mm gun was being considered to keep pace with newer Soviet designs, but this was cancelled in favour of the MBT-70 "super-tank" project developed jointly with the United States. The MBT-70 was a revolutionary design, but after large cost overruns, Germany withdrew from the project in 1969. Work on a national development was started in 1970 by Krauss-Maffei. A year later, a choice was made for it to be based on the earlier Experimentalentwicklung (later named Keiler) project of the late sixties (itself derived from the vergoldeter Leopard or "gilded Leopard"), instead of being a modified MBT-70 or Eber. The name of the design was determined in 1971 as "Leopard 2" with the original Leopard retroactively becoming the Leopard 1. Seventeen prototypes were ordered that year (only sixteen hulls were built). They had to have a maximum weight of fifty metric tons.

On 11 December 1974 a memorandum of understanding was signed with the USA for the possible joint production of a new MBT, after the Americans had bought and investigated prototype hull number seven in 1973. In view of experiences in the Yom Kippur War, a higher level of protection was demanded that the prototypes's heavily sloped spaced armour. The weight class was increased to sixty tons. Prototype turret number fourteen was changed to test a new armour configuration, taking on a blockier-looking appearance as a result of using vertical steel perforated armour; it already had been much more voluminous than the Leopard 1's turret due to a large internal ammunition storage locker in the rear bustle. The Leopard 2 thus initially used perforated armour, and not Chobham armour.[citation needed] PT-14 used the 120 mm Rheinmetall gun (as did the U.S. M1A1 Abrams). After this, two new prototype hulls and three turrets were ordered, one (PT-20) mounting the original L7A3 105 mm gun and a Hughes fire control system, a second (PT-19) with the same fire control system but able to "swap out" the gun for the 120 mm Rheinmetall design (and later so changed by the Americans), and one more (PT-21) mounting the Hughes-Krupp Atlas Elektronik EMES 13 fire control system, with the 120 mm gun.

Before tests had begun, the United States had selected the Chrysler XM1 prototype for full development. In January 1977 Germany ordered a small pre-series of three hulls and two turrets, delivered in 1978. These vehicles had increased armour protection on the front of the hull. In September 1977, 1800 Leopard 2 tanks were ordered, to be produced in five batches. The first was delivered on 25 October 1979. The Dutch army had already rejected the M1 because of its high operating costs and the refusal by the Americans to fit a Dutch version with the 120 mm gun and instead ordered 445 Leopard 2s on 2 March 1979. The Swiss ordered 35 tanks on 24 August 1983 and started license production of 345 additional vehicles in December 1987. Although hardly being a major export success in the 1980s (no tank of the latest generation was), the type became very popular in the 1990s, when the shrinking German army offered many of its redundant Leopard 2s at a reduced price. It became successful enough in Europe that the manufacturer started calling it the Euro Leopard, despite France, Britain, and Italy all operating their own MBTs. But with further non-European orders, the name "Global-Leopard" is now used instead.

Here i`ll skip alot and go strait to the 2A5.....

Leopard 2A5
"Leopard 2 Improved" was a prototype-series for enhancing the A4, introducing a wedge-shaped, spaced add-on armour to the turret front and the frontal area of the sides. These spaced armour modules defeat a hollow charge prior to reaching the base armour, and causes kinetic-energy penetrators to change direction, eroding them in the process; it does not form a shot-trap since it does not deflect the penetrators outwards to hit the hull or turret ring. The gun mantlet was redesigned to accept the new armour.
The Leopard 2 Imp was then developed into the A5. There were also some improvements in the main armour composition. The interior received spall liners to reduce fragments if the armour is penetrated. The frontal "heavy" third of the side skirts was replaced with a stronger type. The commander's sight was moved to a new position behind the hatch and it received an independent thermal channel. The gunner's sight was moved to the turret roof as opposed to the cavity in the front armour in previous models. A heavier sliding driver's hatch was fitted. Turret controls went all-electric, increasing reliability and crew safety, as well as weight savings. The gun braking system was improved to prepare for the later mounting of the new L55 gun tube and to enable firing of more powerful ammunition, such as the DM-53 APFSDS. The A5 entered service in German tank battalions in mid-1998.

The Leopard 2(S) is a Swedish Army variant of the Leopard 2 Imp, which has received the local designation Stridsvagn 122. It is based on what was then called "Leopard 2 Improved" and features increased armour on the turret top and front hull, and improved command, control and fire control systems. Externally, the vehicle can be distinguished from the Leopard 2A5 by the French GALIX smoke dispensers, different storage bins, and the much thicker crew hatches.[12] The Strv 122B, a variant equipped with modular AMAP composite armour from IBD Deisenroth, has increased 360° protection against threats like EFPs, RPGs and IEDs.[42] The width of exactly 4 metres (13 ft) has been kept, while the weight increases by only 350 kilograms (770 lb).[42]

The Leopard 2A5 DK is a variant of the Leopard 2A5 similar to the Leopard 2A6 with some small modifications, used by the Danish Army.

Former operators

Netherlands: The Royal Netherlands Army has operated 445 Leopard 2s. 330 of these were updated to 2A5 standard in 1993, and later, 188 of these were converted to 2A6 standard. Many Leopard 2s were sold after the end of the Cold War. On 8 April 2011, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced that the last remaining tank division will be dissolved and the remaining Leopard tanks sold due to large budget cuts.[82] On 18 May 2011, the last tank fired the final shot at the Bergen-Hohne Training Area. They were due to be delivered to the Indonesian Army, which planned to purchase the entire Dutch stock of Leopard 2A6.[83] However, the deal was scrapped after opposition from the Dutch Parliament.[84] The Dutch Army offered its formerly operated Leopard 2A6s for comparative tests to be conducted by the Peruvian Army for possible acquisition.[85] By September 2013, the Leopard 2A6 had been disqualified by Peru due to logistical complexities.[80] The Leopard 2s were eventually sold to Finland in a deal signed in January 2014 for €200 million with deliveries to start from 2015 to 2019.[86] However, in early 2015 this decision was reversed. Due to increasing geopolitical tensions, the Dutch government has decided that its army should maintain at least the knowledge and assets to deploy a tank company of 18 tanks. This number of Leopards will not be sold but are to be returned to service. The decision to augment the armored capability of the Dutch army is still pending.[87]



After all this nice reading..... here the Sprue shots....:







Then first....as always....the wheels and suspension:




The next step had me install the first piece off PE and some towing hooks on the backplate and install the backplate itself




After that i dry fitted the roadwheels and fitted the returnrollers





Here i made a close-up of the bumb stops:



Dry fitting the turret, well part off it, and so work on the front plate:




Tools went on very easily



And not so did the side skirts .... they didnt fit very well and needed some cutting and pursuing but they did surrender !!



Then i started on the main gun , and i forgot to take pictures also the work on the turret started without taking pictures
but luckily i didnt do allot on the turret.....






dry fitted everything i done so far ...... she`s going steadily in a good direction, so far this is a nice and not to hard build, it`s even at the point for me where i start to wonder how to paint it.... either like this:



OR LIKE THIS

[FabianAUT]

I vote for the orange one

Would be something you dont see everyday!

[Tiger131]

Orange would look cool

[Baardmans]

Looking good, I just love the look and sound of a Leo2.
We are keeping some tanks? That is good news but 18 is not really a tank force.
Now I know why a colleague of mine saw 2 thundering by when he had to pick something op from a army base near Utrecht.

[MarkVerploeg]

Nice progres so far
A bit of a shame that we only keep 18 Leopards
It seem that we are not meeting Nato standards since 1997 in terms of budget and personel
Even IS has more tanks then we do but maybe there will be more in the future
The orange "trots op onze jongens" (proud of our boys) leopard is not the same as your kit though
It is a Leopard 2A6 NL wich was painted orange during the 2004 European football championship or 2008 not sure
During that same time Dutch troops where on mission in Afghanistan
And the army wanted to show they where proud of both our troops and football team
I only know this because i knew of this tank and wanted to enter it in this build
You can see the big difference between the A5 and A6 in the gun
The A6 has a 120 L/55 gun instead of the older L/44
Keep up the good work mate
Cheers

[Schoof]

Sorry für the long wait gents but I'll be doing s MASSIVE update on this little build this weekend. .......

[Schoof]

SSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO............ Update time ..... i would say take a seat because this might take some time....



Well... the last time ( month`s ago ) i ended by dry-fitting the most parts,
now then it was time to move on with the turret..



the addition of the copula`s and a storage box on the turret were the first things..



shortly after came the, what i think is, the spaced armour on the front and side of the turret




as you can see it didn`t line up so i decided to swap the panels and that did the trick...






While adding the smoke launchers i noticed that they had the numbers wrong so here is a little correction




A wild cat appears in the Leo box.....



Next up..... the joy ....... turret basket`s made out off PE





Turret all done .....here some close up`s







So she was all done and ready for primer and paint...







A little size compression with a King Tiger.....




Now ..... Badger primer Time....
This was my first time using that very VERY nice product








a little close-up so you can see how nice the details pop with this Badger primer !


so off course next came the first base coat, i used Vallejo Model Air 71.022 Cam. Green for it






as you can see i only put a thin layer on the vehicle, but i liked the effect so much that i decided that i will make this the camo sceme on the Leopard 2A4 i still have in stash !

The second layer off Camo green went on without any problems...










next up was the prep work for the NATO tri-tone camo, i used White-Tac for that and as i would find out later i used WAY to much... you would need to apply it in thin strips and dont push it all down on the surface because it can give you problems getting it off again, as it did to me....





So after the green came the black,
For the black i used Vallejo Model Air 71.251 NATO Black... yeah i know "what a surprise"....
I tried not too paint all of the white tac just to save paint....






aannnddd then ..... the next layer off masking and painting .... even more White-tac ( damn that turret is getting heavy ) and the next colour,
for the brown i used Vallejo Model Air 71.249 NATO Brown and it sprayed on nice and without any problem





and then came the tedious work off removing the White Tac , remember i told tou not to use to much , ..... well i did ...



but after almost an hour , and ripping of the turret baskets and some other pe i had all the tac of



here you can see that if you use to much even the white tac will leave behind some residue....




But offcourse i got a second try with the hull and i decided to chance a few things, firstly i sprayed the brown before the black and used way less White tac



now what would be next.... i guess the wheels.

After looking at loads off pics i saw that the wheels have a red spot in the middle so i had to put that on whit a nice and bright red colour...





and for the rubber i used ( my favorite for doing wheels ) Revell aqua color Matt 9 Antrazit




After letting the paint dry for a few weeks ( 1, it`s Vallejo model air and 2, i was working on something else ) i gave it a gloss coat and did the decals on the Leo...

This was also the first time i used WALTHERS solvaset and i liked it very much, so much that i put my Mircoset and Mircosol in a drawer and i dont think they will come out of there ...ever








On to the detail painting.... and that was so much i was done in 3 minutes ....... Gunmetal gray from Ammo by Mig ( cant tell you the number because the labels on the bottles are Brad Pitt )





PINWASH !!!!!!
i used the Abteilung 502 black thinned with odorless Turpentine....the ratio you ask.... no clue, i just thinned some oil paint and used it







And that is it for now........

[JediBoer]

My favourite tank! Looking great Mate!

[OliveDrab]

Nice job on the camo paint scheme Thanks for the tip on using the white-tac too

[MarkVerploeg]

Nice work on the camo Sebastian
Will you go for only the model or will you be building a base for it ?

[rm6239]

Seb, nice looking camo, I don't know if white tac is to much like blu tac but I find that using and little ball of the blu tack really helps to remove any little pieces that stick to the model.

cheers
Rossco

[Schoof]

Nice work on the camo Sebastian
Will you go for only the model or will you be building a base for it ?

I think I'll do only the model this time. .... I'm running out of space

[Schoof]

Seb, nice looking camo, I don't know if white tac is to much like blu tac but I find that using and little ball of the blu tack really helps to remove any little pieces that stick to the model.

cheers
Rossco

Yeah that's the easiest way to remove the white tac also but somehow it seemsit has left a bit of a residue on the black. ... ah well I'll probably will be able to hide it with the weathering

[Gav0909]

Ppppftt, should have freehanded it

Looks good though Seb, shame about the white tac (blue tac works better in terms of not leaving behind chunks, but is a bit "greasier").

Should look good when finished.

[JasonGaspard]

Looking good Seb, shame about the white tac mess...I use silly putty ever since the tac worms pulled up the paint on a spitfire I did a couple of years ago, it is easier to form, settles into the surface and comes right up with no sticking or residue.

[Schoof]

*UPDATE*

Soooooooo where was i .... aaahhhhhh yes..... the pin wash.....


Letting that dry for a few days i went and sprayed a dull coat on it and then started the weathering.

I decided that i wouldn`t do any chipping as i believe that these modern MBT`s are so well maintained that chipping wouldn`t be very realistic.

So i went in with some Ultimate Mud....









after that, and some talking and consultation on one of the hangouts, i tried sometihing new...

Because the modern MBT`s are all coated in a matt paint the surface is "anti-slip" and because of that dirt and dust will grind into the surface and is hard to remove......

So trying to duplicate that i took some MIG Pigments..


Took a stiff brush and put it into the pot and then just started pushing the powder into the paint to give it a dusty grinded-in look












Here are so day-light pictures so the effect is better to see








As i gave her a dirty look already i thought it might look good to give her some mud splashes.. so i took some Ultimate Dark Dirt and mixed in a little bit Ultimate LIght Dirt and started splashing....











Time to do the tracks ...... and as most tracks they rust...

I first primed the "nice plastic bands " with the Badger Primer and then used the Life Colour "RotBraun"






After that was done , a very tidiues job was wainting for me ...... Rubber block painting...... using the Revell Matt 9 again ....




Now that was done i got her all build up and made some poor lighting pictures...





....




SHE IS DONE!!!

I`ll put up some better pictures in the reveal section

http://intscalemodeller.com/viewtopic.php?f=390&t=14240