1/35 Tamiya Leopard 2 A6

[garywintin]

Well, Now that the Lowe and ZTD-05 is out of the way, I can work on this....
and yes, it's another Leopard2

The kit was a gift from a dear friend, the name is Bret and goes by Mech Tech on our Mecha Lounge Forum. Thank you dear Bret for giving me this kit. It would have cost me nearly £40 if I have to buy one myself. As a sign of gratitude, I sent him a Zvezda T-90. He really loves it.

Well, no special introduction would be needed for this kit.



Here is the sprues and parts laid out for you guys -



Per Tamiya Standard, some of the parts are really simplified so I bought a set of Eduard PE.
Here is the set of P.E laid out -


Alright, lets get started -

The very first thing I did was put on a piece of Photo Etch part on the arm for the return roller -



Followed up by a complete attachment of the Suspension arms, shock absorbers and return rollers -


After ward, I moved on to putting some more pieces and photo etchs on the rear hull -


You can see those itty bitty P.E parts I put on the tow hooks. Here's a close up on one of them -


I decided to get rid of the kit supplied mud flap and put on the after market P.E.


Followed up by some more P.E on the front hull -


More P.E on the side of the sliding-driver-hatch


Some more P.E on what I believe are a storage for the Gun-cleaning rods -


More P.Es and other parts put on the front left -


Front right -


and this is how the entire nose looks like -


That's the Front hull taken care of Next update, I will try to finish the rear hull.

See ya next update

[Paul]

Nice Gary been wanting one of these myself so I'll enjoy watching it come together.

[Gav0909]

I do like the Leopard 2, and with that PE it should turn out great.

I always wondered though, what is the small shield shaped thing with the cross in it on the rear hull?

[garywintin]

I do like the Leopard 2, and with that PE it should turn out great.

I always wondered though, what is the small shield shaped thing with the cross in it on the rear hull?

It's a ( in a nut shell ) convoy light. It's called a Leitkreuz -

' The Leitkreuz is part of the lighting system of military land vehicles. To provide any evidence opposing forces may at dark the road driving lights, for example, for driving under combat conditions of tanks and trucks through the so-called Tarnlicht be replaced. It helps the following vehicle in the column to detect the position and the distance of the preceding vehicle. The lighting of the Leitkreuzes is very weak, so it is only a few meters far visible to the naked eye even in total darkness.
The blackout lighting has four stages, Leitkreuz illuminated when the stage 1 and 3
The Leitkreuz (also Tarnlicht Leitkreuz- called) is located at the rear of a vehicle and is attached to something covered up usually. It consists of a green rubber plate with a painted white cross. At the intersection of the cross-beam body is attached a small lamp in which there is an incandescent lamp (24 V / 4 watts). Through four holes in the lamp body, the white cross beams are selectively illuminated. To stabilize and protect the lamp, a cross-shaped frame is attached from thin steel tubes. The flexible rubber plate is mounted so that it is possible not damaged or torn off when driving off-road.
When driving in the dark column at least one stage of Tarnkreises should be generally used. The illuminated in this state Leitkreuz represents the minimum of what is required of the following drivers for orientation. This is especially true when driving on forest roads at night where little or no residual light available and the front man can only be guessed yet.
Rides Leitkreuz or the Tarnlicht ever be carried out only on command and not permitted on public roads in peacetime. ''

[HWGuderian23]

Seems to be an interesting project Gary!

What do you think about the kit? Is it worth the money and do you plan on using aftermarket tracks for the Leo?

Looking forward to see your progress...

[Coen]

Nice Kit Gary. I'll be watchin you build this pretty closely Dude.
I have a HobbyBoss 2A6 that I'm going to use in the Canadian Commemorative GB on Nov 11.
I've already got the decal set for it.
I know little else about the Leo 2 though.
So take lots of pics my friend... your audience is takin notes haha.

[Dunhill2005]

Hi Gary
Very good description of Leitkreutz and Tarnkreis . Could come from a German .
In the description of your images a small error has crept.No panic, nothing bad .
The rods are not used to clean the gun. The bars are for the camouflage net.
They are used to change the contours of the vehicle.
As I have seen your kits so far,this becomes also a masterpiece! Great work so far

[Dunhill2005]

As I see now, you were not sure. now you has it

[T3hGuppy]

Very nice so far dude.

Really want to give these modern MBT ago maybe if the modelling gods smile on me for xmas lol.

[HWGuderian23]

Hi Gary
Very good description of Leitkreutz and Tarnkreis . Could come from a German .
In the description of your images a small error has crept.No panic, nothing bad .
The rods are not used to clean the gun. The bars are for the camouflage net.
They are used to change the contours of the vehicle.
As I have seen your kits so far,this becomes also a masterpiece! Great work so far

Thanks for sharing this information Dunhill !
I had no idea what's that rods for.

[garywintin]

Hi Gary
Very good description of Leitkreutz and Tarnkreis . Could come from a German .
In the description of your images a small error has crept.No panic, nothing bad .
The rods are not used to clean the gun. The bars are for the camouflage net.
They are used to change the contours of the vehicle.
As I have seen your kits so far,this becomes also a masterpiece! Great work so far

Thanks for sharing this information Dunhill !
I had no idea what's that rods for.

I had no idea as well.. Thank you Dunhil.... for the info .. please do correct me if you see more... please please please

[garywintin]

Seems to be an interesting project Gary!

What do you think about the kit? Is it worth the money and do you plan on using aftermarket tracks for the Leo?

Looking forward to see your progress...

That's a very hard question to answer HW.... I, for one, think this is a great kit without the use of any PE part but one could always indulge himself in some extra.. but no, I sinceerly don't believe one would need PE for this. Also, I think this is a bit over priced as HobbyBoss Leo2A6M and Revell Leo2A6 can offer the same standard of level of details and such.

[garywintin]

Nice Kit Gary. I'll be watchin you build this pretty closely Dude.
I have a HobbyBoss 2A6 that I'm going to use in the Canadian Commemorative GB on Nov 11.
I've already got the decal set for it.
I know little else about the Leo 2 though.
So take lots of pics my friend... your audience is takin notes haha.

Hey Coen.. weren't you a '' Green '' ?? Now i'm seeing your name as '' black '' . what's wrong??

anyway - You taking about the hobbyboss 2A6M with the slat armours?? That is a great kit.... My knowledge on the Leo2 is limited as well but Im researching and learing ...

You got it partner..... you should know by now I take so much photos and make detailed WIP...

[Dunhill2005]

Hi Gary
Very good description of Leitkreutz and Tarnkreis . Could come from a German .
In the description of your images a small error has crept.No panic, nothing bad .
The rods are not used to clean the gun. The bars are for the camouflage net.
They are used to change the contours of the vehicle.
As I have seen your kits so far,this becomes also a masterpiece! Great work so far

Thanks for sharing this information Dunhill !
I had no idea what's that rods for.

I had no idea as well.. Thank you Dunhil.... for the info .. please do correct me if you see more... please please please

Oh! I do not know if I should?
Correcting other seems unfair to me. One tries to make his kit as well as possible and then another comes and says, here and there are errors.
I have served as a soldier in a maintenance regiment.So I have seen and repaired a bunch of Leo's.

[garywintin]

Oh! I do not know if I should?
Correcting other seems unfair to me. One tries to make his kit as well as possible and then another comes and says, here and there are errors.
I have served as a soldier in a maintenance regiment.So I have seen and repaired a bunch of Leo's.

Oh please... there's no harm in '' hey gary.. that's not a (something ) ... that's actually a (somthing else ) .....
beside, I'm not a stuck-up-tight-@$$ so I welcome knowledge .... knowledge is power, remember??? hehe

[Dunhill2005]

Gary, as you wish
Then let's begin. Where to start?

[Dunhill2005]

General comment:
If a Leo driving offroad

1 Mudflaps folded up
2 Removed headlights or covered
3 Mirrors folded down
4 Antennas not tied down

OK it's a Leo 2A4 but the orders are the same...

Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F073468-0019,_Manöver,_Kampfpanzer_Leopard_2.jpg

[Rob]

Ahh, this is why I love this forum: great models and modelling and knowledge freely shared. Grand!

[HWGuderian23]

Ahh, this is why I love this forum: great models and modelling and knowledge freely shared. Grand!

Agree with Rob!

Glad that guys who served on this type of tank share their knowledge with everyone here !
In this way we're all able to learn something during the building process!

Thanks again guys and keep it up...

[garywintin]

Right .. I have an update for you guys. I decided to finish everything on the rear deck.

I first I started off by putting on the photo etch grilles for the two cooling unit -


I deviated a bit and decided to put on the photo etch around the two little domes, which are the air intakes grilles for the engine. I also on the little box ( what it is, I have no idea ) that is sitting on a what is supposedly a tripod stand. I also put on some PE on the little thing which is the third leg of the stand I mentioned. I also made the storage area and attachment for the pick axe.


I cut off the saw from the kit and replace it with a P.E part. Also made a storage box for the saw and made sure the saw sit nice and tight in the storage box -


Followed immediately by a crow bar next to that saw and another two ( which I do not what ) on top of the saw storage box


The left side of the engine deck is occupied by two Shovels -


And here is the most rear of the deck, where a long round spanner ( I belive it is a spanner ) sits. You can also see other small PE brackets along the raise line.


Here is how the entire engine deck looks with all those PE.


Happy with the entire and having completed assembly on the entire hull, I moved on to the turret.
First, I put on a ring of PE on the orginal mantlet -


Made the entire mantlet along with the barrel -


Followd by gluing two little parts for the commander and loader figures to stand on -


And the Upper turret glued on -


There you have it. That's it for now. Stay Tuned.

[Coen]

That is a massive amount of work for a single session Gary. Wow.
That is excellent PE work. Great show of patience buddy.
Looks freaking awesome!!!!

[Paul]

Great stuff Gary, the PE looks great

[Dunhill2005]

800px-Leitkreuz1.JPG

P1130766.jpg

[Rob]

Super progress Gary, smashing PE work.

[garywintin]

Awesome Dunhill.... thanks so much. .. it annoys me not to know what the hell im lookkng at.... your inputs now will be most helpful for this one and a future 2A7 conversion project

[Dunhill2005]

Leo 2 Triebwerk - Bild 06.jpg

[Dunhill2005]

Oh no!!!!!!!!! I made a mistake!!!!!!
Here is the correction

Bild_019.jpg

[Dunhill2005]

Red markers indicate where oil-filled. White markings show where water-filled

Bild_037.jpg

Behind the yellow cap is the connection between the transmission and drive sprocket.The connection must be disconnected when a tank is towed over long distance.Without separation, the transmission would break down because without a running engine the lubrication system does not work.

Bild_039.jpg

[garywintin]

I don't particularly mind about the wheels that much .. LOL .. I mean, they're gonna be covered with weathering anyway

[garywintin]

Right.. time to update this ....

Last time, I stopped after I put up the turret. Now, I start by putting some of those I need to put on top of the turret roof -


Followed up some kind of a box inside the spacing between the turret and applique armour -


And two more boxes that goes on inside the Aplique armour itself -
Right -


Left -


After that, I put on all the applique armour ( front and sides ). The side armors swivel open like so -


Next, I put on the Commander's sight -


And I moved onto the back of the turret. I had to removed some of the moulded on buckles and put on PE ones


Followed up by what seems to be a fold-able rack -


Which goes on to front wall of the turret bustle like so along with some more stuffs on the floor -


The same kind of rack was built for a second time and put on the outside of the burret bustle -


And the entire rear turret wall was attached along with, what I believed to be, a cable winder -


Two side baskets for the rear turret was made from kit supplied parts and PE -


Which goes on the turret like so -


And I have to spend 2 pain-staking, eye-aching hours of putting those tiny chains on the smoke launchers caps -


Left side -




After that comes the wheels -


And now, this kitty is about this complete -




Until next time

[Paul]

Wow Gary those chains look like hard work, well worth it though as they look great.

Another brilliant update look forward to the next installment

[HWGuderian23]

Looking great Gary !
I'm curious about your next update mate...

[Coen]

Wonderful work Gary!

[Schoof]

Ssooooooo nice and. ...


Ggggrrrrrrrrrr I want to get home ssooooooo bad and continue my Leo 1 after seeing this

[reelmesh]

Great work!

Those chains....

The Leopard 2 A6 is the one modern MBT that I would love to build. I will use your work as a reference if I ever get to build one my self.

Can't wait for the next update!

[jmar829]

Congratulations on that one! Fantastic build so far.

[andreb87]

superb work gary! the leopard really is a badass tank! we fought together with these tanks at the training area bonnland at the infantry school of the german army in hammelburg! city fights and urban terrain! they are replicating awesome!

[conradschmid99]

great work

[garywintin]

Many thanks fella .... Now help me with this .. I need leaves to put on branches .... anybody know where I can get some ( or rather a ample amount ) of 1:35 leaves ?

[ScaleArmorBuilder]

I remember seeing small scale leaves at the local chain craft store. No clue what they were for. Model trains maybe...

[Filo387]

Those chains look amazing

[Paul]

Many thanks fella .... Now help me with this .. I need leaves to put on branches .... anybody know where I can get some ( or rather a ample amount ) of 1:35 leaves ?

Plusmodel do a set of leaves http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PLU285-Plusmo ... 1056034351

And this place do too http://www.green-scene.co.uk/Leaves.html

[garywintin]

Right.. time to update this ....

Last time, I stopped after putting up the wheels and an almost complete turret. So carrying on from that, I put on some more extra bits of P.E. on the turret.

The commander sight seemed to need an extra touch of details in my eye so I decided to put some P.E on it -



Coming up next , are the Jerry can holders or something like that. Eduard instructions provided two options -

This empty rack -


And the one I put on.



I kind of did not liked the empty rack so I just went ahead with the other option even though I have no idea what they are.


I Decided to put on the hatches and shown them as opened. I can't turn off the figure painting bug. LOOL.


Following that, I decided to put on the side skits now that I am almost ready to paint -

Right -


Left -


After that, I decided to paint the tracks before I paint the whole thing -


And after that I painted that whole vehicle










And I followed that up with some picking up the individual details -







I haven't picked out the saw and tow cable yet. I will do so later on.

Well, that's it for now. I will keep you updated. Stay tuned.

[Paul]

More excellent work Camo work looks great, look forward to seeing what you plan next

[HWGuderian23]

Excellent work Gary !
I think you made a good decision to put on all these extra PE parts.
Your paint job on the camo scheme also looks great.

But finally I've got a question in terms of this rubber-tracks:
What kind of primer did you apply on them and how did you prepare them before painting?
I wonder because I always have huge problems with flaking color on rubber parts!

Thank you in advance .

[garywintin]

Excellent work Gary !
I think you made a good decision to put on all these extra PE parts.
Your paint job on the camo scheme also looks great.

But finally I've got a question in terms of this rubber-tracks:
What kind of primer did you apply on them and how did you prepare them before painting?
I wonder because I always have huge problems with flaking color on rubber parts!

Thank you in advance .

I will be perfectly honest with you Markus.. I didn't even put primer on them .. I hand paint most of my tracks. Even this one. I paint them with paint straight from the bottle. I have only had one instance of flaking when the metallic I airbrushed on were too thin. Maybe you might want to experiment more with paint thickness when you paint the tracks or try hand brush with paint out of the bottle just like me.

[HWGuderian23]

Oh! I will give it a shot. Thanks again mate !

[HamilkarBarkas]

Fantastic model so far, all those extra details really make this model unique and more realistic. Awesome

[garywintin]

Fantastic model so far, all those extra details really make this model unique and more realistic. Awesome

Thank you Herr Barkas for the comment on my work... IT really means alot coming from one of my idol

[garywintin]

Alright people... I have some updates for you all -

The first thing I did was putting on the decals -










And I followed that up with the optics and lights -

Driver sights


Front lights


Rear lights


Gunner sight


Commander periscopes and sight


Now what comes afterwards is something that I have never done before - foliage Camouflage

The first thing I did was a camo net with lots of leaves on it.



The net was bandaged soaked in thinned down ''Field Green '' to ease painting and the leaves are Parsley. I thought of using coriander but I couldn't take the smell LOL. The net was wrapped and glued on with science bond glue as it is better to use then super glue.

And I ordered some leaves from Plus models and made myself some branches from wires, painted them in brown and I got these -



Which will go on the model like so -




I noticed the Clear varnish I put on have misted a bit. Probably the cold, windy weather must have affected it. Doesn't matter, it will be gone after weathering so I don't really mind.

Starting from here, I will be working on with a little artistic license as to how the foliage and camouflage are placed.

I have seen those tanks draped with some kind of tape and fabric on top of the camouflages and also on the barrel so I decided to try putting these on -


so combining all of these, this is how my Leo is looking now -






I wanted to try out something that is new for me. How that didn't came out very bad.