At long last! The Revell 1/35 Leopard 2A6M (pic heavy)

[codenamestyrene]

Sorry for the delay everyone, but taking photos and transferring them to my computer has been quite the Herculean effort (largely because my PHONE takes better photos than my digital camera and I have terrible lighting). But without further ado, here's some of the work in progress on this big cat!


Tell you what, even at this stage I was extremely excited to see the hull coming together ...especially after having to cover the entire thing in rubber bands because of how badly warped the top of the hull was. I've since heard that this is a common issue with the Revell kits that get crammed into their one piece boxes

I'm sure Revell meant well by dividing the lower portion of the turret into three pieces, but I found it to be a bit of a pain, largely because of how it leaves the bottom a bit wonky if you don't let it set properly.


Speaking of wonky and warped, the two-piece barrel provided with the kit was...lacking to say the least. When I purchased the kit I decided to keep it stock out of the box...though I really really wish I'd been able to find a metal barrel for this one. Again, I zillion rubber bands later (and a trip under the hair dryer) I managed to straighten it out (more or less).


But I soldiered on and managed to complete the turret (not without attaching it and giving it a test spin of course!)




I do have to applaud Revell for this kit's level of texture detailing..rivets are bang on, the non-slip areas are well done and even the two stowage baskets at the back aren't too shabby for being molded plastic as opposed to PE.



And of course, one last test fit/dry run/giddy "I wanna see it done" mock up. I've left off the side skirts/ablative plates to facilitate painting the sides of the hull and running gear so this is as complete as it'll look for the time being.



The kit is provided with rubber tracks that are actually pretty well molded/detailed, but my goodness getting them to stick together! I've tried everything except Tamiya's old "melt 'em and fuse 'em" trick...but I'd rather not. That's pretty much it for now, slowly beginning the painting process, largely because I don't want to do the usual three tone scheme called out in the instructions...I'm thinking a desert tan or maybe a three tone desert scheme if possible. Anywho, there ya have it! Allons-y!

[robertw]

Looking good man!

[Donkeywalloper]

Your doing an amazing job mate.
Don't be to hard on yourself or Revell
Your overcoming and making a great model.
Keep up great work.
John

[codenamestyrene]

Quick update post--the two assemblies are done and ready for paint (I'll post primer pics soon as possible). However, I've run into a bit of an issue. Each side of tracks is two halves that have to be mated together first before being long enough to run the length of the thank. Said halves have come apart since last I posted. I've tried both plastic cement (specifically Testors Model Master thin) and super glue, and both have flaked right off. Anyone have suggestions as to another brand or glue type? (I've yet to try my Tamiya thick, pva, or Tenax, but wanted to get opinions before I melted my tracks down to goo).