More fun with Leo last night: some small seams filled with Vallejo acrylic putty, gun tube  and mantlet started and a few teeny bits built up. I have some Eduard PE on the way, so I don't want to get into the teeny detail bits yet, but it's still going together like a dream. The seams I filled (then wiped with a damp Q-tip) are very small, and most likely due to my assembly rather than any fault of the kit.

Pics:

Some great movement on getting it done!

Thanks. It's one of the best kits I've ever been into, makes it easy.

Cool, those vintage Tamiya kits may not be the most accurate anymore but you can't beat them on ease of assembly and in some cases just plain fun.

Nice start Russ,looks good.

Gamera

Cool, those vintage Tamiya kits may not be the most accurate anymore but you can't beat them on ease of assembly and in some cases just plain fun.

I agree 100%.  I love new and vintage Tamiya armor kits.

This kit is an absolute stunner. I built it years ago, and it's a great build.

This link might help you, Russ. Time I spent out at the Wolfhagen Leopard base while on tour. Leopard 2A6's are the same as A5's but with the bigger gun. Everything else is basically the same. Paint schemes, details, etc,

Wolfhagen Leopards

Enjoy!

Yeah, I'm really enjoying the kit, very refreshing.

I bookmarked the Leo pics, fabulous, thanks Karl!

Cliff, this is a pretty new kit (2000) and is supposed to be very accurate, with very few simplifications. No retail on the backs of the road wheels is one, but I can live with that easily. I also just received the Eduard etch set and some AFV Club reflective lens cover stickers, so I'll be adding some AM.

Anthony, thanks. It's a pleasurable build, no doubt.

Chris, I'm in the same boat. Tamiya kits are hard to beat for good engineering and relative easy of assembly. I think the M51 Sherman is their best example of superb detail and easy assembly, but this Leo kit may even be easier to put together.

I got a start on the brass, and what little bit I did took me as long to do as the entire rest of the kit assembly so far. Sheesh......

Two pics of the back of the turret, where I started, and one pic of a shot of the Eduard instructions, for a question: The part in the top of the frame, showing a piece built up on one of the turret front lifting lugs is shown with the "front" pointed out, but no mention of which side. Anyone? Prime Portal no help.....

Russ,

If I read your question correctly, here's a view of that part. Hope this helps...

And by the way, there are more pics that might help you in my photobucket album.HERE

That's a good shot of the turret Karl, but there's nothing minted to either lifting lug. I'm thinking it's part of the gunfire simulator.

And now I'm off to peruse your album, thanks!

More brass last night, and the commander's ITV (I think).

I still like this kit, things fit as they should, something I appreciate. And kudos to Eduard here, the etch for the turret baskets fit well, nicely done parts.

I'm still plodding along through the brass, and once again I'm glad of the ease of assembly of the kit, otherwise I'd be back in one of my tedious pits.

Looking great.

Looking forward to progress on this!

I built a Leo a few years ago, tamiya West German Leo A4 , great kit :D

Hello Russ!

Nice Leopard - and I'm glad you're enjoying your build.

Polish Army also uses those babies, in case you would like to go for some less usual paint scheme!

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Sorry Russ, I guess I misunderstood your question, Hope you got the info you needed? Looks good to me so far!

Ah my apologies, I was thinking this was another of Tamiya's classic kits. I've always liked the look of the Leopard II, if I wasn't so piled up with stuff now I'd be tempted to pick one up.

She's looking good! I still hate PE, nice to see how well the Eduard set fits.

Gents, thanks.

Karl, it's a tough shot, but I haven't found that little bit in ANY pics, so it's not going on for now.

Speaking of brass, I did some work on the engine deck last night, cooling air intake screens were time consuming, but went on okay. My only issue was due to me breaking one of the covers as I removed the center, which was actually pretty nice in the kit, but the etch looked really good. I'm staying with the kit exhaust covers, as the Eduard parts just look wrong, and once again the kit representation is good. A little creative painting should suffice here......

I put heavy black paper under the big screens so I wouldn't get any light up from underneath. I saw one build a while ago where the builder scratched the rather unusual fans, but they were invisible once the screen were on, so I felt just fine using black paper here.

Also done last night was the brass on the rear, rest of the driver's hatch parts, filling the slots in the tow cable ends in preparation for drilling them out to accept wire and some bits up front.

Pics:

I was moving along at a pretty good clip until I decided to use the brass.....  and then I looked at the Tamiya "grab-blades" and decided they had to come off, and Eduard supplied flat pieces, so about three hours later I have all the hull grab handles replaced with wire. I haven't even looked at the turret yet.....

I think you made a wise decision with those handles. They will lend more realism to the finish later. Not like you need any help with that lol.

Oh yeah - I'd use wire here, too - not only does it look better and stands up to more abuse, but it's also a nice economical (don't want to write cheap!) solution - doesn't cost much money or too much time compared to PE. Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Mike, Pawel: Thanks. Wire's the only way to go here for sure.

Working..........on..............PE......................takes...............so.............much,,,,,,,,,,TI I I I I I I ME!!

Nice work with those wire grabs...I can honestly say that that's more than I would have done. :)

Yeah, there's definitely a good and bad side to PE.

I finished the engine deck last night, and the PE took about two hours. Yuck. And I skipped a lot of it. I thought the tool clamps looked just fine in the kit, and all this stuff is covered up by the turret overhang anyway. I used the parts for the saw and the shovel brackets at the scoop-end, but that was all I had the *** for.

The wire handles are a definite improvement and love those PE engine fan screens.

Looking very good! Those grills are exactly what PE is good for.

Thanks guys.

Yep, nothing beats real wire for a wire (rod) part.

I've been out of town and busy at work, but hope to get back on this cat soon.

Some more bits stuck on:

About all that's left now are the caps on the smoke dischargers and the antennae, then I do believe it's time for paint.

Good on ya, Russ. (Picked up that phrase from an Aussie friend, lol!)