Thanks, mate!  

Thanks!

I've been watching the Tacom and Meng Leo builds, all look like really nice kits. I've been pondering the Meng Leo2A4 myself.

Karl-Heinz almost has a tank ready......

Hmmm.....  new look?

I got a little bored last night, so I folded the rear mud flaps like all the pics I have or have seen....    and  I also have a fair pic of the smoke launchers with the caps and chains. Assembly is done, just need to head to the store for paint.

Wow, talk about a "dropped project".....   I had a little time the other morining, and thought about working on the T-62, and then thought again. So instead, I grabbed this thing and shot some green, Tamiya IJA green. It sure is green, but I'm fairly confident a good wash will fix that.

Its very nice to see some color on this beauty, Russ. Can't wait to see how this one turns out!  :)

So, two months since I touched this one. Wow.

In a fit of something or other, I cleaned up my cave, and once I had some bench space, I had room to take a pic of the Leo, with its new coat of green, not the tree frog color I first applied. I'm quite a bit happier with this as a base coat, so maybe now I can get moving again.

And just for kicks, I now have my entire stash of "virgin" kits out of my work area, in a separate cabinet the office next to me no longer wanted:

I feel much better now.

She looks good! Love to see you finish her and the T-62. 

Me too.

Some progress:

Basic camo on, next a coat of clear, then I can do a little detail painting and begin weathering.

RBaer

(Hi, my name is Russ and I use rattle cans) 

Hi Russ.

Any chance I could get the Tamiya kit # or a box art pic?  My son REALLY wants an A5 but the ones I've seen are $50+ on ebay/LHS but I think that's for the newer version.  If there's an old one available that would be great!  He's still a novice so the old Tamiya kits are perfect.

I'll have to show him your thread...nice work so far!

Camo looks really good! 

SMJ: It's kit number 35242, and I picked it up at a show for $10. It's a realy sweet heart of a kit too. I bought the Eduard etch set for it, also pretty affordable, under $20, and it's got a lot of useful parts in it, most notable being the screens for the turret baskets, for which Tamiya supplies their usual rather coarse nylon mesh. The kits engine cooling outlet covers are actually very well done, but the Eduard replacement parts are really nice too. It would be possible to do a totally OOB build on this kit, and leave off the turret baskets, as they weren't always fitted.

G, thanks. I'm following the painting guide in the Tamiya instructions, and using Vallejo paints for the camo colors, thinned slightly with good ol' tap water.. They go down really well with a brush, and so far aren't leaving any surface imperfections if you use slow strokes, and cover well too. The black is one coat, brown two.

RBaer: That's the kit I was pricing...and you got it for $10 ?!?!?!  I told my son it would better to wait until the next contest vendor room and your reply CONFIRMS it!!!

Thanks for the info on the AM goodies...he's an OOB level builder, he'll be excited to just have the kit.  Thanks for taking the time to help me out. 

Wow, brush painted!?! I have a M60 I want to build in the MERDC scheme and thought about brush painting the small sand and black patches. I have some Vallejo paint in black, I'll have to see about picking up some sand and giving it a whirl! 

SMJ, glad to, and it'll be a good kit for him, and yup, $10. I guess it's out of the spotlight now that all the Meng Leos are on the market, but I really like grabbing kits off the vendor tables at contests too. I never had a real urge to build a Leo 'til I saw this kit so cheap.....

G (Cliff?), I currently don't have room to use an airbrush (although I do have one now) so it's either rattle cans or a brush. I really like the Vallejo paints too. Depending on the color and what's underneath it, one coat usually does it.

Well,
   I guess all the Tigers are in the other room...... eh?

Oh yeah, it's Cliff. Does seem a lot less work than all the masking I end up doing everytime I spray something! 

Rbaer: I know what you mean about the Meng offering taking the spotlight.  I just read a recent build article depicting a Finnish version...that looks like a GREAT kit!  I have the HobbyBoss A4 version in the stash that's about 1/2 done and I was considering giving it to my son (he's been pestering me for it) and then by the Meng.  But $60+ for another kit?!...hmmmm

Your thread has got me thinking about jumping back to it and finishing her up myself!  It's a decent kit with some PE included and I bought an AM barrel so it should turn out to be  a respectable build.  Here's the weathering I was going to do, looks like fun huh?!:

Looking forward to some more progress pic's...keep 'em coming!

Good, that is looking real nice I lik the cammo. It is always refreshing to see modern tanks.

Tigers? What Tigers? Actually, I have built three of the Tamiya KT's: one the ancient original release with a bunch of scratch and Friuls, the other two being the recent release, one Porsche turret, the other from the "Ardennes" boxing. Both were fun, but my general tastes, as you can see, run elsewhere.....

I like the Finnish Leos, and it seems like they're always pretty nasty once they get out on exercise.

And drat, I did the detail painting, gloss and decals last night while the playoffs were on but accidentally deleted the pics before I got them uploaded just now. Argh.

Looking nice, Russ; one question about your camo though--shouldn't at least one of those color blobs connect over the turret roof? They just strike me as a bit suspect, all terminating on the top like that. If I'm wrong, correct me-- do you have a diagram that shows that? 

Thaks, Karl. I'm copying the Tamiya painting guide, which is amazingly accurate, according to someone on another forum. You're referring to the brown, I'm thinking?

So, pics of a very shiny tank with decals:

First  dirt application:

Almost there. Karl-Heinz wants to know when he gets painted.

Russ, I like that dirt a lot. It got better since the first picture was taken. That Leo looks mighty nice! Tell Karl-Heinz "Moment Mal!"

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Rbaer: That dirt application REALLY makes me want to build one of these.  I especially like how you varied the amounts on the road wheels, skirts and turret, nicely done!  

I couldn't figure out the Karl-Heinz comment at first because he blended in so well!

Pawel, thanks. I was debating whether or not to make it dirty, but pics of stuff in Kosovo show lots of nastiness, and that's the way I like them, so dirty it is.

SMJ, thanks. It's a great kit, and I've enjoyed building something that doesn't have any obvious errors and that has good parts fit too.

That mud looks terrific! Wish I could get mine to look half as good.