Yes, the Leo 2 has some sort of composite armor in the turret. I'm not sure if its the Chobham armor like on the M1 and Challengers, but it is supposed to be very well protected.

Back when the Leopard 2A4 was brand spanking new, my dad pointed out the vertical armor on the turret, which he said reminded him of the WW II Tiger.  We wondered why the Germans didn't slope the sides, a lesson they learned with the Panther.  But a quick look at the top view of Stik's model clearly shows just how thick the frontal turret armor is.  A tanker buddy noted that what was inside was most likely a combination of sloped armor and air space to defeat HEAT rounds.  I wonder if they employed composite plates and something like Chobham armor, as the Leo II is a contemporary of the British Challenger.

Thank you Gamera! Yes, the Leo 2 does have a different look when it's not in the NATO camo. The black basing sure helped here for the tonal variation of the Gelboliv.

Oh that looks soooooooo good!!! 

I've mostly seen Leopards camoed but a monotone scheme can be the hardest to get to look 'right'- love how yours came out. 

Real G

Nice work Stik!  The Leopard II is 80's Cold War cool!

 

Thank you sir! The Leopard II is indeed a cool looking machine!

Nice work Stik!  The Leopard II is 80's Cold War cool!

I built this in a bit under 12 hours, divided up into three four hour sessions for So.Cal.AMPS 12 Hour Build Challenge. It won’t win any contests, but it felt good to finish another build! 

And all things considered, I’m pretty satisfied with how it turned out. This is my first time using AK Real Color paint thinned with Gunze Mr Leveling Thinner, and I really like how the paint airbrushed. Last time that I airbrushed I used Tamiya thinner, and it was a much grittier finish.

My exact thoughts On 12 hours. 

Thank you Bill. I can imagine that the Italeri Leopard 1A2 took longer than 12 hours. It's a much better detailed kit. Did you post that build on here? I'd love to have a look at your Leo and see the corrections made.

Carlos,

I just saw this thread, so, given that I am a huge fan of the Leopard series, I will take a seat and follow along.  I just finished the Italeri 1/35 Leopard IA2, which I modified too actually represent the A2, and gave it a gelb oliv color.  I guarantee that it took far longer than 12 hours!

Bill

Gamera

Very cool! The black primer gives her a nice sinister look! 

 

Thank you G. And yes, I agree 100% about the black look. Positively wicked!

Very cool! The black primer gives her a nice sinister look! 

Mopar Madness

Back in the 80's, these ESCI 1/35 kits were pretty great.  First kits with individual links if I recall. 

 

They were hit and miss. The T-72 kits are weak, probably the worst of the bunch.  Then afterwards I'd rank from bottom to top Leopard 2s, M1s (M1 good, M1A1 bad- more of an M1E1), T-55s, BMPs, and the best being the M60s. All the tracked vehicles had link and length tracks, which I much prefer to indy link tracks. Then there were their HMMWVs and LAVs, which were hit and miss as well. 

Back in the 80's, these ESCI 1/35 kits were pretty great.  First kits with individual links if I recall. 

GreySnake

That’s looking really good stik! The primer really made the kit look better. 

 

You can say that again. It doesn't look so chintzy now. It's not a bad kit, but it does need a little extra effort beyond what comes in the box.

Session 2 finished up a little while ago, and it was mostly smooth sailing. There were no major surprises along the way, and even my planned modifications and additions went without trouble. At 3 hours in to the session I had all construction completed. The gray parts are Hobbyboss, from a sprue that I bought online to provide missing detail items

And 45 minutes later I had a nice coat of Mig One Shot Black Primer on... and my airbrush cleaned!

I have four hours left in the next session to paint, decal, and weather. I just might pull this off!

Thank you Keyser. Normally I'm with you on seeing myself complete a build in such a short timespan. But it can be done. Just gotta resist the AMS urges... LOL!

Nice progress for only working for 4 hours. It would be hard to see myself finishing a kit in 12 hours.

RBaer

Wow. Twelve hours, total? I can stare at my boxes of loose parts for 12 hours......

 

Well thankfully that is not against the rules. We can stare, oodle, plan, plot, order all the AM in the world that our heart desires and wait for it to be delivered and have it standing by. Just no construction work of any sort during the intervening down time... 

Really it's like one of the Weekend Madness GBs here... just more compressed for  time, with very long breaks in between.

Wow. Twelve hours, total? I can stare at my boxes of loose parts for 12 hours......

Gamera

Nice work! Hate waiting to see more though! 

 

Thanks Gamera. I'm hating the wait to do more! Like a kid waiting on Christmas morning to open presents... lol!

Nice work! Hate waiting to see more though! 

Thanks Grey. It's a typical ESCI 1/35 armor kit. Not as nice as their BMPs or M60s, but way better than their T-72s. Just a tad behind their T-55 kits in quality of detail. Perhaps I'd put it on par with their LAV kits. 

I just hate having to wait a month before my next work session on it...