Tamiya Leopard 2A6 in 1:35

[Guest]

Hi guys! Here we have a Tamiya Leopard 2A6 in 1:35 scale. This was a project I started while waiting for my Panther II accessories to come in the mail. The Leopard 2A6 in my opinion is the coolest-looking modern MBT. Those angled turret cheek plates make it look mean yet futuristic! On top of that, this one mounts the Rheinmetall 120mm L/55 which is an improvement over the L/44, due to increased muzzle velocity. Also makes the gun look less snubby! Here's the box art.





The plastic is a dark green with excellent mold quality. Everything is very clear and I haven't found any flash! On top of that it seems to cement together very nicely; responds quickly and sticks strong.


First came the rear plate. They wanted me to paint the tail lights but I will do that later.





Then the running gear! These went by much faster than my other kits. Three parts per wheel including the poly caps.





At first I had no idea how to attach the poly caps. Everything I tried didn't work! Then it took me 30 more minutes to finally find a thread on some forum (I think it was Armorama; lovely site to use for quick help!) that said all one has to do is drop the cap between the wheel halves then cement them together without getting cement on the poly caps, like so.





A finished wheel. Easy! Cameo appearance from my Panther II running gear. They say hi!





The gang's all here now; running gear finished without a sweat. Featuring Tiger II running gear this time; I put those in storage due to lack of space. They'll be back when the Panther II is done though!





Then work began on the lower hull. The return rollers are not roll-able; they are static.





Lower hull done! The kit comes with slotted bars to keep the suspension arms in line during the cementing process. Handy! On top of that the poly caps in the wheels makes attaching everything so much easier. I wish Dragon's WWII kits had them!!





Here's the sum of that day's work. Did some of the turret and most of the frontal part of the upper hull. The gun was 2-piece plastic but still looks nice. The kit comes with an option to use the L/44 or L/55. I went with the L/55; looks better!





More to come! Now that I am waiting for more Panther II stuff to come in, I'll resume work on this.


Post your thoughts!! ^_^  

[Guest]

Here's a fun Leopard 2 gif to show how even the earlier versions were in keeping with the highest traditions and standards of German excellence. c:

http://9gag.com/gag/aKBoG8j

[monica]

very nice start to this one, Ryan ,looking good,so far,

[Guest]

very nice start to this one, Ryan ,looking good,so far,

Tank you very much. c:


WARNING, THIS POST CONTAINS BLOOD if you are squeamish at the sight of blood and/or pass out, pls scroll past


Update! Got some work done on the turret today. Here's a look at the top. I added the PERI-R17A2 panorama periscope (circular thing behind the commander's hatch), the gunner sights (decided to keep the box open), the commander's periscope, finished the loader's hatch, the smoke grenade launcher holders, and added the rear turret box thingy as well as the spool for something inside said box. I also finished the add-on futuristic-looking armor. The lifting hooks and gunfire simulator were added yesterday.





Aaaaaand I had a whoopsie. My worst to date. :L My sprue cutters are kinda bent on one of the tips so I use my desk (it's a $25 desk from Goodwill but awesome) to straighten it out as much as I can. This requires a lot of pushing force which leaves dents and scratches in the desk. But like I said, that's fine because it's an expendable desk. This time it went horribly wrong. I pushed down on the curved part a little too hard and the sprue cutter shot downwards after passing the "sliding point" on the curve. My index finger caught the brunt of the blow. All of it actually. Almost my entire hand was covered in blood after a minute or so, as well as my other hand from trying to prevent the blood from dripping. I spent the next two/three minutes arguing with my brother to try to get a band-aid to stop bleeding on his floor. Fun... Now for the damage!





This makes it look much less worse than it was lol. Here it is all cleaned up. Doesn't look too bad but it definitely bled a LOT.





The culprit!





Anyways, back to the German engineering! Here's a front shot, showing all the nice lenses.





And a top-ish shot to show the futureplates. c:





Next step is to add the turret baskets with the mesh stuff and smoke grenade launchers as well as some other stuff. Kinda nervous as I haven't cut mesh before... Tamiya just tells me to cut in the "exact shape and size" as the instructions. More to come!

[monica]

oh lol, ouch,know that feeling very well,and it dose hurt, O.o


very nice going with the turret,

[papa 695]

Looking very good Ryan.


But I think the Merkava is the best looking modern tank 

[Guest]

Very nice kit there Ryan, and youve moved along very fast. Good job getting those wheels done, always the longest part for me.

[Guest]

Thanks guys! And Papa, the Merkava does look nice. c:


Do y'all have any tips on cutting the mesh for the turret boxes down to size?
 

[Ian M]

Do y'all have any tips on cutting the mesh for the turret boxes down to size?

Yep- Dont cut your fingers doing it... LOL. Sorry. 


Use a rounded blad and roll the curve into the mesh to prevent it pulling out of shape, or hold the part flat on the desk with a straight edge and cut it carefully with a new blade.

Oh if you think your little slip up with the cutters hurt, try getting a finger in the way when you are clipping small parts off the sprue.... ouch...

[Guest]

Yep- Dont cut your fingers doing it... LOL. Sorry. 


Use a rounded blad and roll the curve into the mesh to prevent it pulling out of shape, or hold the part flat on the desk with a straight edge and cut it carefully with a new blade.

Oh if you think your little slip up with the cutters hurt, try getting a finger in the way when you are clipping small parts off the sprue.... ouch...

LOL! It's okay, I was laughing just a few seconds after the cut happened. xD


Hmm, I see. Like a "detail blade?" I think I've seen curved blades called detail blades. For now I've just been using scissors as they shapes are just straight lines. The outer strings on the mesh keep coming out though.


I hope to never have that problem lol! I try to cut small parts off the sprure with the modeling knife and bigger parts with the sprue snipper.

[Guest]

Update! The turret baskets are done finally. That was challenging lol, the mesh kept unraveling. So at first I cut them out based on approximations and constantly holding the mesh up to the instruction design... Take note of the unraveling beginning.





SO after doing the first two parts of the first basket, I had a genius idea. I thought, HEY, why not take a page from my old playbook and cut out templates... Then use them to cut out what I need!!














And the results were much better this time!

[Steve Brodie]

looking good, when I built the hobbyboss 2A4M CAN for armorama,  I found this site usefull if you want to add any upgrades / details - Leopard Club

[Guest]

Good work on the Mesh there Ryan mate. The kit is really beginning to look the part now. 

[Guest]

Good work on the Mesh there Ryan mate. The kit is really beginning to look the part now. 

Thanks!  Just have to ask, do you know of any good ways to attach mesh to plastic? I just used some super glue...

looking good, when I built the hobbyboss 2A4M CAN for armorama,  I found this site usefull if you want to add any upgrades / details - Leopard Club

 Ah yes! Leopard Club. Maybe for future kits; I have already made an oops with this one according to someone who actually drove a Leopard 2A6 (lucky guy...). He said the gunfire simulator was only mounted during exercises and not in battle. I feel there may be more errors I've made that can't be easily corrected. xD

[monica]

Good work on the Mesh there Ryan ,did that come with the kit,or did you just buy some, ?


small things like that make a big differences,