As the Hasegawa CV-22B Osprey is up to the varnishing stage and I had some time last night, I decided to get the Leopard 2A6 back on the bench and get the build finished as there wasn’t that much to do on the model. It actually took longer than I expected as the smoke dischargers on the turret needed dunking in hot water to straighten them out then the next fiddly bit was attaching the chains.
With the final bits added I now have a built Leopard;
The etch for the turret baskets looks a lot better than the mesh Tamiya supply;
I made a bracket for the track end connectors using scrap etch and plastic rod as the Leopard I’m planning on features this detail.
The ends of the tow cables were glued to the model as the cables will be added after painting but before the weathering;
Quite a nice kit but it definitely needs some etch (although I did’nt use all of the Eduard set) plus it does need refining such as the moulded on grab handles need removing and replacing with copper wire, I also made new tools where it would have been too much work to remove the moulded detail such as tool clamps. Although I’m not a big fan of ‘rubber band’ tracks I’ll use the kit supplied ones as they are mostly hidden by the side skirts. After I took the photo’s I found some Leopard Club Workshop aerials for the turret after sorting through the box so I may replace the kit ones. The glazing for the turret periscopes and sighting systems will be added after painting and I’ll use the kit supplied stuff as it’s good enough.
All it needs now is a good clean as the model has been sitting around for a couple of months and is very dusty, after which I’ll be able to get some paint on it and make it Leopard number three for the collection.
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