Armorama :: Big Cats Mk.III

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Where Armorama group builds can be discussed, organized, and updates posted.

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Big Cats Mk.III

1721Lancers

England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: March 21, 2012
KitMaker: 1,673 posts
Armorama: 1,640 posts

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Posted: Sunday, February 23, 2014 - 05:06 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Quoted Text

Yes

I've already finished my build for this one, but I'll be checking in here to see your progress on the BadMobile 1 A2

John I think you have gotten something mixed up a bit, the BadMobile isn't going to be a Leo 1A2. According to my reference book there were 4 versions between the prototypes and the Leopard A1. This is going to be the second series of the 4.
I am sure no expert on the Leopard, so if I miss something please let me know.

The fit on this kit does not appear to be that good, and for a relatively new (2010) Italeri kit I was hoping for a better fit than this:

Oh well, I have started so I'll finish....

Trevor, nice KT there but I would change the colour of the track clamp on the rear plate. That silvery steel colour is bright, usually they where painted the same colour as the hull. To this you could add steel or graphite around the edges.

Miniflea: that was nice of your wife, what type of tracks are in there, Magic or DS?

Paul

Blackstoat

England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: October 15, 2012
KitMaker: 568 posts
Armorama: 561 posts

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Posted: Sunday, February 23, 2014 - 07:26 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Quoted Text

Quoted Text

Yes

I've already finished my build for this one, but I'll be checking in here to see your progress on the BadMobile 1 A2

John I think you have gotten something mixed up a bit, the BadMobile isn't going to be a Leo 1A2. According to my reference book there were 4 versions between the prototypes and the Leopard A1. This is going to be the second series of the 4.
I am sure no expert on the Leopard, so if I miss something please let me know.

The fit on this kit does not appear to be that good, and for a relatively new (2010) Italeri kit I was hoping for a better fit than this:

Oh well, I have started so I'll finish....

Trevor, nice KT there but I would change the colour of the track clamp on the rear plate. That silvery steel colour is bright, usually they where painted the same colour as the hull. To this you could add steel or graphite around the edges.

Miniflea: that was nice of your wife, what type of tracks are in there, Magic or DS?

Paul

Holy mackerel, that's one bad fitting tub there buddy. That just convinces me all the more that my 'only Dragon & Tamiya' rule is a good one. That said I just bought a Zvezda BA-10. 2 hours in and I was still cleaning flash off one part. It would have been easier to carve it from a solid lump of plastic. Anyway it's back in the box again, probably forever - life's too short

miniflea

Virginia, United States
Joined: October 17, 2011
KitMaker: 237 posts
Armorama: 235 posts

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Posted: Monday, February 24, 2014 - 07:29 AM UTC

A bit of Tiger progress to report. This is my first time building one of Dragon's molded on zimmerit kits (first time dealing with zim at all) and I'm really very impressed with the quality of detail on the kit. At first glance I thought the zim ridges were a bit too shallow but after looking through some of my references it seems spot on.

Turret side

Rear plate dry fitted. Not only is the zimmerit texture good, but the bare metal texture looks good too. The excellent fit is also a bonus.

Started cleaning up the road wheels

And decided to instead begin work on the gun and turret.

Bluestab

South Carolina, United States
Joined: December 03, 2009
KitMaker: 2,160 posts
Armorama: 1,906 posts

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Posted: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 - 07:32 AM UTC

I was able to get some painting done this week. so here's a bit of an update to get things caught up.

Painted a base coat of overall green.

After that had thoroughly dried, I masked it off with painter's tape. I usually use the blue tape for masking canopies and windshields. I usually use auto painting tape for camo schemes. The last time I masked off a vehicle, the auto tape hurt the paint. I gave the blue tape a try and it really didn't stick well.

Shot it with a off-black color I'm trying. Anyway, masking tape removed.

Next step will be brown. I'll give the black a couple of days to dry thoroughly. After that, it should just be a matter of putting the pieces together, washes, drybrushing, etc.

ColinEdm

Associate Editor
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Contributor's Award - This member has contributed content to Armorama in the past year.

Alberta, Canada
Joined: October 15, 2013
KitMaker: 1,355 posts
Armorama: 1,229 posts

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Posted: Thursday, February 27, 2014 - 12:40 PM UTC

Camo looks good Alex!

Charlie-66

#186

Texas, United States
Joined: May 24, 2006
KitMaker: 771 posts
Armorama: 750 posts

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Posted: Friday, February 28, 2014 - 06:15 AM UTC

OK, caught up enough on my other campaigns to jump on this one!

This will be my build. I've been looking through Troijca's King Tiger book and the markings for the tank on the box art appear to be accurate, so for now that's the cammo I'm going to "attempt".

ColinEdm

Associate Editor
ARMORAMA

Alberta, Canada
Joined: October 15, 2013
KitMaker: 1,355 posts
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Posted: Friday, February 28, 2014 - 08:18 AM UTC

Good choice Guy! I just finished that one off for this campaign, great kit. I was going to try that camo scheme as well but my son convinced me to go a different route.

Oh, and have fun with the PE tool clamps...;-b

Tojo72

North Carolina, United States
Joined: June 06, 2006
KitMaker: 4,691 posts
Armorama: 3,509 posts

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Posted: Saturday, March 01, 2014 - 12:34 PM UTC

The ME-109 I was working on bogged down a little,so for a change of pace I got started on my Campaign build,it's moving along pretty nicely

miniflea

Virginia, United States
Joined: October 17, 2011
KitMaker: 237 posts
Armorama: 235 posts

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Posted: Monday, March 03, 2014 - 12:52 PM UTC

Good to see some more King Tigers! I'm considering building one for my next project.

Turret mostly done, only missing the muzzle brake and spare track brackets.

Speaking of those brackets, it looks like I'll either have to cut the pin or drill out the track. Cutting would be easier, but I think drilling would make the join stronger.

Another turret issue is that there is no molded zimmerit below the lower bracket mounting point.

I've searched through my references and it is difficult to find photographs close enough to see this detail, but I managed to find a couple the seem to show that this area does have zimmerit. Always room for variation though I guess.

I've got most of the road wheels cleaned up, just a couple more episodes of Law and Order before I'm done with that. I've never used dragon's DS tracks before and I'm a bit apprehensive about how to approach them. Really would have preferred magic track but oh well.

Rear hull plate parts:

1721Lancers

England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: March 21, 2012
KitMaker: 1,673 posts
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Posted: Friday, March 07, 2014 - 06:35 AM UTC

Andy you'll do wise to stick to that rule of yours

but

without the other kit makers life would be boring

Miniflea that zimm looks damned good but it's all to uniform for my liking. Thats why I always make my own. Nice progress
though.

Alex the camo is looking fine, and I still can't get over the way the main gun looks bent with its offset housing

Guy a beautiful kit you have there, and believe me that will keep you occupied for a day or two

Anthony nice progress there and a word of advice for weathering stage, (I know its a long way off yet) be careful of the screw down points on the PE engine grills, if dry brush
or add pigments with a brush the bristles like to catch here and tear the rest off

.

well here's my progress, not much but all I can manage with this bloody plastered arm

On this version the anti slip on the fenders had to be changed:

so off it came:

to be replaced with Eduards floor plate no. 35786:

the RB 105mm barrel:

Thats it for today, more tomorrow....

Paul

1721Lancers

England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: March 21, 2012
KitMaker: 1,673 posts
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Posted: Sunday, March 09, 2014 - 05:54 AM UTC

Well I've been giving it some more, can't wait for tomorrow
when this damned plaster come off

(hopefully

)

the turret was up today, this needs to be backdated a bit so here we go. The front part of the mantlet needs to go, and 6 screw holes need to be added:

4 grab handles also need to be added:

Infrared search light before the cutting started:

Infrared search light with power cable

The cable was made using a vinyl hose from Academy with 0.5mm wire shoved into it, to make it do what I want not what flexible hose wants

Paul

Nito74

Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: March 04, 2008
KitMaker: 5,386 posts
Armorama: 4,727 posts

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Posted: Sunday, March 09, 2014 - 06:03 AM UTC

Paul, that's some very clean and nice work !

Keep those updates coming !!

Tojo72

North Carolina, United States
Joined: June 06, 2006
KitMaker: 4,691 posts
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Posted: Sunday, March 09, 2014 - 10:52 AM UTC

Major assembly completed.Primed and ready for paint.Next up roadwheels and Magic Tracks

Lonewolf7usa

Michigan, United States
Joined: March 24, 2009
KitMaker: 312 posts
Armorama: 296 posts

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Posted: Monday, March 10, 2014 - 01:49 AM UTC

Lot of nice cats cruising through here. Here is my entry and the work done so far. I'm looking to do a cold war leopard as I saw them while I was stationed overseas. All comments welcome!

miniflea

Virginia, United States
Joined: October 17, 2011
KitMaker: 237 posts
Armorama: 235 posts

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Posted: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 - 02:36 PM UTC

For you Leopard 1 builders, what reference books do you own/would you recommend? I know very little about post WWII armor and your builds have me curious to learn more.

Attached top plate plus two front plates to the hull. I'm thinking I should maybe buy some clamps at some point.

Filling this gap is going to be interesting. I've seen a few builds that include a strip of PE to cover this area but this kit doesn't seem to have that.

1721Lancers

England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: March 21, 2012
KitMaker: 1,673 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 - 09:39 PM UTC

Hi there, here another quick update.
There are no attachment points for the Italeri turret basket, to the PSM turret. So you must take care with the alignment

the barrel which now fits perfectly, after I shortened the attachment part

Miniflea here are my reference books, I'm not sure if you can still get them, but if need anything let know and I'll scan the stuff you want. (if it's in there

)

Paul

Snorri23

Ontario, Canada
Joined: March 25, 2010
KitMaker: 514 posts
Armorama: 261 posts

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Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2014 - 04:01 AM UTC

I do have a plan to build an early leopard, thanks for the insights.

1721Lancers

England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: March 21, 2012
KitMaker: 1,673 posts
Armorama: 1,640 posts

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Posted: Saturday, March 15, 2014 - 08:19 AM UTC

John here's some more on the Badmobile:

some work on the turret

front towing hawsers

tow cable guides

the rear, and I have just seen that the scratched lifting lugs
must go

, as my/this version does not have them

more tomorrow hopefully, happy weekend all

Paul

Nito74

Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: March 04, 2008
KitMaker: 5,386 posts
Armorama: 4,727 posts

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Posted: Saturday, March 15, 2014 - 08:33 AM UTC

Quoted Text

John here's some more on the Badmobile:

some work on the turret

front towing hawsers

tow cable guides

the rear, and I have just seen that the scratched lifting lugs
must go , as my/this version does not have them

more tomorrow hopefully, happy weekend all

Paul

Great work Paul !!

kruppw

Texas, United States
Joined: March 17, 2006
KitMaker: 1,117 posts
Armorama: 1,115 posts

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Posted: Saturday, March 15, 2014 - 10:14 AM UTC

Some very interesting builds going on here. While I’m waiting for some paint to arrive in the mail for another project I’m working, I’ve decided to drive back into this campaign. Now I originally started to build the Iveco LMV Panther, but instead will be building a Leopard C2 without MEXAS armor. I have a host of goodies from PSM using the C2 conversion and the Leopard mine roller, Replacement wheels, and engine mesh, Eduard photo etch set and tracks from Hong Kong Creation. I’ve started some of the work on the hull and have test fitted the turret which I have to say is light years ahead of Italeri’s.

Snorri23

Ontario, Canada
Joined: March 25, 2010
KitMaker: 514 posts
Armorama: 261 posts

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Posted: Saturday, March 15, 2014 - 10:49 AM UTC

What are the plugs on the side of the turret for? The applique armour?

kruppw

Texas, United States
Joined: March 17, 2006
KitMaker: 1,117 posts
Armorama: 1,115 posts

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Posted: Saturday, March 15, 2014 - 11:12 AM UTC

Yes their the mounting bosses for the add-on armour. One thing that is seriously missing from the Italeri kit.

1721Lancers

England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: March 21, 2012
KitMaker: 1,673 posts
Armorama: 1,640 posts

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Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 - 06:51 AM UTC

Thanks John , this one is quite time consuming but that is only
my own fault

, it was intended to be a Leo 1A2 but then
I decided to back it

Christopher a fine choice of kits you have there, they seem a bit familiar

.
Do you have the PSM thermal jacketed 105mm? If not I happen
to have one that I don't need.
If you would like to have it then PM your address, and I'll send you it.

Here's a quick update, the towing lugs have gone:-

Brush holders on the search light box :-

Grab bars on the turret sides and a scratch built FlaMg mount, I know it's not perfect but it's better than the kit thing:-

Paul

Nito74

Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: March 04, 2008
KitMaker: 5,386 posts
Armorama: 4,727 posts

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Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 - 12:11 PM UTC

Very nice Leo's guys !!

Too bad I'll be using my HobbyBoss Leo for the WhatIF Campaign and will mix it with a T-55.
I'm guessing I'll have to come back here and do a 2nd build then...

Paul & Christopher what paint schemes will you be using ?
Plain NATO green, 3 tone camo or something different ?

Also I noticed some very nice KingTiger & Tiger !

This nice little Zoo is getting better everyday

kruppw

Texas, United States
Joined: March 17, 2006
KitMaker: 1,117 posts
Armorama: 1,115 posts

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Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 - 02:35 PM UTC

Paul thanks for the offer

But the C2 conversion comes with a barrel and a separate muzzle with the MRS on it. Besides I also have a spare barrel in my stash that I was going to use to build a leopard 1a2.

John I haven't decided if I'm going to go with the overall nato green or not. I did come across a color profile of a C2 with the hull done in the 3 tone nato and the turret in solid green. I need to check with our buddies from canuckland to see if this is even accurate at all.

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