Since i'm off to sunny Afghanistan today I decided to post the "almost" finished pics of the kitty. I say almost because i'm not sure where it's final resting place will be, so thats why the antenae's have been left off.

And I will get Echelon's new decal set when that becomes available for the finishing touch.

Without further adu,.......

























I would like to sincerly thank Jason Bobrowich for his invaluable knowledge and references and setting me straight on many issues during this build LOL. And I would also like to thank Anthony Sewards for taking the time to snap some pics of the Leo's in theatre and posting them to his photobucket site.

cheers

Really nice work Rick....you've done a great job.

Have a safe tour and hopefully you'll pop on here when you get a chance.

Great work Rick.
Good luck and hope to see you posting again soon.

Pretty inspiring work, Rick. That was a finicky build I'm sure, but you pulled it off. Great Job.
Stay safe, we'll talk to you when you rotate back.
All the best
Pete

Nice work! Have a safe trip there!

Have fun in the sandbox, take care. Great build of the Beast, job well done.

Cheers
Anthony

"Gone toe to toe with the Taliban,and won."

Hi

Great job tackling such a difficult build.

Maybe I'll see you over there in a few eeks.

Tom

Rick, nice looking Leo C3 (hey, it might catch on!)

by your depl date I am guess you are part of the TF HQ staff or 408 coming in? If you want to talk models over a Greenbeans, drop by the Role 3 Hospital TOC - I will give me an excuse to get out of here! Be good if Tommy boy comes out here too.

Cheers
Graeme

That's some impresive work look's really good.

Keep your head down and stay safe over there.

Thank you very much for the responses! This place is not what I had in mind for a summer vacation.

This Leo build was VERY finicky to say the least! I would like to build another later on, but i think i'll hammer out some OOB's to relax a little LOL.

And Graeme i'll definitately hit you up for a coffee sometime soon (you did say that you were buying?) Maybe we'll see Tom up here as well. Just noticed that the Dutch Duty Free has a few Leo 2A4's for sale!

cheers

A very nice build indeed! It's exactly the project I had in mind, and thankfully the slat armour is in kit form. I really wasn't too sure how I was going to tackle that! The best part of your build, is that it depicts a Leo 2 from my troop. And I will vouch for it's accuracy, having spent over a month on one, before coming home.

Thanks for the comments! Having crewed on of these badboys you wouldn't happen some info or pics on the exterior battle load and kit? I have seen some with the Hesco wire tied to the bottom of the turret slat and such. I'm hopping to add some gear and more weathering after the decals become available.

cheers

The guys started wiring in the bottom of the slat armour to make room for exterior stowage, as there is precious little space to store much of anything. This was done only at the rear of the turret however to preserve the effectiveness if the slat armour on the sides of the turret. We mostly used that area to stow larger bulkier items, like cots, sleeping bag valices, and the ever present water cooler, and extra ration boxes and boxes of water.The coolers came to us in various standard colours, ( red, blue, etc.), then we sprayed them in tan or green, whatever we could get. We also had small soft cooler bags which we kept between the hatches for easy access to water bottles, most of which were a dark red-ish colour. When you get to the radio antennas, we also had 3 water bottles duct taped upside down on the right antenna, behind the commander. Lastly, most of the slat armour on the side skirts, was all bent on the bottom from rocks and such. Stay safe.

As promised, a solution to your 2A6M marking needs...

Leopard 2 A6M

Yeah cool !!, Ijust placed my order,
Thanks a lot !

Very nice set!

Just ordered one as well!

cheers from the sandbox

Excellent job, Rick. Definitely looks the business.

Is there a model club at the Canadian Base in Afgansistan? If so, is there a way that donations of kits & supplies can be made to them? AMPS has made a project out of sending kits to the clubs based in Iraq and between them and IPMS many, many boxes of kits and model supplies have been made available to more than a dozen "sattellite" clubs in the US system. If there is something similar for Canadian troops overseas, perhaps we can get them some supplies as well.

Paul

Thanks Paul,

I have no idea if there is any model club here on the base. I'll see what I can fine out and get back to you. I think it would be a grand idea.

cheers from the sandbox

looks a really impressive beast Ric ... the slat armour really does look sweet .... can't wait to see the finished article

ps mind and keep your head down over their mate

Hi Rick,

That is an excellent job. I have the kit and thje PE set. I was wondering if you had an earlier thread that contained work in progress pics that I may follow and learn how you got to the almost end state?

I am in the Cdn Navy, and though I would build something different. I am currently in Victoria BC at CFB Esquimalt.

Good luck with yout tour and stay safe!!

All the best

Brad

Thanks Brad (s)!

Here is the link to the build log.



Canadian Leopard 2A6M build

cheers from the sandbox

Thanks Rick,
I actually found it after posting in your thread.

Thanks again

Brad

It's rumored that there is a seacan full of donated model kits somewhere on "the base". Every once and a while the FOBs I have been living at will get a small box of models. (Sometimes they even remember to include glue! I've had to use autobody paint and a medical scalpel donated by our platoon medic to make my models though. They actually haven't turned out half bad all things considering.

Cheers Rick for steering me to your Blog build .... i would have pulled out all my hair trying to do the slat armour ... now if someone did that slat armour in 1/72 scale i would give that a go for my 1/72 Leopard 2A6 that i built the other week

all the best
Brad