This is my attempt to build a Norwegian Army Leopard 1A5NO2.Today this tank is used as an Opfor vehicle at the CTC and there are only two platoons left. The kit is Revells old Leopard 1A5 (which I decided to build instead of selling on E-bay...) with a PE set for Italeris 1A2.Grouser box and other modifications are scratched.The bustle rack was extended on the last operational tank company who operated the A5s,but my bustle rack did not come out the way I wanted so I filled it with "gear" and covered it with a tarp. There are still much work to be done before this baby is finished. So far I'm pretty happy with the progress but the kit is far from perfect and need some TLC.









Hopefully it will look something like this when finished.


Erik

Hey Erik

Great choice of build. This one is on my to do list Only problem is I need some revell Leopard1A5 kits Don't know where to find them.
I like the progress you made on the Leopard 1. Do you have some close ups on the front grouser box?? It looks nicely build. I hope to see some paint and wheatering soon!

Keep it up

Cheers Roel

Not at the moment, mate. It need some more detailing first.





Yup, I was lucky and got two some years ago. The second one will be yet another NO2

Erik

Btw,loved your article on the M-109A3GN in the latest issue of the Norwegian IPMS magazine. Hopefully they sent you a copy.

That certainly seems to be coming on well Erik. Nice scratchbuilding.

I look forward to more pics mate.

Keep up the build....always good to see Leopard projects.

Heh, Roel,

what's that ? Shouldn't you concentrate on Belgian Leopards?

Though, I understand you ! I feel the same!

All the best

Harald

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Eric,
I am looking forward to see your progress. Really fine Model!

Harald

Hi Erik,

I was wondering which aftermarket barrel you were using on your Leopard? Is it the Perfect Scale resin barrel?

Cheers,

Duncan

PS The Leo looks good so far!

It is the original kit barrel. It has just been primed for easier sanding of the glue seam.

Erik

Hi Erik,
I won't comment about accuracy, for sure you know much more about this version than I, but the additions are very nice.
I don't worry about your achievement with this project. I know it will turn out great !!

Erik,

Nice build. One question what did you use to fill in the road wheel seams?

Rob

Tamiya liquid surface primer.

The rear bustle looks pretty neat filled out like that.

Did you do all the armor mounts?

Paul

No, I did not. When finished the turret will be partly covered with camo net, which will hide the fact that I was to lazy to redo all the mounts...

Erik

It has been a while since I did any work on this tank, but after finishing a wingy thingy I really felt the need to do some work on the Leo again. Revell's machinegun mount is basically two plastic rods with a small piece of plastic in between, so I challenged myself to scratchbuild a better mount. It might be a little out of scale since I used "eyeball mk1" to measure it, but in my opinion it turned out much better than the mount supplied by the kit. Judge for your self.







Erik

The ammo box doesn't elevate with the gun?. What is the purpose of the rod in the back? Is it an elevation lock?

Looking good. Is that a resin MG3?

Paul

This picture shows pretty much how the ammo box works. The one in the picture is a bit different but is attached in the same way.




It is a lock preventing the weapon going side ways.



No, it is from Dragons Moder Machine gun set. It looks like a proper MG-3. The Revell version is a MG42.

Erik

nice work so far I'm doing a 2A4NO

Coming along Nice Erik! This one is worth doing for the splinter cammo and turret numbers alone. I've never been a fan of PE ammunition, I'd either leave it off or replace it with a link of 3-D ammo. There are a few sources in styrene and resin out there, IIRC Legends MAG-58 set has a couple links as do some of the Tamiya and DML weapons sets, though they may be tricky to impart the multiple bends you have done with the PE.

Cheers,
Graeme

It has been a while since I have worked on the Leo due to airplanes and braille scale tanks... I have installed tracks, side skirts and mud flaps so the build is more or less finished. The tracks need some fine tuning but I guess they will work out. I modified the skirts a bit, drilling out foot steps and cutting openings for mud and rocks over the sprockett. It starts to look like a Leopard now.

Hallo, Erik,

what a pleasing surprise that you are back again with your project.

Is the green colour only a primer or already the first camouflage colour?

Please, keep us updated. I am looking forward to your progress.

Harald

"It is always good to see a Leopard"

It was supposed to be the first color, but I'm not happy with how it came out so I will re-spray with another shade of green.

Erik

Hi Erik,
is it me or is there a horizontal seam line on the first part of the gun tube ?

Nice to see this one popping up again.
Olivier

It is you... The seam has been properly filled and sanded, and I can not see it on a close inspection.

Erik

Yes there is. It's where the two halves of the thermal cover meet and it's supposed to be there.

Nice build so far!


cheers

I have started the paintjob and as you see there is a lot of work left. It needs a lot of touch ups due to the painters lazyness with maskingtape... However, the worst part is done.





I made license plates from lead foil and numbers shaved off an old sprue.