I am currently building Tamiya's Leopard 2A6 as a Canadian 2A6M,and the time has come to install the various optics for the periscopes and sights prior to closing up the hull and turret halves. Looking at various reference photos the 1:1 scale Leo optics appear black, unlike other MBTs such as the Abrams and Challenger which have the anti-laser coating which appear as the various prismatic colors like red,pink,etc. For those who have built a Leopard before I was wondering how you represented the optics on your model: leave them clear, paint them black,tint,etc. ? I was considering using Tamiya Smoke on mine but wanted input prior to applying paint to plastic

Hi Chuck,

I been yesterday at a Leopard 2 A5 Bn. and I can say that the periscopes have a greenish tone. You could paint the "lenses" in clear green and give them a white or chrome interior.

HTH

Hans-Hermann

Thanks for reply, Hans-Hermann; would that apply to the PERI optics as well,or just the periscopes?

Hi Chuck,
Yes, that would apply to all the optics. I used Tamiya clear green and put on a couple of coats to get it nice and dark. I was very pleased at how it turned out.

Also, I found if you have a good set of tweezers it's possible to finish the building, painting etc., and then glue the optics in place in the turret and hull.

Regards,
Mike

Another vote for clear green here

Clear Green it is !

Just for the PERI I would rather suggest a light Clear Blue overspray.

Cheers
Christopher

Broke out the airbrush and a bottle of Clear Green earler this afternoon,and I definately like how it looks ...Thanks for the help gents!

Graeme: bit off topic,but would just like you to know how much I enjoyed Osprey Challenger modeling book; it will be a big help on the next project.

Christopher: for the light Clear Blue overspray on the PERI.do you mean spray the blue over the green,or just the blue by itself?

Light overspray of Clear Blue on the inner side of the Clear plastic part.
Sprayed side inside, untreated clear plastic outside when mounted to the periscope, no Green involved.

Cheers
Christopher

[quote]Light overspray of Clear Blue on the inner side of the Clear plastic part.
Sprayed side inside, untreated clear plastic outside when mounted to the periscope, no Green involved.

Cheers
Christopher[/quote

Ok, gotcha. Thanks!