Hi all,

New to the board here, so sorry if this is the wrong area for this post.

I have the Heller LeClerc (the older one) and was thinking of making it. I also have the Terra models update set. What I was wondering is if anyone makes resin replacement wheels for a LeClerc. I searched online but so far have come up empty!

Thanks in advance.

Irish

Hi John,
first welcome on board !

Concerning your Leclerc (with capital C, this is the name of French general Leclerc commanding the 2AD during WW2 ), there is no such set of wheels so far. The best bet is to get your hands on the Tamiya metal ones. I know big T is selling sprues, I guess the wheels set is available in the same way.

Which Terre Modeles set do you have ? I built one with the early Heller kit and could help if need be. You also can think of getting a Eduard PE set.

Enjoy your build,
Olivier

I think Azimut made a set of resin wheel for that atrocious Chinese copy of the Heller Leclerc, a copy that came with wheels held by visible cruciform screws!


Those Azimut wheels were just resin copies of the Heller ones.

Cheers,

Christophe

Olivier, thanks for the welcome. I apologize on my mistake on the name, I should have gotten that right! Thanks for the idea on the Tamiya wheels. I will have to look into that right away.

The Terre Modeles set I have is TM18 for the RT-6 - RT-8. Any tips would be much appreciated. I saw that there is another resin set out there for the Leclercs self protection system. Do you know if it is any good? Is it worth it?

Christophe, thanks for the info as well. I think I will try the Tamiya ones after your review!

John,
I can't help with your TM conversion set. I only know the RT5 one.
I guess you're using the initial Heller Leclerc as they also have released a T6-T8 (correct denomination, the R standing for an old vehicle being upgraded and to my knowledge there were only RT5 tanks).

Concerning the self protection system, you certainly speak of the Galix smoke grenades launchers on the turret's back. If so, you have the choice between two French brands options : Blast Models and Azimut. The best being Blast offering while Azimut's is not bad at all.

The Heller kit is not on par with modern standards but it still buildable. If you want some help or pictures, you can have a look at my own site. In the review section, I also posted a tweak list designed for the Tamiya Leclerc but which could be useful for your kit too.

Enjoy your project !
Olivier

Thanks again for your information Olivier!

I took your recommendation and ordered the metal road wheels from Tamiya yesterday.

I have also looked at your website. You are an impressive builder! Something for me to aspire to.

John