Started to tackle the ratchet straps for the fuel drums rack; while the PE parts supplied in the voyager set are correct in shape, they are not in size. The buckle is too wide to fit in place ! It was designed to be installed with the fuel drums. In order to have a correct ratchet you need to use the buckle made for the straps in the turret basket and the handle made for the fuel drums (which is slightly larger).




More to come !

Started to do the ratchet supports :

Nice work Tom I missed this the first time around, glad to see your back to it!

Hey thanks for the kind words ! Glad you like it !

Some quick update :

Installed the orange hobby antenna set; it came with the choice of using either the base + antennas or just the base. As the antennas were too short I used the base, cut the portion where you screw your antenna on and used some guitar string to make a straight antenna. The bond between the cyano and the two parts is quite fragile though.






The ratchet project is going well :

Very nice job so far.

Thanks for the kind words Olivier Painting is pretty much done. Still have to tackle the ratchet straps and varnish it. I'm happy with the result, I hope you'll like it.







I took some liberty and inspiration for the tarp from this picture :

This is nice to see completed... Excellent work!

Excellent work! Great Job!

I would happily run this as a feature on the network if you would like and are willing.

Thanks for the replies guys, it's really nice to see that my work is appreciated; it means a lot, really !

Darren : I'd be honored to have my build featured on this site ! But I'm not familiar with the process; can we discuss this in pm maybe ?

Hello !

Ratchets are done on the external fuel drums racks. Added plastruct pieces at the base and on the sides to recreate the axle and it's protuberance. Painted them in tamiya x-12 gold leaf.



Next I used some masking tape cut to size and hand painted to recreate the straps.




The final result is mounted on the model, whith the straps folded different ways

Glad to see you haven't given up this project.
Nice job on the ratchets.

Olivier

Thanks as always for the kind words.. I'm glad to see that my project is interesting for you to follow, although it's taking me an enormous amount of time to achieve ha ! I haven't been at home very much lately but I managed to finish the turret basket straps. It was quite a challenge to install and also to assemble voyager pe for the ratchets. Now the assembly is 100% complete. It's not much but now I can focus on other parts of this project. Hope you like it.

I feel your pain. Better you than me
Hopefully you're close to the end

Olivier

Hi Tom,

It us an amazing job, I like very much your attempt to make an excellent model of the Leclerc.
I have the Tamiya kit in my stash with some a/m stuff included and after reading your WIP it will be a challenge for me to make such beautiful model.
My hats off!

Tamas

Thank you for the encouragements Olivier !

Tamas; I'm honored to see that my project has inspired you; The tamiya kit is a good base to start with. Since the beginning it's been a very fun project to build.

I began to tackle the 120mm ammunition supplied by the blast set. It also includes several ammo containers. You get a mix of sabot, HEAT and HE rounds. Blast models tells you to paint live HE's in black however they should be painted in green. Black is for anti-tank purposes. Also found a nice picture on nexter or giat website showing their range of 120mm rounds. The resin pieces are nicely detailed and are a good challenge to paint, masking-wise. One HEAT round is missing it's standoff probe; that's because this resin piece is meant to be carried by a figure also provided by blast models.

Hi Tom,

Can I please ask a favour from you? I have the Eduard PE set already but having seen your build, I am considering to buy the Voyager set, too. Unfortunatelly there is no any reference photo about it. Can you post or email me the Voyager’s build manual so I could decide if it worth the money (and a good 3-4 months waiting)?

Cheers,

Tamas

Sure, just pm me your email adress and I'll send you the instructions. With that said, Voyager's set is a must for the build, as it gives you a nice metal barrel and some resin pieces. The details are crispier compared to Eduard pe also.. Both set complement each other and gives you more option to choose from when looking at a detail in particular on the model.

Hope this helps !

Great work Tom,
looks phantastic with all the added details.
Kudos!

Cheers
Walter

Hey All,

I know this thread has been around for awhile, but I personally am really interested in the Leclerc tank, and I have 2 of the Tamiya kits, one that I've started, and the second one, also with the metal wheels, in its sealed box. I had been fortunate enough to be able to buy the Eduard PE set, and the Tamiya PE set as well, for both of my kits, and I got the Blast aftermarket set for the first one, but I'd gotten the Blast set many years ago, and had considered myself fortunate to even find it, due to its relative rarity. Well, it was news to me, perhaps no one else, that Blast Models looks to be back in business, and I was thrilled to see that the Leclerc set is back, plus the Gallix set, AND a set of 3 figures (I ordered the winter figures)! So, in case anyone has been looking for Blast Leclerc stuff, it's back, available!

Also, Tom, I wanted to say that I'm really, REALLY impressed with your work!! Strangely, I had similar problems in getting the 3 plates perfectly square, next to the engine grates on the hull. I had tried to use photo etch metal for them, but that was impossible to cut, so I eventually used thin sheet plastic, but still had issues. Some time ago, I got a Leclerc book that I'll be using for both my builds, as well as Olivier Carneau's fabulous details for making the kit more accurate. I know it doesn't sound like I'm very thrilled with this tank, since I've not finished even my first one, but I am, and will be excited to get back into the build.

Thanks to both of you for the kind comments; just like everyone who is following my project since the beginning, every comment posted here is greatly appreciated ! I am aware that I'm taking ages to finish it, but in the same time it's the best investment I could've made Once I get back home I'll be able to do the final steps. Blast models is indeed back in buisness, and are still offering their Leclerc update sets. I advise you to get the voyager update set too, as talked on earlier posts. It also brings a nice turned aluminium barrel and some resin parts not included in blast's set. E.T. models seems to have made a nice update set, that includes the side skirts, which is discontinued in eduard catalogue.

Hi Tom. I hadn’t been aware of the Voyager set, but after seeing it in your thread, I decided I wanted it. However, I’ve looked everywhere, and haven’t found anywhere that has one, or Ebay nor any online stores. If you happen to know if anyone or anywhere the Voyager set is available, please let me know!

Hi Curt,

I recently purchased the Voyager PE set at Luckymodel.com

http:/https://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?search=Y&q_brand=VM&q_category=&q_scale=&q_word=Leclerc&q_show_instock_only=N/

It took three months...

Tamas

I quickly checked and hobbyeasy has it in stock. You can also get just the barrel (resin parts included) and get the E.T. model pe set also if you'd like.

Thanks, Tamas and Tm.