Hi all! I am doing a commission build of Mengs brand spanking new Leopard 2A7 and decided to do a blog on it for all to enjoy/comment/critique. As an added bonus, the Y-Modelle FLW-200 - GMW 40 remote weapon station is also part of the build. Several in-box reviews of this kit have already been featured on this and other websites so I won't go into that, but suffice to say the box is jam-packed with parts and looks real good, I can't wait to get started on it! I did open up the RWS package and must say I am very impressed with the level of detail and the crispness of the castings, should look good. A few pics to tease until I get some glue flowing...

Gonna follow!

This is on my want list so I will be following with great interest.

Y-Modelle FLW200`s are not the best choice. They have some errors hat could only corrected with some scratchbuild. I rather stick to Live Resin FLW.

Well, the Y-Modelle kit is what my client sent me, if I have to do some corrective work then I will. Do you have some specifics so I know what to look for & correct? I have been doing a bit of research but no up close comparisons yet.

Hi Colin,
what I can see from the pics on Y-Modelle Website, the sensor head is different from the fielded one and the mount for the 40 mm ammo can completly wrong. Can you post more detailed pics of the parts or scan the kits instructions?

Update: My client has ordered the Live Resin FLW-200 RCWS and it is on its way to me, so no worries about the Y-Modelle inacccuracies!

When you get the Live Resin part, take note that instruction are not included in the box, but need to be downloaded from LR site.

OK, thanks for the info Hans-Hermann!

Got a bit of a start on this monster. First impressions are that the box is absolutely crammed with parts and the quality of moldings is impressive with very good detail, minimal flash and seam lines.

The build starts with the running gear, 14 sets of road wheels, the drive sprockets and idlers. Each road wheel consists of an inner and outer wheel with a poly cap between them and a center cap. Detail on the wheels is good, but the center cap does have a sprue attachment point on the mating surface that will need to be cleaned up, 2 extra are provided. Very little cleanup is required otherwise and everything fits together very nicely.




After all of the wheels are assembled, work begins on the lower hull. A couple of holes are drilled for attachment of the applique belly armour and then the various auxiliary suspension bits, bump stops and return roller mounts. Again, all the pieces fit perfectly and there is great detail.


We'll be on to the rear plate and torsion arm suspension next.

More useful Leopard 2 add-ons from Leopard Club:
Gun Barrel:
http://leopardclub.ca/workshop/LW018M/
Antenna Rods:
http://leopardclub.ca/workshop/LW034/

Colin, you -or your client- take care about the quality of the FLW, but don't mind that there is no L2A7 w/FLW around?
Leopard 2 w/FLW differs much from the German Army L2A7.

I started the kit as well. Will be a slow build because I do several Leopards parallel.

Frank

Leopard 2 A7+ looks different:
http://www.panzerbaer.de/types/bw_kpz_leopard_2_a7-a.htm

Kind of a what-if with the FLW, it was fitted to the prototype and as mentioned to the 2A7+, but who knows, maybe it will be added to A7's in the future?

Don`t forget the tow cables from LC as well.

It`s really sharp.

A bit more progress, completed and attached the rear plate. Fit is very good for the most part although there are a few areas that need tweaking when it comes to parts that are added on for the A7 version. The PE screens on the rear plate needed a bit of sanding to fit properly. I also notice that in a number of cases, there are excess casting tabs on the back of a number of pieces that have to be removed in order for the parts to fit properly.


Also completed the bulk of the running gear. Full torsion bars are provided and allow for articulation of the road wheels.

Meng has re-used the suspension and running gear from their previous 2A4 release and have provided separate faces for the trailing arms which slot over the axles, so there is some sanding required to smooth them out.

cleaning everything up is a bit of work but when done you have a nice workable suspension.


The road wheels, idlers and drive sprockets are all dry fitted which is made easier by the poly caps used in the assembly. Just have to add return rollers and footworks are done!

Great progress here, Colin! I'm in the painting/weathering stages with mine for the Big Cats campaign so I'll be following this closely.

Concerning the tabs on the back of some pieces, these got me puzzled for a few minutes. I couldn't believe these exist on an otherwise great quality kit so I was tempted to believe these have some kind of functionality. I checked and checked again before removing them but wasn't able to find a reason for their existence other than maybe support the parts when packaged and reduce the risk of bending/breaking the sprues...

By the way, I built mine with closed cupolas and left off the MG as I've heard these are only mounted (can be mounted?) when the cupola is open. Can somebody confirm or reject this? Thanks!

I really like the running gear details and full torsion bars, though they'll never be seen.

Nice work!

Gaz

Cristian, I checked out the Big Cats IV campaign, you've done a great job on yours!

So back to the big kitty, belly applique armour added:

Then the engine bay stiffeners. Meng provides a template to properly position these onto the hull:

Then add the stiffeners:

Remove the template and voila!

Now it is time to add the upper hull, I'm postponing work on the tracks . I added another stiffener to the upper hull as I have read about some people having issues with the heavy turret/bustle causing the rear deck to sag.

The rear decking comes in two pieces and needed a little bit of sanding to fit properly. There is some detail on the inside of these, along with various brackets in the hull bottom...a power pack in the future?

More tabs to remove on pieces intended to lie flat...

Upper hull in place and ready for all the detail bits!

A bit more progress made on the kitty, pretty much finished off the hull with the exception of a few bits left off for ease of painting. I have been running into more questionable sprue attachment points and those odd tabs on pieces. On the rear view mirrors Meng has left those extraneous tabs projecting from the face of the mirror! Yes, you get a sticky piece of mirrored foil to place on the mirror, but it is a pain to clean up that tab as the mirror does have a raised border. Also, on one of the pieces on the rear deck the sprue attachment points are on the top! surely Meng could have arranged for them to come off the bottom of this piece!

Yes, these are minor complaints. but they are annoyances on an otherwise excellent kit that could have been easily avoided. The two big fan covers on the rear deck each have a large two-part PE screen, frame on the bottom and screen on top. the fan screen is smaller than the frame so be extra careful on the placement so it is centered properly.

Various other sundry bits and the hull is done.


The side skirts are left off for painting and I will be replacing the string tow cables with some new ones I will spin myself from copper wire. I am also not attaching vision blocks yet as I am pre-painting them and will mask them off for the overall paint. Much easier to paint them while still on the sprue. Using clear blue paint for the glass and then NATO green for the housing. here you can see them in various stages of paint.

Also received the Live Resin FLW-200 to replace the Y-Modelle kit:

I will do an in box/bag comparison of the two shortly, but first impressions are that the Live Resin offering is of higher quality than the Y-Modelle product but I will double check when I compare side by side. Cheers.

Nice progress there, Colin! The tabs are really annoying and I dented more than one piece trying to carefully remove them.

Regarding the PE screens, do you have any idea why they supply two sets? These seem to be identical and only two of them are being used.

Also, I noticed you use glossy black and blue for the periscopes but as far as I can remember, the instructions call for blue only. Which ones are going to be black? To be honest, I planned on painting all of the glossy black.

Thanks!

By the way, the string for the tow cable is not as bad as you might think. It is stable enough and will take paint excellently. I can post a few shots if you're interested, when I get back home tonight.

Hi Cristian, the NATO green on the backside of the housing makes it look black. I think I will strip it off and put a coat of silver on and recover with the green. Thanks, please do put up a pic of the cables, I have never liked the string but if it turned out good for you I may use it.