Leopard 1 was one of NATO tanks designed during the cold war that supposed to deal with masses of Soviet tanks that would, in theory, charge through Fulda gap. It was designed in 60's, armed with 105mm gun,and went through several modifications and modernization. It equipped several European armies. It was never used against Warsaw pact forces,nor anywhere else for that matter, until early 90's. Nordic Battalion of UN forces in Bosnia had 10 of these tanks (painted white) while performing their peace keeping mission. During Operation Bøllebank attack occurred where in response Danish tankers fired 72 rounds and destroying 3 tanks and inflicting 150 causalities. This was the first combat usage of this tank.
The kit
The model is the old Tamiya Leopard 1A4 tank converted with Legend aftermarket kit to 1A5DK. The conversion itself is intended for the newer Meng kit, so some trimming was necessary to fit the contents onto this old lady. Some parts are designed for Meng kit, where Tamiya has no such options (some holes that might be portrayed open/closed), and among the biggest issues is the engine deck mesh - Meng has this PE part whereas Tamiya left this in plastic, and Legend didn't address this issue. So i used some plastic mesh and styrene to tackle this issue. Holders for towing cables are also missing and minor adjustments were needed there. Some of the tanks had some strange part on the front hull plate that i had to scratch built - it helps holding spare wheels.
https://n-ever-finished-models.blogspot.com/p/leopard-1a5dk-first-blood.html
