Nigel, thanks for your support and welcome to our future campaign! I was happy to read your posting and have updated the list of campaigners on page 1. Getting another Leo is always a good idea. The famous saying about Spitfires and Bf 109 is also valid here "You just can't have enough Leos!" So far I have 5 built (2 x Leo 2, 3 x Leo 1) and another 7 in stash (5 x Leo 2, 2 x Leo 1). I think about buying that Border 2A5/A6 kit.

Johannan, thanks for sharing the photos of your friends 2SG. Great work! Must have been a lot of extra work but it was worth it. I'm also fascinated by that w.i.p. photo of the "Leguan" Bridgelayer. Is it yours or your friends build? As far as I know there's no kit out of it in any scale.
One small advice to you: You'll loose your photos on Photobucket sooner or later if you don't pay them money for storage. Have also been on Photobucket some years ago and exactly that happend to my storaged photos but I saved them all on my computer. I can recommend Imgur.com as a picture host. It's fast, free and gives you no hassle. You might try it out.

Torsten

Hi Torsten,

Many thanks on the headsup re Imgur. Will def check it out.

The Leguan is Jeremy's and is indeed commercially available. Its a 1/35 resin conversion by Y-Modelle and is designed to fit the HB Leo 2A6. Jeremy used the 2A4 version (on which the Leo 2SG is based) so a few tweaks were required.

Cheers,
Johannan

I would have joined this campaign but "what if" are out. I was hoping to build a Canadian Leopard 2A7+ project I was looking to build.

DJ

Thanks for the corrections about the Leguan, Johannan. Didn't know about that because I'm not very much into aftermarket parts. Most of my builds are oob. But of course I know Y-Modelle. They have some interesting and unusual vehicles of the Bundeswehr, which you normally don't get from the mainstream manufacturers.

DJ, correct, no "What If" Leos here, I'm sorry. But maybe you change you mind when this campaign has started and build a "real" canadian Leo ....

Anyway, I have noticed that I still haven't posted 3 Leo user countries, among them our NATO partners from the Iberian Peninsula. So here we go ....

Portugal


Spain


and finally Qatar


These pics are especially for Johannan ....

Singapore


Germany


To be continued ....

Torsten

Really looking forward to this campaign!

Nice catch, Freddy! Only 2 months to go ....
I have 2 kits of this in my stash ....

.... and will try to come close to this beauty ....


But before that I have another campaign on my "production list" where I will build 2 Finnish Air Force Bf 109. So I hope I can start also in May with my Leo ....

Have fun!
Torsten

Seeing as this campaign is almost ready to launch, I thought I'd ask about one of my ideas. I bought a Matchbox Leo 2 (Italeri tooling) second-hand for the turret that I used in another conversion, but that left a complete hull left-over. So I trawled the internet and found pics of a Dutch demo unit where they pulled the turret from a 2A4 and fitted a floor with seats so prospective buyers could get the ultimate dune-buggy ride! The kit was started (badly) by having the suspension arms and roadwheels glued on (grrrr!) and several of those broke off before I got it. I did make a start by scratch-building representations of all the gubbins you could see in a Leo hull with the turret off from Evergreen plastic, but have yet to do any real building work - is it still acceptable? (I don't know if the wheels/axles are within Step 3 as per the rules, since it came with no instructions! But I've built enough Italeri Leo2s to know where everything goes...)

Image below shamelessly "borrowed" from the internet to guide my build - apologies to the original photographer who I'd credit if I could remember where I found it!

Just to be upfront, here's the state of the kit. The only kit parts assembled are the rear plate and wheels/suspension arms.

Tom, that's sure something different! But I think we can make an exception to rule 4 here, as you show us not only a photo of the original but also how far this build is. I checked my instruction plan of the Revell kit and there it would be step 3/4. So I say go for it! At least you're not further than 25 %, which is usually the limit. You have a lot of work in front of you with scratch building the interior. Please show us as many steps of your build as possible.

Btw., I remember seeing our tanks sometimes with the turret taken off for repairs and the mechanics took the Leo for a ride as a 30-tons-racer through the barracks ....

Have fun and stay safe!
Torsten

Excited to begin working on my Leopard 2 in a few days for the campaign. I'm using the Hobby Boss 2A4 kit - not the best but it is a variant I haven't built before. My Tamiya 2a6 comes too late for the campaign I think - I have the kit but I also ordered Photo Etch grilles and turret baskets but the COVID-19 lockdown of Manila means I don't know when I'll get the items I ordered

i think I will jump in on this one also. Havent done a Leo yet. Still trying to research which brand I will go with.

That's good and bad news in one post, Nigel. I have built the HB Leo 2A4 several years ago (you can see it here on page 2) and can't remember bigger problems. Where did you order your Tamiya 2A6? Is postal service still working in your country? Over here they have so much to do that they even think about to deliver parcels on Sundays, because so many people order stuff online now. But the lock down is a bit lifted here in Germany now. So we're slowly back on the way to normality. We'll see ....

Kelly, on page 2 I have listed all available 2A4 kits (4 in total, I believe). The best at the moment is Meng from what I heared and read. Depends on what you want to achieve and how much money you want to spend.

Have a nice Sunday!
Torsten

For reviews of available Leo 2A4 kits try the Leopardclub website. The Meng kit looks tasty! (Got one in my stash...)

For my sins I'll be fitting my build with Bronco's indy-link tracks - as if lockdown alone wasn't enough to drive me crazy! Still, they do look great when finished.

Hope you and the rest of your folks stay safe I got my Tamiya Leopard2A6 at our local Hobby store Tamiya is cheaper here in our country vs overseas (probably because we have a plant here so discount prices I guess? They don't sell directly to us though, all the kits still go to Japan). Got my Leopard 2A6 for approx 34 USD.

The Hobby Boss kit has a few inaccuracies (the anti-skid is super thick and looks like panels actually). It looks better than the 2A6 they released earlier though. This is what Leopard Club has to say:

Hobby Boss 82401
a great improvement over their initial Leopards (2A5 DK and Strv 122)
the non-skid patches are significantly toned down (ie. they are not quite so thick)
some details are rather simplified (eg. smoke discharger arrays are not angled), while others have been improved over earlier Leopards (eg. hinge details on engine deck stowage compartments)
not quite on par with the Revell offering, but still good value for the money

I might honestly get the Hobby Boss Canadian 2A4M later this year from a local hobby store once the quarantine gets lifted. That one looks like a treat to build and has good marks for accuracy

I hope you're all well out there in these troubled times and stay safe at home fighting your stash.

Just want to remind you that it's only 3 days to kick off for this campaign. So this is your wake up call ....

Kelly, on page 2 I have listed all available 2A4 kits (4 in total, I believe). The best at the moment is Meng from what I heared and read. Depends on what you want to achieve and how much money you want to spend.

Have a nice Sunday!


Nigel Thanks for the info. I actually found an a5 and a6 today. But I still want to do the a4 the most.

I need help anyone. I picked up a A5 tamiya kit number 35242 and it has no instructions. I think i can maybe stumble through it, BUT if anyone has them or a link, could you please help me with getting them? Thanks

I've got one in the stash somewhere, and will scan the instructions for you when I can get my hands on it!

[EDIT: Never mind - you can find the instructions online here: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10011408?utm_source=scalemates]

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/m/image/10011408

This should work.

Thanks for helping Kelly out, guys! I had the same idea with finding the intructions somewhere online.

Anyway, 2 days to go ....

Tom and Ryan ...so many thanks from you both !

.... 1 day to go ....

.... aaaand action!




Welcome to the "40 years of the Leopard 2" Campaign!

It's now 00:30 hours Middle European Summer Time on the 1. May 2020 and I open this campaign. If you want to join the fun here you're very welcome, please read the rules and regulations and don't forget to enlist. So open up your kits now and start building. This campaign will last until 1. November 2020. Let's hope, we'll see many different Leopard 2 finished in the end. Please let us know what Leopard you will build, so I can update the campaigners list on page 1 from time to time. It would be great if you post a starting photo of your build.

Richard, would you please be so kind and pin this campaign and mark it as "active". Thanks!

Happy modelling and good luck to you all!
Torsten

Excellent!

Starting off with my Hobby Boss Leopard 2A4 I've had over 4 years in the stash. Here's a photo of the box's contents I took just a little over midnight before going to bed (rechecked if everything was still in order)


Worked on her a bit this morning. Finished the running gear. A lot of this kit is based on HB's Leopard 2A5DK/2A6 released a year earlier than this kit.