First of all, It should have been a (In progress) in the heading, sorry.

This Leopard 2 A4 will be my entry in the Armorama's Finest campaign, and will picture one of the tanks in my unit. The kit is from Revell in 1:35, and has been modified in several ways. My basic idea was to do this as cheap as possible, as of the "poor" quality of the kit. I have used various plastic cards from several cans and boxes I found around the house to remodel the tank. In addition I have used a beer can, brass wire, copperwire from a telephone cord, isolation from and electrical cord, pieces of thin electrical wire and streched sprue. The only AM product to be used is a FN MAG machinegun. The modifications wich have been done are: Opening of sight covers, remodeling haches to an open position,remodeled smoke launchers, new mudflaps, scratchbuilt GPS- and VHF antennas, turretbasket, Field telephone wire, deep wading kit storage and the blank firing system on top of the barrel. Most of the handelbars have been changed with brass- and copper wire. The primer revealed some areas wich need some more filler and sanding. The side skirt has been loosly attached to give an impression of how the model will look like when finished.

Since this is my first model, involving scratchbuilding in ten years, I would like to get som feedback on how this work and looks. I do not consider myself as an experienced model builder, so any tips and advices are of great interest. I'm here to learn!!!


Cheers
Erik

Come on, guys. No comments? I'm here to learn!

Erik

Hi Erik. I'm not familiar with this kit and now that you've put on the primer I can't see what you have scratchbuilt and what is original. However it does look like a nice clean and well detailed build to me.

Plus I've never seen a Heckler Koch rug before! I suppose we should expect something warrior-like from our Viking members though...

I know more about Leo 1s than I do about Leo 2s and almost nothing about Norwegian Leo 2s.

It looks like you still have a seam visible on the top of the bore evacuator and the side wall (on the right hand side of the cable reel) for the addon basket doesn't seem to match the turret.

I don't have the kit myself so are there different parts for the front and rear tow hooks? I think the hook and pintle are molded as one piece and you might have used the rears on the front since the front hooks appear to be defying gravity.

Paul

Thanks, Paul. This was just the kind of feedback I wanted. I checked the hooks, and they are the right ones. However, checking with my references, they have been molded wrong. Im starting to correct it right away. Here is a picture of the turret some time ago, before priming..

That is a very good job with the homemade conversion. Takes more skill than just slapping on some resin parts.

Of course you have the benefit of having better references for this vehicle than is available to most of us.

Paul

Looks like you have some gaps between the side skirts and the hull. Other than that, looks great to me.



Shaun

Thanks Paul. I have to admit that I have been a couple of times in the garage, measuring the parts I had to make. I've corrected the front hooks now. All my pictures said the same thing as you. Stupid mistake not to notice it at once.

Cheers

Erik

Thank you for noticing, Shaun. I have not glued the side skirts yet.

Erik

Oh, nevermind...

Shaun

Erik,
Nice work on a less-then-stellar kit. Looking forward to seeing more.

I have built this kit a few times (not as well as you have done) and I am wondering at what point of the build do you plan to attache the skirting and how you are going to fill, sand, and paint them? Are you going to paint and install the wheels and track first, and then install the skirts and camo the rest?

I often wondered why any kit manufacturer would mold the stowage doors to the skirting? Doesn't it make more sense to mold them to the chassis and leave the skirt alone? What a pain in the @55!

Anyway, you've done a nice, clean build and can't wait to see it come along.

Evening Keith
I am planning to paint wheels and suspension before i attach the side skirt. Then I will mask of the lower part and fill, sand and paint the rest. I have allready fitted the side skirts to the upper hull, and the actually fits rather good (Surprise!!!). On the picture they are only "clicked" into place with no glue, so they look a bit shabby. Don't think I will need to fill alot, but time will show. I'm not familiar with what less-than stellar means, but I suppose it is a nicer word for S**t. This is the last Revell armour kit I will build in a while. ( Maybe with the exception of the Panzerhaubits 2000)

Erik

Hey Erik,
Good job on that 'translation.' Revell has never been known for their high quality. I bought them beause they were either 1. all I could afford at the time, or 2. all that was available (pre internet/mail order).

I think I assembled the entire upper hull including the skirts. And finished the entire lower hull including tracks. Put them together and then painted the camo.
Was never really happy with those kits. I believe I had a Tamiya or ESCI version also.

So how far are you away from finishing the running gear?

It's pretty much the same as on the pictures. My compressor gave up on me a couple of days ago, so I had to order a new one. Still waiting for it. In the meantime I'm kitbashing the crew. Not very easy to find Norwegian soldiers in 1:35. By the way, it has actually been a lot of fun building this kit, first because of me rediscovering "scratchbuilding" and second because of my access to the real thing (Got the key for the garage were we keep our Leopards). And fun is what this hobby is all about.

Erik