Hi

I'm going to start my Leopard 2A6 but I have a doubt.

I can see two types of side skirts and smoke launchers.


The version with two racks for smoke launchers seems to go hand in hand with the side skirts that are straight on the bottom .


The version with one rack of launchers (two launchers on the bottom) seem to go with jagged bottom line side skirts.

Pro Art makes a set (review here) for this later version. Is this an update or on the contrary it was the first "version" of the A6?

Photos primeportal.net

Hi Antonio, I can give you a partial answer here. I'm assuming your kit is from Tamiya, if so the side skirts included with the kit are correct for the Leo 2A6. But...and this is a big but... those particular sideskirts are rather expensive, so unless the tanks are deployed you will very often see them with the older style skirts, (the "jagged" bottom line ones). Most pics I have seen of the 2A6 show it with this type of sideskirt. (since as far as I know the A6 has not been deployed abroad)

The smoke launchers are a different matter. I noticed the type in the second pic you posted in the review of the Pro Art set on here the other day, they may be a new type, or at least a new way of mounting them. I'll see if I can find out anything else about them.

Best,
Mike

Hey Mike,

Thx. It was puzzling me. On the same set of photos on prime portal I could see the two types of smoke launcher racks with both types of skirts.

The jagged type seemed just a cover and barely armored and this was pretty strange because when someone does an update usually tends to solve vulnerabilities.

The rack from ProArt needs a little tweak, as the rearmost launchers (4) are not soldered on the bar itself but on small extensions of the bar. Can be done easily with some scratching..

All the best

The answer is that the bottom picture shows the Dutch Leopard.
The Dutch decided to retain the rear portion of the original skirts, as the thicker, armoured skirts are much more expensive. The smoke launcher set-up is also typical for the Dutch Leopard.

More (much more.. :-) ) on Tanx Heaven.
http://tanxheaven.com/leo2a5/leo2a5pic.htm

Cheers
Henk

EDIT - No Henk, it's not a Dutch Leopard.... it is a German Leopard, that has taken to the Dutch practise of only using the (expensive) armoured skirts at the front (which is the most vulnerable part of the tank) The Smoke launchers are also different.
Look twice, than put foot in mouth.....

:-) :-) You made me doubt my own eyes for a moment. Then after reading you EDIT I just laughed a lot.
The German cross on the turret is a give away :-) :-)

Antonio, I'm back . I posted a question about the smoke launchers on the modern DG over on ML. I only received one answer but the person who answered, Jason Bobrowich, "Leo Cmdr" here, is pretty knowledgable concerning Leopards. Apparently the new smoke launcher configuration has been developed with more urban environments in mind, where the proposed Leopard 2 (PSO) Peace Support Operations version would be deployed in the future.

Henk,
I almost did the same thing last night. My first thought was "Dutch Leopard" then I went back and double checked and "saw" the German cross.

Cheers guys,
Mike

Thanks guys!! Top notch help!!

Talking of German Crosses, isn't it funny how the German Bundeswehr has retained many of the earlier markings, albeit in a re-styled version?

also watch the crew in german uniforms and the big german tank transporter in the background.

sorry, could not resist

That styling of the German cross commonly called a "Maltese Cross" has been pretty much the standard marking for German war machines and battle fags for a very long time. The only exception woud be the 1935 - 45 time frame.