Leopard 2A6 German Tank

This Leo shows how far the German MBT has come since first introduced. Construction was straightforward-- running gear first, then hull and turret. There are some tricky things to pay attention to-- the commander's independent sight has a keeper that's installed before attaching the turret bottom to the top and the mantlet takes some care. The gunner's site windows also need to go in before the turret floor is glued. I had to clamp the turret pieces to have them hold and did it in two steps-- the front of the turret first and then the rear to the (rather extensive) bustle. There is a lot of detail on the rear of the turret, so take some time to attach, let it dry and then attach the next section. I'd recommend assembling the smoke mortars before attaching to the hull. The rubber band tracks come in two sections and fit perfectly. attaching the side skirts took some taping across the front and rear sideways and I hosed myself by putting the tow cables on first. Save the trouble and do those after the side skirts. All Leo's come with a standard everything's-the-same camo pattern alternating between NATO green as a base, NATO red brown and black for camo. Leave it to the Germans to make even camouflage to be precise and uniform. It's done at depot level. There are two sets of decals included. One's for an operational unit and the other is for the Panzer School. It does come with extra accessories for this-- smoke projectors, flashing light mount for the top of the turret and firing range flags. This was a fun build. Honestly, it took a lot more time than I thought it would. The turret detail was appreciated but was well worth the patience to get it right. Interestingly enough it does not come with any figures. I have it next to my Leo I and the heritage is apparent. Heck, even the TC's and loader's hatch are essentially the same.