German Leopard 2 A4 Tank

This is the first Hobby Boss kit that I’ve built. I really like the look of the Leopard 2 A4 and wanted to build one. I usually build WWII vintage vehicles. The kit is nicely detailed for the most part and looks good when completed. However, it was not what I would call an “enjoyable build”. The fit of the parts was not very good in many areas. The worst was the bustle on the turret rear. It’s made up of many parts and the locators were not very precise. The MG3 mount was also a mystery. You will need to find reference photos to figure out the fit and I did modify the ammo box and mount parts because nothing seemed right.   There was some minor flash on quite a few parts that required cleanup. I didn’t like the clear sheet for all the periscopes. It was fiddley to cut them all out and position them correctly. I would think clear molded parts would be better. It would also be nice if they could be added after painting. I painted the tank before joining the top and bottom turret so I could more easily fit the clear parts after painting.   I did like the fret of photo etch. That was a nice touch The end result is a nice Leopard 2 on my shelf. It looks great next to my Tiger I. Now I want to build some earlier and later Leopards to round out my collection. If you want to build this lovely slab-sided German armor, I would say go for it Despite the troubles I had, it was well worth it