Hobby Boss' Leopard 2A6M CAN

[Beobachtungsbereich]

Hey Panzer Buddy! What is the reason for NOT fixing the Growsers ejector pin mark? detail detail detail dude! Right now you can't afford to slack off! My man!

I am counting on you! Buddy!

Who's tha man?

Sigh.....I know, I know.

Unfortunately, I'm on a time crunch for the guy retiring.

I lost well over a week filling in large gaps on the hull and other massive errors on the initial build and this got overlooked.

I know I'll suffer for it when judging comes.

Regards

 

[schweinhund227]

Forget my last!

Your Retiring Buddy has priority! This is going to be quite the parting gift!

Later!

Norm.

Forgive my nitpicking!

 

[Tanker52]

PE detail looks great. I like how the turret baskets turned out. Hopefully I can get mine to turn out as nice as yours. I hope to have primer on my Leopard this week. Did you use a mask to paint your camo pattern or did you do it by free hand? It turned out nice.

 

[Beobachtungsbereich]

Tanks!

The cam was done free hand with original photos from Munster Germany in front of my face. ;D

Currently doing the weathering and having a bit of fun with it.

Regards

 

[Beobachtungsbereich]

Well, it's been quite a while since my last update.

Been occupied with one of the troops that just passed away from terminal cancer so everything was on the back burner with helping out arranging buses and staff cars for everyone to be able to attend. Sad, he was only 35 and it was his second battle.

Can't say no when he asks "Sarge, will you come to the funeral?". I think he thought no one would come. There were over 500 people there.

Anyways....on to the build!



Weathering - after a few months of no rain, the dust piles up. When it does rain it streaks right? You bet. When it's done raining, the sun comes out and bakes it at a nice daily temp of 50C+ for weeks on end and you still see the streaks in the paint under the dust. It's literally baked on to the paint like a clay/ cement.

Also in only one spot on the turret, the water puddles...right behind the loader. hit the brakes hard enough and he gets a shower down his ass!



I have thinned out the dust in the cracks quite a bit since this photo was taken. One thing to remember, the back deck near the turret is always covered with dirt in the field due to a vacuum formed when driving out in the desert at 80Km/h.




Tracks - black primer followed by AKs track wash. The track pads were also worn down by gentle use of my Dremel. The wash is still wet BTW





Roadwheels - chunked just like they would in real life. Even after a meer 5km the rubber heats up and starts to lose cohesion and breaks off in chunks, so you always have a mix of new and chunked roadwheels.






Turret - coming along nicely. The slat armour in this kit is not very good nor is the alignment to the sections. Whoever made the initial prototype / instructions should be keel hauled.





TANKS for looking!

 

[Beobachtungsbereich]

Track is shaping up



Looking good so far



PERI now has a Germanium lense.





TANKS for looking!

 

[Beobachtungsbereich]

I have been going flat out since last Saturday. I was rather sick and bloody near incapacitated due to it.

Trying to make up for lost time....almost done.

Regards

 

[Beobachtungsbereich]

Finished and entered the final "paperwork"! I hope to zombie Jeebus that I did it correctly, knowing my luck I buggered something up.

I'm not too computer savvy to say the least.

It was fun doing this whole contest, being my first, and I'm already looking forward to the next one.













So, just to recap:

This was an out of the box build with a few additional things, such as valises, backpack etc. The tank is set up with all the field modifications we had during Task Force 3-07 to Task Force 3-08 (timeframe of fall 2007 to winter 2008).

The map is an actual scaled down map of Kandahar. The tarp on the side strapped on is used as a field expedient tent, able to be set up in under 5 minutes. I would command my tank into a dug in position and the tarp would allow my crew to sleep below grade safely and stay dry during the rainy season. Said dug in positions were called "graves". A little black humour we used. The Badger would come along and the commander would ask "Where do you want yer grave?" over the radio.

There are 72 hours worth of rations and water on board. Why they put in 96 hours worth in the kit, I have no idea as at least one day's worth of rations and water are stored inside the turret bins and under the commander's feet. As well I included the crew necessity of a porta john seat. I just left out the bags and TP.

Also, you can't run around to the front of the tank if you're caught on the ground and the Taliban decide to start attacking. The rear slat is too high to climb up, even if your over 6'4". So I made the field expedient rear ladder that we had as that was missing from the kit.

Also, vehicles would get stuck all the time. RG's, LAVIIIs, TLAVs, ANA/ ANP Ford Rangers etc. That being said, we'd strap our tow cables to the slat armour instead of the proper points, as they are hard to get at. We'd pull up to whoever was stuck and undo the straps and toss the end to the crew of the stuck vehicle, they'd hook themselves up and then we'd pull them out. Death before dismount as we say. LOL

This will be presented to a member who is retiring after 37 years service.

TANKS for looking!!

 

[spud]

Looks fantastic Beo, did the slat armor come with it?

 

[Carsenault]

Wow, that rocks!

 

[Beobachtungsbereich]

Thanks.

the slat comes with the kit. Not the best as it's actually thicker than the real stuff. My other build will have Eduard's PE set. My eyes are already aching. LOL

Regards

 

[Bizarre]

Nice model.
As for PE - it takes time to get used to it. But then you will deal with it with no problem.

 

[Carsenault]

Thanks.

the slat comes with the kit. Not the best as it's actually thicker than the real stuff. My other build will have Eduard's PE set. My eyes are already aching. LOL

Regards

I was debating purchasing the slat set for my Leo, what do you think of it?

 

[Tanker52]

Congrates on a job well done. I like the details you added such as the ladder in the front and the other personal touches to make it look more like the one in the field. Nice job.

 

[Beobachtungsbereich]

Thanks much guys.

I got your message Scott. Check your pm's.

I guess I attached the img files vice the direct link. Frack me and I'm in Moncton right now away from my pc.

Just bought a new iPad and I don't know how to open multiple tabs.

Don't have access to a pc either!!!!

Mild amount of panic is setting in right about now!!!!!!!

 

[andrei383]

amazing work! all those little details really bring out the model!

 

[Beobachtungsbereich]

Thanks!

Those little details made life a bit easier for me and my crew. Figured it'd be prudent to add them and make the model a bit more personalized.


TANKS again guys for looking!


Scott G - hope you got the photos now. I think I did it right?

 

[Beobachtungsbereich]

I was debating purchasing the slat set for my Leo, what do you think of it?

It has all the hardware that the real stuff has, including the aircraft cable attachments for the pins and bolts. The mounting hardware has the proper parts and details that you would expect.

I've been building it for about 3 months, taking my time and tackled the track at the same time as well.

I'll probably get back to building my ride from tour in a few days.

TANKS again for looking!