Leopard 2A6(M) Barracuda kit....replicating my ride from tour.

Beobachtungsbereich

Prep for STAB....STAB ON!
Joined
Oct 7, 2011
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A bit of a background on this project before I get into the weeds so to speak.

As some of you may have been tracking in my posts as of late, I was a commander of a Leopard 2A6(M) on tour in Panjwaii.

My crew and I went into the heart of Taliban country on combined operations "breaking the door down" and "kicked them in the junk" on numerous occasions. We took incoming fire and dealt out speed and violence like it was coming out of a fire hose.

I had a driver that was 19 years old, a gunner in his early 20s and my loader and I were the grizzled old guys constantly making jokes about Geritol.

It was one hell of a tour to say the least. My driver had grown into a man. The look on his face when I asked him what it felt like to be a combat vet at his young age was rather funny. "I never thought of it like that Sarg". My gunner was chuckling.

I am proud of my crew and troop and all our efforts in Zhari/ Panjwaii. We did our little part in helping stamp out the insurgency and pave the way to a more secure Afghanistan.

How it will all end? Only time will tell.

All I know is we helped bring security to a place that I first saw in 2005/ 2006 that was completely deserted and the Taliban owned the ground. When I left in 2009, girls were going to school and businesses were massive. Bazaar-e-Panjwaii only had 2 shops open and no electricity in 2006. When I left there were over 200 and the town was lit up like a Christmas tree.

I call that progress, but I digress before this gets all political and that's not what this thread is about at all.


That being said, I'm now going to make an accurate replica of my old ride before time marches on and I can't remember the finer details.

My wife was trying to be a sweetheart and was going to surprise me this Christmas by secretly purchasing a Hobby Boss kit. One day I was over at Elm City Hobbies for the first time.... she followed me in. I spotted the kit and was going to purchase it....she spilled the beans.

One was already on it's way in the mail.

I had a chat with Scott about the Barracuda kits at length about it and what was available for doing one up properly. After a quick cost estimate it was looking to be a huge drain on funds.

My wife approached me a few days later after. I had done research on how much it was going to cost to order the most accurate kits as others online looked just like an abortion and not accurate at all. Making an accurate model was going to cost me big.

I opened the Hobby Boss kit when it arrived and it was good....just not good enough for my ride. It's missing a lot of field modifications and the accuracy of the slat armour is good if you find doing massive amounts of PE a head ache.

She saw the kit and after a bit of chatting, she told me "Go ahead and order them."

I was blown away to say the least.

Well, I've gathered all the kits I required over the past few months for this build - it was costly.


The base kit:
http://www.hobbyboss.com/a/en/product/armor/1_35/2010/1129/627.html

Barracuda kit conversion in resin:
http://www.perfect-scale.de/Umbau--und-Zuruestsaetze-1---35/Leopard-2A6M-CAN--Barracuda--213.html

Upgrade to the conversion kit:
http://www.perfect-scale.de/Umbau--und-Zuruestsaetze-1---35/Leopard-2A6-M-CAN-Upgrade-Kit.html?XTCsid=387826332aa76232f9fb267503175346


Slat Armour PE kit:
http://www.trackjam.com/RealModel/RMA%2035219.htm

Workable track from Bronco:
http://www.model-making.eu/Bronco-Leopard-2-MBT-Workable-Track-Link-Set-p-1-2124835.html



I'll be posting photos very shortly.

This build is going to be a long term one and the most complicated one ever for me. I've never dealt with resin and using Vallejo for the first time. I'm learning tons on here and from Scott at Elm City Hobbies.

In the interim I'm working on three other kits to get my skills back up to a half decent level as I pick away at the Leo2.

I'm hoping to have it completed by May 2012.



Thanks for reading.

Tips and pointers are always encouraged and welcomed.
 
Barracuda Kit from Perfect Scale Modellbau:

IMG_0248.jpg

First thing you see:

IMG_0249.jpg

Parts layout

IMG_0250.jpg

Turret closeup:

IMG_0252.jpg

Hull closeup:

IMG_0251.jpg


After looking at both the Black Dog kit and this one; it's like night and day. This is the closest to what the real tank looks like and the accuracy is astounding and whoever made the originals is a perfectionist.

TANKS for looking!
 
The upgrade kit from Perfect Scale Modellbau

IMG_0253.jpg

Kit layout:

IMG_0254.jpg




Again, extremely accurate casting and replication of all the parts. Even in comparison to pictures from my old ride, everything is correct.

TANKS for looking!
 
PE kit from Real Armour:

IMG_0184.jpg


The sheet of brass is daunting!

IMG_0185.jpg


The build begins on the slat armour

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Bending.....thanks to Scott from Elm City!

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Finished product is very robust and not easy to deform. I used CA to keep the parts together.

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More bending. The parts are very small and intricate. Slow steps and taking my time is what results in a good piece.

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IMG_0241.jpg

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Tanks for looking!
 
Bronco's workable track kit off of evil-bay:

IMG_0173.jpg


5 sprues contained within to make 164 shoes....took me a while.
IMG_0174.jpg

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It even rolls up like the real track!
IMG_0257.jpg


TANKS for looking!
 
As you can see, the build has been underway for a couple of weeks and I've been slow and methodical.

Now I'm still updating my model paints with Vallejo and I've been pretty successful so far with the help of Scott.

One thing has stumped me though and i've searched online for the answer and have looked through numerous conversion charts.

The closest colour to what we had on my tank is Tamiya Wooden Deck Tan XF-78. I can't seen to find the Vallejo equivalent.

Anyone have an idea?

Here's a shot of my PERI 17 for a comparison:

DSC00130.jpg

Thoughts?
 
wow this is going to be realy nice, looking forward to more
 
Hi very impressive build, cant wait to see your Leo take shape :)


as for a vallejo shade maybe German Camo beige would work for the camo nets



shane
 
Nice to see you go Full Ape over this!

Obviously money isn't a concern! That's quite the Spread you have Acquired!!!

And it is nice to see "so" many AM kits for a Canadian AFV conversion ! We sure waited
A long time to see that! Amen!

I will be following this closely but won't be able to come close to that, when I hit mine!

I will go with the early 6M adoption from the Germans! Which is portraited on the HB kit!

Looking at your Resin Barracuda set..... It's a shame to discard all the originals kit parts!
For basically a "copy of them" with the IR net moulded on it! But if that is the only way to get it Fool proof! so be it!

Good luck with project! Buddy!

Norm.
 
Thanks guys. Much appreciated!

Here's some shots of us "out and about" on ops.

Enjoy!


Taken by another crew when were securing a town
T16onOP.jpg


Taken by my loader going through Bazaar-e-Panjwaii
picture057.jpg


Taken by a LAVIII crew behind me.
picture069.jpg
 
Ever since seeing Schweinhund227's review of the original kit, this has been on my build cue. I was wondering how to replicate the IR net all over the tank. Very interested to see how the resin-molded net looks when finished. Good luck, and I'll be following this closely!
 
Don't get me wrong, the other parts aren't going to be thrown out. I'll be tracking down a lower hull tub and suspension and build a clean German version when this is all said and done.

Regards
 
This one will be a tribute to yourself and your crew, you can do personal touch, Since your the tank commander, you can also try other brands if you can't find any match to Vallejo or find the closest Vallejo color... It had a wider range of color, consist of Model Color and Model Air Either you tint or shade it to match the color of your tank. :)
 
Elm City Hobbies said:
spud said:
whats teh purpose of that blanket thingy on teh tank?

Thermal blanket for the tank. More to keep the electronics in the tank cooler as opposed to making it comfy for the crew. ;)

Yep! With outside air temps in the +50C range the interior temp can hit over +60C in a Leo2.

In a C2 my gunner measured +72C next to the turret hydraulic pump after it running for only a half hour.

After that it was off the scale and bottomed out, so any little bit to keep the tank from heating up helps.

Even the umbrella (which was mocked by all others) dropped the temperature and staved off sun stroke and massive sun burns during operations that could go on for over 9 days non stop.

We had chiller vests that allowed us to operate in these temps as well. They were fairly efficient and allowed us to be effective during prolonged times of overwatch as troops would sweep through a town.

The amount of bottled water that we went through on an op always astounded me. We would put at least 10 cases of 24 bottles each and we'd go through at least 8 or 9 on an average operation.

Back to the project - I have to try and either find or scratch build a hand whisk, a portable air horn, a cooler, Cdn day bags, grenades, pen flares, TCCC med bags. Then of course there were the 4 cots we had on board and the rolled up tarp mounted to the slat armour.....etc..etc..

I'll also have to track down a PE MG3 and mount....hmmmm. The kit has one but it's not very detailed.

Regards
 
You still had the German MG3 on your ride? At that time!

I thought you would have been equipped with the normal C6 (M240) 7.62mm

But if you say so!

Keep talking about your experiences..... And maybe a time frame on some of the mods the tank
Went thru.... If you happen to know!

That darker resin set you have! Is it the A/C units installed later on!

Later!
 
schweinhund227 said:
You still had the German MG3 on your ride? At that time!

Yes.

Here is a picture of my loader and his MG3 AKAK beside him as we rolled out to Zangabad.

picture064.jpg



I thought you would have been equipped with the normal C6 (M240) 7.62mm

At the time only the Leo C2 has C6 AKAK mounted. The ARV 3 did a mod and trialed it. It was adopted on later tours.

When? I have no idea but more than likely well after April 2009, after we RiP'ed out.

Keep talking about your experiences..... And maybe a time frame on some of the mods the tank
Went thru.... If you happen to know!

We did many mods, most for crew comfort and combat efficiency. If I think of any and they're appropriate, I'll throw them up on here.


TANKS again for looking!
 

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