Leopard.Das Panzer

Historical Background
In the late 1960s, West Germany and the United States signed a Memorandum Of Understanding to build a common main battle tank designated Main Battle Tank 70 (MBT70) / Kampfpanzer 70 (Kpz70). The parties involved however did not agree over almost every part of the design; each trying to 'pull' the design in their directions. This almost inevitably led to cost increases. The US Congress eventually pulled the plug on the program in 1971, after which each country resorted to their own MBT programmes (the US MBT-70 was renamed XM1 and eventually led to the M1 Abrams MBT).  The work on the new MBT had actually been started by Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann in 1970 and in 1971, a design based on an even earlier Experimetalentwicklung, armed with a Rheinmetall 120mm L/44 gun was chosen and given the name Leopard 2 (with the original Leopard restrospectively named 'Leopard 1'). After a number of tests from 1974 to 1977, the Leopard 2 was accepted for production. In September 1977, 1,800 Leopard 2s were ordered and to be delivered in five batches, with the first vehicle delivered on 25 October 1979.

The Leopard 2 was protected with spaced, multi-layered composite armour, a combination of steel plates of different hardness, elastic and other non-metallic components. In the 1980s, it was estimated that frontal armour of the Leopard 2 can resist 125mm APFSDS rounds fired fired from the range of 1,500 meters. Estimated protection was roughly 590-690mm RHA equivalent (RHAe) for the turret, 600mm RHAe for the glacis plate (2A4 version) and 920-940mm RHAe for the turret. The hull sides is covered with armoured skirts to increase protection from projectiles and RPG rounds. From the 2A5 version upwards, additional armour was added to the turret front (up to 150mm in a wedge-shaped armour module), hull and the side skirts while Leopard 2A4M and 2A6M added further armour to the belly, to increase protection against anti-tank mines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Secondary protection was provided by two banks of four Wegmann 76 mm smoke mortars either side of the turret

The Leopard 2 is armed with a 120mm Rheinmetall smoothbore gun, either in L44 variant (up to 2A5 variant) or L55 (2A6 and subsequent models). 42 rounds can be carried - 27 in a magazine to the left of the driver's compartment with another 15 to the left of the turret bustle. The turret magazine is separated from the fighting compartment by an electrically operated door. Blowout panels on the turret roof would direct explosions in the magazine away from the fighting compartment. The gun is able to fire a variety of ordnance such as DM-33 APFSDS-T armour-piercing round and DM-12 Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank round. Secondary weapons are two 7.62mm machine guns (MG3 for German Leopards), one on the roof and the other co-axially mounted with the main armament.  The tank is powered by a MTU MB 873 diesel engine producing 1,500 hp.

Leopard 2 was produced in a number of variants. Leopards 2A1 to 2A3 was only produced in rather small numbers. The 2A4 was the first major variant, which introduced automatic fire and explosion suppression system, all-digital fire control system and improved turret with titanium/tungsten armour. The 2A5 version introduced a wedge-shaped, spaced armour to the turret front and the frontal area of the sides. The new armour was intended to defeat HEAT rounds by detonating it before it can reach the main armour. The spaced armour also was intended to defeat long-rod penetrators ('sabot' or APFSDS rounds) by forcing them to change direction. The interior of the turret was fitted with spall liners, to reduce flying fragments should the armour was penetrated. The front third of the side skirts were also replaced with a stronger substitute. The gun mantlet were also modified to accept the new armour. The gunner's sight was also relocated from the turret face to a position on the roof. The commander's independent sight was relocated to a new position behind the hatch. Turret controls become all-electric, saving some weight while increasing reliability and crew safety. The 2A5 entered service in 1998. The 2A5 together with 2A4 version was used by the German contingent of KFOR (Kosovo Force) peacekeeping force. The Dutch used their Leopards for the IFOR/SFOR missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Leopards' first combat use was at Afghanistan when Denmark and Canada joined the ISAF, bringing their Leopard 2A5DKs and 2A6Ms with them.

The Kit
When the Leopard 2 became the prime MBT for the Bundeswehr since the late 1970s, the modeling companies were somewhat cool towards the then-new tank. I think only Heller and Italeri made the models of the 2A4 back then. In 2000 however, Tamiya came out with an all-new kit of the 2A5. The kit feature all the hallmarks of Tamiya with well-detailed parts, spread among five olive green sprues, a one-piece hull, two lengths of glueable tracks plus the usual decal and instruction sheets. My gripe is that the transparent parts are supplied as acetate, rather than moulded clear plastic pieces. For the turret bustle rack, Tamiya provided a sheet of mesh which need to be cut into shape. Decals provide marking for five 2A5s. For this build, I'm using Lion Roar Models' PE set to replace and/or add parts provided by the kit.

Building
Construction starts with the suspension assembly, which I painted prior to attaching the road, idler and sprocket wheels. Moving on to the upper hull, disaster strikes when I lose the right rear tow hook to the Carpet Monster. I can't find it (and scratchbuilding one is beyond me) and decide that no photos of the rear of tank will be taken! I intend to use the PE engine grilles but decided not to as the kit-supplied ones are quite nice (plus I don't have the proper tool to cut through the rather thick plastic!). I also did not use certain PE parts as I am too clumsy to handle them. The ammo belt for the MG3 is taken from Academy's US machinegun set (at 1/35 scale, one is hard-pressed to notice the difference between .30-06 and 7.62mm x 51 NATO rounds!). The toughest part in building this kit for me had to be the vision blocks as they are made from thin acetate can be easily spoilt by glue marks.

Painting and markings
I painted the Leo according to instructions using Tamiya acrylic paints, all using the NATO colours from their range (XF-67, XF-68 and XF-69). The transparent parts were painted Smoke X-19 and layered with clear red and blue. The MG is painted German Grey XF-63 and dry-brushed with silver for the metallic parts. The tracks are painted Gunze Steel whilst the track pads are painted German Grey. For markings, I choose the markings for a vehicle serving in Kosovo in 1999. XF-57 Buff is then applied to simulate dust.

Conclusion
Again, it's a Tamiya! Construction is fun with almost no problems. The Lion Roar PE parts is however quite hard and need to be malleated over a flame.