Hello! Thought I’d keep you updated on my latest project… Started it because my Konigstiger’s first coat of paint was still tacky, and got quite a bit involved…! (The Konigstiger is fine now, and I’ll be completing its paint scheme soon)
This is Revell’s 1/72 Leclerc MBT:
Let me first assure you that there’s little wrong with the kit itself… It’s just that the kit is a vehicle of the 5th production batch (T5) and I happened to have LOTS of infoon vehicles from the 6th batch… The T5 were used in the Balkans while the T6 are the current latest version in service (I think!). Maybe Piwi can tell us if I’m wrong!
Anyway, since I was going to cut open the roof of the turret, I thought I’d give it ‘everything’ so I started, picture by picture, making the kit looking even more accurate… So it’s mostly little bits of plastic card, plastic rods, thin copper sheets, the lead from yet another good bottle of wine, and thin wire… Nothing out of the ordinary!
The engine grilles were replaced. Revell had molded a very fine mesh that looked superb but the T6 have slats instead… The hinges of the three front panels of the side skirts were a bit small so I replaced them and decided to open up the ones on the right side, to show off the nice tracks and wheels Revell gave us. Those 3 elements are still missing now, but will be added after painting.
The main ‘problem’ with the kit is that it lacks the anti-skid pannels that cover a large part of the turret and hull. I replicated those with masking tape. Cutting them panels right was not always easy and took time, but I’m sure the finished model will look better for it. Those panels show of as light yellowish-green over the green plastic and yellowish over the modified areas of the turret.
The back of the hull was reworked a bit, mostly to improve upon the parts holding the two jettisonable tanks.
The turret has the main (external) difference between the T5 and T6 variants: the rear area of the kit’s turret had to be replaced to accommodate the new A/C system. It’s not 100% completed right now, with just a few bits missing still.
As you can see the gun is still missing too. It needs a bit of re-working in terms of the sight at the front end.
The whole thing should now be ready soon for priming. I’ll use a black primer as the wheels and apparently the side of the hull are painted black on the real thing. I have two options in terms of camouflage, either the three tone green/sand/black European scheme or the sand/black (or very dark brown ?) Desert scheme. I might go for the Desert scheme as I’ve already got a Leclerc (1/48 Zenghdefu) in the European scheme…
Domi
