I took list advice and went with Tower and got a Leopard2 A6 .VS IR tank. I have dealt with Tower since the early 90's and they have always been stellar. I plan to convert it to the A6 the Canadians are using in Afghanistan, I think they have 20 on loan from the Bundeswehr. Dacostasr has a M1 Abrams IR, so it looks like Canada and the US are going to war !

Explain "going to war"

Oohhh, you know. They're going to battle their tanks against each other!


Jeff

They use a system similar to Tamiya's infrared combat system but alot cheaper ( $69 for the old type controller ) and not quite as sophisticated.
http://www.vstank.com/vspro/spec_ir.html
but it should be fun running the modern tanks around while our Tamiya's recharge. Pzrwest, your not all that far from us if you'd like to join us sometime to watch or use a spare IR combat tank

Hello,

I am planning to convert the Hobby engine Leo 2A5 to a 2A6M CAN as well. If you need pics, I think I have downloaded most of them off the net that I could find. That bar armour will certainly be a treat. The biggest thing for me right now is to get the lower hull squared away with new electronics, wheels, sprocket, track etc. However, I think I have to finish my M-41 and T-34 projects first.

James W.

Thanks James, did you want to post them here or email them to me? Posting here would benefit anyone else interested, this would become a build thread then

Hello,

Here is the first batch. They show the Leopard 2A6M CAN being tested in Germany and the first one being delivered into Afghanistan. Note, all these pics came from internet sources and were not taken by me.

The bar armour had been removed for the airlift but you can see the mounting points.
The 2A6M CAN has the extra belly armour and also has additional armour mounted on the upper front hull. If you look just above the spare track section on the front shots, you will notice the extra armour plate. You will also notice that the cleaning staves are not mounted on the front hull opposite the driver's position with this extra armour. The antenna mount is also different then the standard 2A6. As these tanks are on loan from Germany, the MG on the loaders hatch is a German MG3 rather than the typical Canadian C6 GPMG.

I will download more picts of the tank in Afghan next. Please note that I am not an armour expert (I'm a Finance Officer by trade) but will try to answer any questions people may have or direct them to sites were there will be serving members to answer.

It will be interesting to see the builds develop. If they are going well, I may postpone the T-34 project and start on my Leo.

James W

Cool! Very nice pics! I have not seen the Leo with bar armor before.


Jeff

I like it better without the bar armor on it...

it should be renamed "Billboard Armour" then Macdonalds can sponsor military hardware!

Remind me of the bed springs you'd see on russian armour in WWII to deal with panzerfausts

Wow, Tower is fast ! My A6 arrived, didn't have time to open it during lunch but I will post impressions later this evening.

From what I have read, the bar armour is designed to destroy the warhead of a RPG-7 type weapon before it hits the vehicle. It doesn't actually cause the warhead to explode (unless the fuse actually hits a bar) but rather as the warhead tries to pass through the armour, it will be physically cut up as it passes through. The space between the bars is less than the diameter of the RPG-7 warhead. So, it is the modern equivalent to the armour used to defeat the panzerfausts.

I have noticed that there is a thread on the Leo here that already has the same pics (or links to them) that I have. The best shots are at the photobucket site as that gentleman has just returned from Afghan.

ArmChair, would it be possible to get a copy of the Tam. instructions that deal with the suspension/wheels/sprockets and track. I am looking at the possibility of using the Tam parts to upgrade my Leo. The cost of getting the Tam wheels, tracks and sprocket parts themselves is not that much but I am not sure about all the other hardware that is needed to actually fit them to the tank.

James W.

Sure, I have Sherman and King Tiger Tamiya instructions, which do you want ?
I think its ironic that 60+ years later German tanks still use Schurzen

Cool I had some ideas on how to get the VS IR to work better in outdoor sun... was thinking using dull flat black plastic thin washers and put slip them over the clear VS sensor Kind of how tamiyas unit works and then cover the top of the VS sensor with a big black disk...I think it may work as the washers if big enough will block out the sun creating some shade and it should increase outdoor range.

I was thinking the same Shen wrt the open IR unit it has. James was looking for Tamiya Leo instructions if anyone can help him out. The VS kit is nicely detailed for 1/24 and runs well, the engine sound is a little cheesey and the firing recoil is the typical tank jerking we see from China. It runs smooth and control is not bad, the turret rotation and gun elevation have some whirring noises but work nicely. Next is to use it in combat and see what the fun factor is.

The screens were not from beds. They were made at the factory.

I have the same one but the airsoft version...I like mine alot ... boy your going to be seen really easy with this paint job!!! seen easy means much better chance of getting blown away!

Eugen, I was refering to the T-34 during WWII, they would take bed springs from houses and put them on their tanks

Shen, you were saying? :P

Armchairgeneral.....So you will be fighting out in the snow
what other VS IR tanks are used in your club?

Dacostasr has a VS M1, some people may not want to get into the more expensive 1/16 IR battles so I am thinking we should have a VS alternative for the less dedicated. I don't think these will go very well in the snow unless its hard packed, I was just firing a shot back at you

I road mine through anything i could try and throw at it!!
They are tuff little tanks that's for sure!!
Have FUN with it.

I'll keep that in mind !

please help,
having trouble with my new vstank leo A5. plays few rounds, tank no longer work. turret does not turn or goes up/down. firing, no recoil. movement is ok. brought this tank 2 mos ago, was working fine. did not drop it.anyone else experience similar prob?