Hobby Engine: Leopard2-A5
 

To be frank after reading some of the posts on this forum I was dreading the arrival of this piece of kit.
Anyway, it arrived on Wednesday and my first impression was, "Bloody hell, it's massive!!!!!". It totally dwarfs my HL Tiger and PZ III's.

Detailing

It's finished in a very nice dark green, matt black and dark brown cammo, and is very well detailed.
Bolts are recessed and crisply finished, the hull mounted tools are add-on's, not moulded with the hull, all periscopes have clear glass, even the non-slip pads are there!
The tracks are really not that awful, but the drive sprockets are.
I'm not saying it's perfect, but as a basis for a detailing project I think it's an excellent start. [sm=thumbs_up.gif]

Performance

Firstly, it's not proportional, one speed forward and reverse. (Very fast)
I have ran it on carpet, concrete, sand, mud and grass. It has yet to throw a track and seems able to take on any level of incline with ease.
I will be adding some extra weight internally to make the performance of the suspension more realistic, as at present it simply isn't heavy enough.
Running time is about right at the stated 30 minutes, but the claimed transmitter range of 30 metres is more like 20 to 25.

Overall

I am very pleased with this latest acquisition and am about to get out the thinned down matt black to emphasise the detailing.
Will post some pics soon.

RE: Hobby Engine: Leopard2-A5
 

It pays to have low expectations when dealing with sight unseen purchases :)
Glad to hear you were pleasantly surprised, how about some pics?

Paul

RE: Hobby Engine: Leopard2-A5
 

Seems to be an interesting proect.

I have been thinking of converting a HE Leopard to an Strv 122 myself.:D

Some pictures would have been very nice.

RE: Hobby Engine: Leopard2-A5
 

Hi Guys, sorry for the delay with the pics, my camera had mysteriously disappeared.
Anyway, as requested here are some pics of the beasty.

RE: Hobby Engine: Leopard2-A5
 

Very very very niceeeeeee. I used to have one, and I agree with you, the detail on this tank is nicely done. And it even has one thing over the Tamiya Leopard....it comes with an MG-3 machine gun. [:@] :D

RE: Hobby Engine: Leopard2-A5
 

Being that this is what is used in the Canadian Armed Forces,and in use in Afghanistan, I am started to grow an interest in purchasing one. Haven't been able to find one though on this side of the pond.

RE: Hobby Engine: Leopard2-A5
 

I got mine from [link=http://www.otherlandtoys.co.uk/]Otherland[/link]. Postage was only £4.95 and it arrived in 2 days.
I wouldn't like to think what the postage to Canada would be though.

I was thinking of upgrading mine to the Canadian version (Leopard2 A6M) currently seeing action in Afghanistan and giving a very good account of itself, having survived roadside IED detonations and multiple hollow charge strikes without loss of crew or tank! The problem would be reproducing the slat armour.

RE: Hobby Engine: Leopard2-A5
 

looks like a nice detailed start to a project,nice to know the tools are only stuck on ,saves replacing them so they dont look melted inton the hull

RE: Hobby Engine: Leopard2-A5
 

The pics don't do it justice mate. "Her Indoors" has been messing with my camera. I have the Tamiya RC 1/35 Leopard2-A5 which incidentally cost about the same, and it is every bit as detailed as that one, only on a much larger scale. I took the top off yesterday to see what I was dealing with when it comes to upgrade time. The internals are all WSN!
I have sourced a supplier for Tamiya tracks and drive sprockets on the web (£60) for both. Metal gear boxes will cost (£20/30) and an RX14 main board around £10.
So, the total outlay when fully upgraded will be in the region of £170. Sorry, forgot the aluminium A6 gun barrell available on ebay for £12.50 so that's £180.
That's a hell of a lot cheaper than the Tamiya version, which makes me and more importantly "Her Indoors" very happy.