Leopard 2A6/A6M

[Paul A H]

Leopard 2A6/A6M

1:72 Revell

The Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank was developed for the West German army in the 1970s as a replacement for the Leopard 1 MBT then in service. The Leopard 2 has been upgraded throughout its service life through the A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 and this, the A6 variant. The most modern variants, from the A5 onwards, are easily distinguished from earlier versions as they feature heavily sloped armour on the turrets. The A6 differs from the A5 in that it features an improved Rheinmetall L55 120mm main gun that is capable of higher muzzle velocities than the shorter L44 gun. It is capable of firing a range of ammunition including fearsome armour-piercing discarding sabot rounds capable of penetrating 560mm of steel armour at 2000 meters. The A6M features additional armour protection against mines.

Although is a brand new tool from Revell, its announcement was a little overshadowed in some parts of the world by other new kits such as the forthcoming Handley Page Halifax. Nevertheless this is a very welcome release from Revell, not least because the Leopard 2A6 is in service not only with the German Army, but also the armies of Canada, the Netherlands, Portugal and Greece, meaning there are plenty of options available to the modeller. The kit is packed into Revell’s usual end-opening box. Inside are five sprues of dark green plastic which hold the kits 168 parts. As you would expect from a brand-new tool from Revell, the mouldings are free from flash and feature superb, delicate details.

Right from the start, it is clear that Revell haven’t made any compromises as far as detail is concerned. The hull features separate parts for the suspension and running gear and the road wheels are moulded in their inner and outer halves. Needless to say some care will have to be taken during assembly in order to ensure that all the wheels are in contact with the ground before the tracks are fixed in place. Revell have taken an interesting approach to the tracks supplied with this kit. Gone are the link and length tracks we’re used to seeing in Revell boxes, replaced by tracks moulded in two halves. These are designed to be bent around the wheels and drive sprockets and then glued in place. As far as I can tell they are made from the same hard plastic as the rest of the kit and rely on being very thin for their flexibility. Revell suggest warming them in hot water prior to installation, so it will be interesting to see how these perform.

The hull and turret follow the usual method of construction and feature plenty of nice details including a very subtle non-slip texture on the horizontal surfaces. Pioneer tools are moulded in place but pretty much everything else is moulded separately. Turret hatches can be posed open, the gun can be posed in tied-down configuration and even the rear-view mirrors can be posed folded or open. The decal sheet allows four different tanks to be modelled, all from different units of the German Army and all finished in the familiar Nato Green/Brown/Black camouflage scheme. I think this is a bit of a missed opportunity by Revell given that the A6 is in service with a fair few nations, some of whose Leopards are finished in slightly more jazzy schemes, but that’s a very minor grumble about what is after all an excellent kit.

Conclusion

If you haven’t guessed by now, I think this is a truly superb kit. The level of detail Revell have packed in could make some 1:35 scale armour kits blush; this is as good as it gets in 1:72 scale. The lack variety on the decal sheet is slightly disappointing, but it won’t put me off finishing mine in a different scheme. Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[Shar2]

That does look very nice, almost can't believe it's 1/72.

[Basosz]

...because the Leopard 2A6 is in service not only with the German Army, but also the armies of Canada, the Netherlands...

Actually... we've stopped using them. They are all for sale as of a few months ago when Defence budget cuts completely wiped out our tank regiments. They are now in storage not too far from where I live actually. Too bad cause they are very capable beasts and I enjoyed seeing them.

Nice review by the way!

[John]

That's an interesting take on the tracks. As I posted elsewhere, the link and length tracks on the PzH 2000 are driving me crazy so I'll be interested to hear more about these.

John

[Paul A H]

Actually... we've stopped using them. They are all for sale as of a few months ago when Defence budget cuts completely wiped out our tank regiments. They are now in storage not too far from where I live actually. Too bad cause they are very capable beasts and I enjoyed seeing them.

Nice review by the way!

Aha, thanks for the correction (and curse my out-of-date sources ).