Leopard in 1/35th ? New questions.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Just out of curiosity who makes the best Leopard 1 ? More specifically a 1A5 to be built in Canadian markings/Camouflage of the 1990’s ? Any info and assistance will be gratefully accepted. Thank you in advance ? 

 

Dennis  

Edited April 19, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[Soeren]

Hey Dennis. Did you look up the reviews at leopardclub already? According to that it looks like Meng does the best Leopards at the moment. While Takom does the particular Canadian versions. They point you to all the quibbles and offer the detailed answer. Hobby boss announced new kits as well. But I didn't find reviews yet.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

New questions... If I'm wanting to build a Leopard from the 1990’s would a Mk.1 or Mk.2 make a difference ? Preferably Canadian but any NATO member will work. Trying to get ideas for a future build, please ignore my ignorance. 

[Julien]

I would go with the Meng kit, then look on the Leopard Club site for any Canadian specific bits. They do some really good stuff including accurate gun barrels.

 

Julien

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Thanks i will look into that some more. My biggest worry is the tracks ? Everything I've read so far says no one does good tracks for any of there kits. Ive seen negative stuff on Mengs tracks, Takom’s tracks, and a couple of others. The last experience with the Takom M3 lee tracks has left me a bit gun-shy when it comes to tracks. 

[pigsty]

The Leopard and Leopard 2 aren’t just versions of a tank, they’re completely different tanks.  If you want something in use in the 1990s, there are a lot of Leopard options, and a lot of Leopard 2 options.  But if you want Canadian, you’ll only be able to go for a Leopard.

 

Canada bought the Leopard 1A3 in the late 1970s, adapted with a different rangefinder as the C1.  They were converted to the Leopard C2 by taking Leopard 1A5 turrets and fitting them to the original hulls.  That started in 2000.  So for a proper 1990s Canadian Leopard, a C1, you’d actually want a 1A3 or 1A4 kit.  The options are the Takom kit (in production) and the older Italeri kit (OOP, but readily available).  Either would need some changes to the sights to make a C1, unless the parts are in the Takom kit - I’m not familiar with it.  The Italeri tracks are dreadful things so you’d need Meng replacements, unless you wanted to spend much more on Friul metal tracks.

[Julien]

Leo 1 kits here: http://leopardclub.ca/LeopardLists/1-kit/plasticKits.shtml

 

For a decent Canadian Kit you will need a conversion I suspect, I know Legend did one for the C2 not sure on the C1.

 

Contact the guys at Leopard Workshop they are very knowledgeable and helpful. 

[Soeren]

The Meng tracks for the Leopard 1 take some time to build. But Considering the price and the looks of it, I would say these are great.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Soeren

[mshackleton]

For a Canadian Leopard C1: Meng 1A3 kit plus Legend C1 conversion