Tamiya leopard 2 a7v rescue project

[tomhugill]

Hey folks,

Another most modern entry intoy big cat rescue and rehabilitation program!

Had the opportunity to pick up a Tamiya leopard 2 A7V off eBay recently. Was up for a very low start but sold as spares or repairs with a possible fault control board, also some issues with the assembly were mentioned. After some negotiation with the seller we got to a buy now price which was pretty reasonable given the condition and issues mentioned.

When the tank arrived it looked like it had been crushed with the suspension completely collapsed and lots of bits loose. Luckily eBay's simple delivery came to the rescue and a very nice person from eBay consierge was able to offer me a 50% refund within the hour. Q

So here's the starting point. Time to roll up sleeves and get cracking.



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[tomhugill]

So with all the eBay stuff out the way it was time to get it cracked open and assess the damage.

Initially I was fearing massive internal damage. Happily the issues were purely from assembly. On the leopard the suspension arms are attached to the torsion bars with plastic inserts which I assumed had failed (or torsion bar stays). What I hadn't accounted for was the builder had only used 1 out of the 3 required bushes (and not the one that holds the arm in place). So they just pulled out with any pressure on the tank.

Got them into place tanks sitting properly happy days.

Onto the electrics issue. It was sold as "driving in circles" and not going right. As the Leo has a double differential gearbox this should be possible, one motor does forward and reverse and the other does turns. Even if a drive fet has failed it shouldn't do what's been described.

Disconnect the gearbox and then check with a sparate motor the DMD is working correctly, this showed it all working as it should be. Phew.

So the issues in the gearbox (hopefully). I've built afew of these and there are some bits where it's really easy to get things the wrong way round. Well credit to the builder, they've found new and creative ways to fuck up. Spacers in the wrong place, wrong poly caps used, and my favourite, the centre diff cover glued together with poly cement and no screws. So when load applied the case just opens and the gears slip. Fantastic. Luckily I've a lot of tamiya gearbox spares. Some head scratching and I got the gearbox running nicely.

All back together and I could test the rest of the electrics. A big sigh of relief and all working!

phpBB [video]

https://youtube.com/shorts/75-Y2d_egEY? ... ExCfiF494i




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[Stormbringer]

nice pick up mate

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning, Tom!
This Rescue project came to the right Builder. Your Detective Skillset for broken and mis-built parts and assemblies was in full use here. A Nice Find for Good pricing and a Fun Detail Build ahead! Following along!
regards,
Painless

[r32]

Considering how detailed and clear Tamiya instructions are, it takes a special talent to be able to put it together wrongly. Nice save!

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Painless says it all, Tom. Again you have come to the rescue, and now you have another Tamiya AFV. I have noticed that you are selling off some other tanks. Are you trying to sneak up on a complete collection of top-of-the-class Tamiya tanks?

[tomhugill]

Thanks for the kind words folks.

The next stage was the front end. In the ad it mentioned the lights were slightly in the wrong place. An understatement. I didn't understand why initially but the lights were all installed way far forward and absolutely swimming in humbrol polymcement (the kind which doesn't really work on tamiya plastic). First stage a strip down, everything removed and then where possible disassembled to their constituent parts. Glue pulled off, parts sanded back, clear parts resorted using very fine grade sand paper and polish. At this point I realise the big issue. There's a cross piece that all the lights attach to. For reasons only the original build knows this had been missed off and the lights had been installed upside down. *Facepalm*.

So a new piece made up from styrene, everything put back in place and the nose sprayed up in primer to make sure everything looked ok.

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[tomhugill]

Metal parts had been left bare (why?!?), so these were primed and installed on the tank prior to paint.

It had been painted in this rather unfetching white, I assume to do as a un peace keeper. Not far me but I thought I'd try and use this tomdo some pre shading

I don't usually do this but I was doing the paint job it a different way this time to try and not have the build stall.

I put the NATO green on and modulated a little and was pretty happy



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[tomhugill]

The rest of the NATO camp went on and it became clear my green wasn't right. Going over the white had lightened it to a place it didn't look right.

The NATO camo was airbrushed on and then by had I redid the edges to make it hard edged. I think this is probably easier than using panzer putty and let's you sort and over spray out too.

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[tomhugill]

After trying to use different tan and brown filters to get the green where I wanted it and not really achieving it I tried something new. A green filter from mig and a water based one at that! (I usually use oils) This worked a treat and bought it back to what I think is a proper NATO green. At this stage take was gloss clear coated and decals applied.


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