Forty-four years have elapsed since I last opened a Tamiya 1/16 kit. That model—the Leopard 1 A4 released circa 1979—was state-of-the-art at the time, even though its single gearbox and clutch steering appear rudimentary today.
I am a self-confessed Leopard buff and today its possible find a kit of almost every variant of the tank including those that were only ever built for trade show use.
Earlier this year, I found that Das Werk was releasing a static 1/16 Leopard 2A7V. A few weeks later, Trumpeter announced an all new 1/16 Leopard 2A6. I put kits on my future builds list. However, when Tamiya released their new 1/16 RC Leopard 2 A7V all discipline evaporated and it was a quick decision get hold of one and start building as soon as I finished my current build, Tamiya’s 1/35 version.
I intend, as far as practicable, to complete this build straight from the box. Previous large-scale projects have derailed by an obsessive pursuit of detail and were eventually declared finished years after starting or worse still, have remained unfinished on the shelf. This time round, timely completion and reliable running are the objectives.
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As I just mentioned, I recently completed Tamiya’s 1/35 Leopard 2 A7V (IMHO so far the best 1/35 kit of the A7V), and the assembly sequence of the 1/16 counterpart follows it almost bolt-for-bolt—merely enlarged. That fresh experience give a clear build plan and should maintain momentum.
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Tamiya’s latest DMD T-12 supersedes the older T-07/T-09 electronics suite and offers the following notable features (data drawn from kit reference 56047):
• Integrated gun-barrel control — dual-axis stabilisation maintains line-of-fire while the hull manoeuvres or the turret traverses.
• Four-channel management — proportional track control, turret rotation, gun elevation, recoil and stabiliser logic are all governed from a standard 4-channel transmitter.
• Synchronised sound and lighting — main-gun blast, coaxial MG, engine revs and track noise are timed precisely with motion, complemented by an LED muzzle flash.
• Battery protection — Li-Po low-voltage cut-off safeguards packs without auxiliary alarms.
Some adhesive trials
The kit uses threemain plastics, each clearly identified on the sprue gates or larger parts.
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Adhesive Observations
Tamiya ABS Cement Viscosity relatively high; initial grab >30 s
ABS cement thinned 1:1 with acetone Improved flow yet still sluggish
Home-made blend (1 g ABS chips in 60 ml acetone) Thin, capillary action excellent; sets in ~10 s and cures rigid
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This little sheet specifies Tamiya Extra-Thin Cement (green cap)—conventionally considered a styrene solvent—its label lists butyl-acetone, the active constituent of many ABS adhesives. So, I have learned a lesson already, Extra-Thin produces a reliable weld on both ABS-to-ABS and ABS-to-PS joints!
Time to start building
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