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Kit 0328 1/35 Scale
Styrene
The following article is intended to assist "Tread Heads" in building the Revell Leopard 1A5. It is not a comprehensive
history.
The German Leopard 1 has been in service since 1965. This battle tank was (or still is) the main battle
tank of most continental European NATO members. This article will discuss only the CAST turret version (turtle shape). The
WELDED turrets will not be discussed, as they are a different configuration (i.e., Canadian C1/1A4, Australian AS1/1A4).
The Revell kit depicts final upgrades utilized by Germany, designed to maintain this weapon system well into the early
21st century. However, the kit also contains the parts to build the earlier modifications (1A1A1, 1A1A2). Hence a skill
level of 5 is recommended (North American skill level 3).
The Leopard 1A5 equips the panzer grenadier brigades in
the new unified German army. All of the former East German T-72 tanks were withdrawn from service (due to a tendency to explode
when hit!). The T-72s were sold (to Croatia?) or became museum exhibits (one is on display at Camp Borden, Ontario). German
panzer brigades are equipped with the Leopard 2 MBT; the panzer brigades are to engage the Russian T-80s while the panzer
grenadiers are to engage Russian T-72s and mechanized infantry (at least in theory!).
The kit can also build into
most European versions with some minor modifications and/or minor scratchbuilding. The balance of this article will cover
the modifications that were implemented in three phases.
The Leopard 1 was produced in series batch production over
a time span of 10 years. This kit can build any of the cast (round) turret Leopards from Series batch 1 through 4. Series
batches 5 and 6 are the welded (rectangular) turrets. A brief description of Series 1 through 4 follows:
Series
1: September 1965 July 1966 500 units
Main identifying features:
Square external intercom box on rear hull plate
Vertical/horizontal exhaust grilles
No hookeyes on hull
Series 2: July 1966 July 1967 600 units
Main
identifying features:
Round external intercom box introduced on rear hull plate
Vertical/horizontal exhaust grilles
Deflectors on hull to protect turret ring
No hookeyes on hull
Series 3: July 1967 August 1968 500 units
Main identifying features:
Hookeyes introduced above rear lights and on hull sides above first road wheel
Vertical/horizontal
exhaust grilles
Deflectors on hull to protect turret ring
Series 4: August 1968 February 1970 Total production
not given, includes exports
Main identifying features:
Horizontal exhaust grilles introduced
Modernization
Variants:
Leopard 1A1A1 (New designation: 1A1A3)
Thermal sleeve on 105 mm barrel
Additional turret armour
bolted onto turret (creating air space)
SEM80/90 VHF digital radios
Retains XSW-30-U infrared/white searchlight
Stereoscopic sights
Leopard 1A1A2 (New Designation: 1A1A4)
Thermal sleeve on 105 mm barrel
Additional
turret armour bolted onto turret
SEM80/90 VHF digital radios
Retains XSW-30-U infrared/white searchlight
Stereoscopic
sights
PZB 200 passive low light level television (LLLTV) camera with internal monitor
Leopard 1A5 (New designation:
1A5A1)
Thermal sleeve on 105 mm barrel
Additional turret armour bolted onto turret (creating air space)
SEM80/90
VHF digital radios
EMES 18 fire control system installed with thermal sights or imaging system inside armoured housing;
the housing is located on the top right side of the turret, in front of the commander's hatch
Ballistic computer inside
turret
Laser collimator on end of 105 mm barrel for rapid sight adjustment and barrel warpage detection
REMOVED: PZB
200 LLLTV camera, XSW-30-U searchlight, stereoscopic sights (welded shut)
The Kit:
The Revell kit is a combination of Italeri kit 224 (Leopard 1A4) and new tooling on two sprues. The Italeri
kit was released 20 years ago, but the kit is still comparable to some recent armour releases. The hull and chassis are from
the Italeri kit and the turret with add-on armour are new moldings from Revell. Unfortunately, the stereoscopic sight pieces,
originally included in the Italeri kit, are not in the new kit.
The following lists potential problems:
Sinkholes?
You bet! You're modellers, deal with it!
Tracks are the old vinyl belts, being very hard to paint and brittle (one
idler snapped off and one track broke - superglue and track skirts to the rescue!).
Idler wheels should be reinforced
with brass rod axles, to reduce the chance of breakage.
Mr. Surfacer cut with lacquer thinner will help paint adhere
to tracks.
Turret armour skirts are large curved molds for the sides; I suggest cutting them along panel sections
(as per the real tank) to aid in proper fit (unfortunately, I did not).
I hope this article was informative, and
will help you to sort out the different Leopard 1 variants and build a better kit.
References:
Leopard 1 Main Battle Tank 1965-1995 by Michael Jerchel. Osprey New Vanguard 16, 1995.
Leopard 1 and 2: The
Spearheads of the West German Armored Forces by Thomas Laber. Concord 1007, 1990.
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