Kitty Kitty Bang Bang - Meng Leopard 1A3

[doogsatx]

With the Corsair about as far as it can go without the aid of an airbrush, and a danky, cold, drizzly night last night precluding that, I cracked open my first new build of 2015.



It's a pretty looking kit. Strangely, it reminds me of what we might expect from Tamiya if they hadn't basically forgotten about armor save for the random new release every 2-3 years.

Wasn't able to get to too much last night. First page of the instructions, basically, installing all the suspension bits. The main arms articulate using a torsion bar setup that should be familiar to anyone who's tackled a Dragon Tiger. If my memory of those is accurate, this one's a bit better, with really nice locating gates for each torsion bar that are pressure fit and don't require any glue.



I'll be adding a Voyager PE set to this - I goofed and ordered the 1A4 set, but they're more or less the same for what I want it for - the gun, smoke cans, and things relating to pioneer tools.



I MIGHT add Orochi's workable tracks, too. It depends whether or not the vinyls can cut it.

[wing_nut]

Don't recall if I've seen an armor build on your bench before. Glad I'm here early so I can lay claim to the "Eucker" seats.

[TRM]

Cool stuff Doogs! Caught this over on Fakebook! Looking forward to seeing you rip through it! I have a 2A4 slated for some point in the year!! Keep up the good work!

[406 Silverado]

Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one.

[deafpanzer]

Awesome! Great choice... you have my attention!

[doogsatx]

Jan 3, 2015 11:05:43 GMT -5 wing_nut said:

Don't recall if I've seen an armor build on your bench before. Glad I'm here early so I can lay claim to the "Eucker" seats.

Dude! I knocked out four rolly things last year! Trumpeter T-80BV, Tamiya Chally 1, Hobby Boss T-26 and Trumpeter LAV-AT!

Just wait, though, this is only one half of the Kitty Kitty Bang Bang adventure. It'll be joined shortly by Takom's Leopard C2!

[wing_nut]

Trumpeter T-80BV, Tamiya Chally 1, Hobby Boss T-26 and Trumpeter LAV-AT

Yikes. I need to pay attention. LOL

[wbill76]

Looking forward to this one!

[M1Carbine]

Oooooooooooooo another kitty cat that goes BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Sweet, Im in

Bob

[doogsatx]

Got a little bit further along last night, including a quick test-fit of the major components. Happy all around.



Most annoying thing about the kit is annoying about plenty of others, too - too-tight poly caps in the wheels. Once they go on the suspension arms, don't expect to get them off again.

[doogsatx]

The Voyager set came yesterday and it's nice...but my mind's not made up on the boomstick.



This is the main core of the gun built up - still lots of little buckles and things to add and it just seems tiresome. That and the gun itself is a bit wonky. The middle brass part is a hollow tube, with PE end caps that then slot into the solid barrel parts on either end. The result is a very heavy barrel using some small discs of PE to stay together. I'm concerned.

The kit gun is also rather nice - so I may give it a go and use it if the seam cleanup isn't all that arduous.

[TRM]

The test fit on the bulk of the hulk looks pretty good Doogs!! I hear you on the barrel. Sometimes in an effort to make something better, they make it more complicated and often the result is the same if less desirable form the original kit part. Can you mix-match things at all? (not that you want to) Either way, I'm in for the long haul here!! Keep things going there brotha'!

[doogsatx]

Jan 7, 2015 14:37:07 GMT -5 TRM said:

The test fit on the bulk of the hulk looks pretty good Doogs!! I hear you on the barrel. Sometimes in an effort to make something better, they make it more complicated and often the result is the same if less desirable form the original kit part. Can you mix-match things at all? (not that you want to) Either way, I'm in for the long haul here!! Keep things going there brotha'!

Mixing and matching is I guess possible, but it would require removing buckle detail from the kit gun, which is already pretty solid.

Think I'll make the call after I glue the kit gun together and see how it looks.

Also struggling with how to deal with the clear periscope windows on the cupola. Looks like they will be one nasty masking job...

[doogsatx]

My dithering on which barrel to use was decided last night when I assembled the kit barrel. The main length of the barrel looks really, really good. But oh my god the muzzle. Just so bad where it joins to the main length. Wish I had a pic to share, but the thing rolled off the bench and the muzzle went flying to locations unknown.

Anyway, here's the more-assembled tank with the heavy metal boomstick. I'm literally going to have to counterweight the tank to keep the whole thing from sagging forward.

[doogsatx]

I'm no longer as sure about the metal barrel. The weight of the thing has me worried about the integrity of the mantlet (and counterweight the suspension!). The other night I sanded the muzzle into something less flared. Still doesn't look quite right...but...under paint...

It's the darker green.



And...next to the Takom C2, which is coming along nicely.

[doogsatx]

Work on the Meng Leo has been slow over the past several days. It's been persistently cold, rainy and crappy. Our youngest got sick and had to go into the hospital twice. Allergies knocked me out of a few bench nights. Oh...and the wife and I took a quick getaway to Mexico...



Back at it, though, slowly making progress...



The biggest challenge of this kit is figuring out how to deal with the clear periscopes - since they need to be masked, painted, installed, and have PE shields added on top of them. So sorting that is mucking with when I paint...not that it's mattered because of the persistent rain!

I've also gotten a start on the workable tracks...which are fiddly. Meng helpfully provides a little jig to locate the pieces. Rubber interior pads first...



Then the guide horn/track pin/end connector combos...



Then the exterior pads...



While these do all go together, it's rather fussy work, and hard to get into a sort of "assembly zen" the way it is with the Orochi tracks (which are a tad too wide for the Meng sprockets...I checked!). I've contemplated just using the rubber bands, but I'm far enough along now that I'll stick with these pains.

For some convenient comparison - here's the Meng tracks compared to the Orochis that ship with the Takom 1A5/C2. The Orochis are the longer run:

[deafpanzer]

LOVED the first picture... glad you were able to get away! Nice work on the tracks by the way!

[doogsatx]

FINALLY some actual paint gets onto the Leo!

Tamiya NATO Green lightened with some XF-2 White.



My goal for this and the Takom kit is to paint/weather/install the wheels and tracks before tackling the rest of the tank...so wheels first! The NATO Green will be complemented by AMMO Rubber & Tires for the rubber portion of the wheels, then weathered lightly.

[TRM]

Looking great Doogs!!! Not talking about your legs btw!! Love seeing the color going down!!

[doogsatx]

Painted the rubber rims of the running gear last night - AMMO Rubber & Tires. Great stuff, can't recommend it enough.

I also used Vallejo Olive Green wash on the wheels themselves. Great way to kick the definition up a notch. I've found the best way to handle wheels and the like is to get the part wet, then get some wash on the brush and just touch it to a few details. When its wet, it just flows right into all the details, and anything leftover settles in random patterns as it dries.

[TRM]

Wheels look excellent my friend!! Clean and tidy work as usual!! I have the predecessor version to the AMMO rubber tire on the bench (AK before the days of change) I have to assume since they retained their supplier, the formulation is the same...which is mighty fine indeed! Keep slapping these kitties around the bench!!

[doogsatx]

Finally got the wheels mounted on the 1A3. With the fender skirts mounted, it's pretty staggering how completely invisible the lower hull and suspension become. Good for me - lots of corners to cut!

[TRM]

Seeing double today...LOL!! Great work so far Doogs!! Solid job!!

[doogsatx]

I've discovered a new way to stay calm during conference calls - building workable Meng tracks!



The tracks look great. They're nicely workable. But man are they fussy to get together. Having to clean the sprue tabs cuts off every single pad is crazy tedious. I definitely prefer the Orochi tracks that come with the Takom kit. The included jig is a lifesaver, but I really wish it had a solid base to push on. As it is, it has just a hint of give, which makes fitting the inner and outer pads a battle.

[deafpanzer]

Those tracks do look great!!!

[doogsatx]

And...the tracks are finally done! The detail is good and they are nicely workable, but man, the assembly process is tedious. Definitely prefer the Takom/Orochi approach to that taken by Meng.

Once I got them done, both track sets were primed with AMMO Gray Surface Primer, which did its job nicely. Going acrylic because the Meng tracks, at least, have been shown to be sensitive to hotter stuff.



Overall, I think the Takom/Orochi tracks are superior. Easier to build and better detailed. But the Meng ones hold their own.

[wbill76]

Nice side-by-side comparison of the different track systems. It's always interesting to see how different companies tackle essentially the same technical challenge yet often come up with wildly different ways of solving it!

How much more time would you estimate was needed for assembly between the Meng and Takom/Orochi tracks?

[doogsatx]

Feb 13, 2015 12:57:00 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Nice side-by-side comparison of the different track systems. It's always interesting to see how different companies tackle essentially the same technical challenge yet often come up with wildly different ways of solving it!

How much more time would you estimate was needed for assembly between the Meng and Takom/Orochi tracks?

10X, and I'm probably being conservative.

There are two major reasons for this. Well, three.

One - the Orochis build fast. Take a link, snap a guidehorn, snap to another link, add two vinyl/soft plastic link connectors. Boom, on to the next. The Mengs build with a jig. Lay out all the inner pads, then the guidehorn/track pins, THEN The outer pads, then press them all together.

Two - The Meng tracks came already removed from sprues, but 75% of everything needed cleanup. And when you consider what's one link with the Orochi tracks is really four parts (two parts inner pad, two parts outer pad) with the Meng, that's a lot more effort. The Orochis I was able to cut flush when removing from their sprues.

Three - The Meng jig has some give in it (since it sits on its edges and has no center support). Next time around, I'll be adding some plastic underneath it to brace, because it's hard to get good pressure on the track pads with the jig slightly bowing (not to mention the unsecured bits having a tendency to jump around under the tiniest of knocks).

[deafpanzer]

Great comparison!!! I am leaning toward to the right too... super details!!! Keep up with the good work!

[wbill76]

A factor of 10 definitely matters when it comes to output vs. effort...especially when you consider that there's no appreciable (that I can tell anyhow, but I'm not a Leopard enthusiast) difference detail-wise that would justify that much additional work.