Canadian Leopard C1 MEXAS

[mshackleton]

This tank, the Canadian Leopard C1 Mexas is something special - to me. This was the tank that led me into writing the Leopard 1 Trilogy. When I first saw photos of the prototype back in 2000, I was stunned by what I saw. This can't be a Leopard 1 - it looks nothing like one! I had to find out more and Fred Olsen was the first person to send me photos and give me some information. Those photos and that information formed the genesis of what became three books three years later.

Five Leopard C1 tanks were uparmoured with MEXAS appliqué armour kits, produced by German firm IBD Deisenroth Engineering. These tanks were deployed with KFOR to Kosovo. They were there for two tours and saw almost constant use – the first in 1999 with Lord Strathcona’s Horse crewing them, and the second tour in 2000 when they were crewed by The Royal Canadian Dragoons.

Then, in 2005, Maple Leaf Models announced the release of my favourite Leopard. I had to have it so ordered it straight away. I started building it at the beginning of 2006, but I then met my wife to be and progress halted for five years. Things got delayed again with the appearance of the PSM 2A6M CAN, but I somehow managed to work on both at the same time.

The model uses:
Italeri Leopard 1A4
Tamiya 1A4 (but only for rear mudflaps and convoy shield)
Maple Leaf Leopard C1 (early) conversion
Maple Leaf Leopard C1 (late) upgrade
Maple Leaf Leopard C1 Mexas conversion
Maple Leaf late Leopard C1 turret bustle - but rebuilt from scratch
Maple Leaf modern Canadian water and petrol cans
Maple Leaf modern Canadian rucksacks
Real Models Leopard C1 Mexas detail set (engine deck grille)
Perfect Scale Modellbau Leopard 1 gun barrel
Resicast 3mm headlight lenses
MR Models Bundeswehr tow cables
BMK (Leopard 2A6 CAN) aerials
Tamiya paint (mainly NATO green/brown/black)
MIG pigments (mainly Europe dust)
Archer decals

If you are interested in the back story, please follow this link backwards:
www.network54.com/Forum/110741/thread/1299944232/Leap+of+Leopards+continue+leaping

Cheers
Mike

[TRM]

Mike, that is awesome!! Well done!! The weathering it tops sir!! Looking forward to seeing much more!!!

[multicam]

That's a mean looking beast. Well done! Thanks for sharing the story of this as well:)

[wbill76]

Beautifully done Mike, always neat to hear the backstory behind a build's inspiration as well.

[paulh.]

Mike, absolouetly beautiful!
the Maple Leaf mexas kits I would just love to get my hands on. I've read various online rumors about MLM relaunching but it never seems to come to anything...
P

[406 Silverado]

Love the weathering on this one, nice and dusty but not overdone. Nice clean work on the build as well.

[jackh.]

Always liked the Leo Mexas and this is a brilliant rendition Mike. Do you by any chance know if MLM are getting back in business?

[mshackleton]

I can only echo what PaulH says. There are always rumours that they will start production once more, but nothing concrete. JP is a great guy, but also very busy. All I can say is that there are many guys like us waiting to see his products back in production.

[bigjohn]

Yeah, I agree, Nice build with great weathering!

[bbd468]

Thats a Damn sexy looking beast right there man! Nice job.

Gary