Diggin myself into a hole!

[TRM]

Thank Leon and Bill! The track are a real Godsend with this kit and probably any Leo 1 platform but its was a bit of a shock seeing the solvents eat the plastic. I am real close on this one!! Couple decs going down maybe tomorrow and then some weathering and a button up!!

[Teabone]

Todd

Nice practical lesson on the use of the paint.

Bones

[deafpanzer]

Looking awesome!!! Dig its "busy' look on its hull... can't wait to see it weathered.

[rbaer]

Most excellent looking!
I have to concur on the use of some solvent-based paints and washes on particular tracks. I've been a little paranoid for a while and use acrylics for color and washes on DS tracks, with maybe enamels for dry-brushing only.
It only takes once.....

[Deano]

Wow! thats looking the business now Mr T , so much detail in that kit looks fantastic!

[TRM]

Thanks fellas! Appreciate you swinging by!! Just getting ready to sit down for a bit and try and push this forward to the end of that tunnel!

[Leon]

Looking forward to your next update Todd,Keep pushing bro.

[TRM]

Thanks Leon! Getting a little sidetracked here...but should be on the rails again shortly!!

[TRM]

Well, I think I can call this one done. After adding a couple of decals and a light dusting for the "not so new look".

Here it is then...Perfect Scale Modellbau's Pionierpanzer 1(PiPz 1) mit Inneneinrichtung - Leopard 1 AEV 1

















There you have it. While I did find many things that I felt the manufacturer fell short on when putting this kit together, this is a great base for a welcomed subject of the Leopard 1 AEV 1. I would fully suggest picking up a set of the Leopard one tracks from Meng if you pick one of these up to build as the cast resin tracks are a bit touchy to work with and the probable under $15 US is well worth the expenditure.

There are plenty of nice details with the kit and yet there is plenty of room to add more but I think this may be half the fun in modelling. Some of the casting with this particular kit I received did have its share of air bubbles; however this was limited to several small parts that were easily corrected through the use of some filler and/or replacement with a scratch built part.

Overall the individual parts were cast decently and laid out on blocks for easy access and the kit supplied photo etch was nicely done with plenty of goodies to make the detail pop on this kit.

As for the instructions....well this would not be the first set any of us have come across that were less than desirable. They are a jumbled mess and hard to follow at time. The out of focus and lack of exact part placement markings makes for a tedious run of things. There is a legend that shows the arts included and numbered both on the parts and throughout the instruction to aid in placement but there was one or two parts numbered incorrectly and personally I feel they should have numbered the parts after they did the photo layout of the parts legend making the parts sequentially on each block, left to right, top to bottom. These instructions give the parts somewhat numbered randomly throughout the cast blocks which becomes a frustrating effort to find the correct cast block with the correct part(s).

In the end I am happy with the kit, frustrated with the instructions and very pleased with the subject matter. While I will recommend the kit if you are a wanting fan of the Leopard family AEV's, I will caution most of the added effort needed to finish the model in a somewhat true to form fashion. This kit is not for the faint of heart nor if you are inexperienced in building full multimedia kits. As for the price, I do feel it is a bit high for what I needed to do to change and/or add things but it is a "demand" item as well as a full resin and photo etch kit which does tend to bring the price up and with some time and patience this will build up into a fine static display.

As always, thanks for tagging along while I through some parts together and tossed the paint around!!

[Leon]

Fantastic finish Todd.Especially like the dozer blade and drill.

Happy to have been along on this.

[TRM]

Thanks Leon...glad to have you riding shotgun brotha! I am just happy to have this behind me now! The ship is calling me!! LOL!!

[Gordon Ferguson]

You certainly worked your magic on that, I'm not a lover of resin kits due to most of the sort of short comings you have highlighted, but you have successfully sorted them out. As already mentioned the finish on the dozer blade and that auger drill are especially fine ........... And the quality of photos is superb ....... Must work on that

[imatanker]

Great end result T. I've got some fencing to put up and need a lot of post holes dug. Can I borrow that please ?

[dupes]

Whoah, excellent! Almost forgot you had this going.

Certainly don't see that on many contest tables...

[deafpanzer]

FANTASTIC build!!! The chipping and rust part is just PURRRFECT!!! Can't wait to see it in person... can't promise you I will keep my hands off her.

[Mudbone]

Awesome!

[Teabone]

Another excellent build Todd, even with the mentioned short comings, bubbles etc you artistic paint job certainly make the kit look award winning perfect.

Bones

[TRM]

Gordon - Thank you Sir!! Even with the battle there was a bit of fun involve!!

Jeff - Thank buddy! You and me both my friend!! Could use the dozer blade too!!

Dupes - Thanks bud! It is a bit of an odd-ball! With any luck, someone else might have a go at manufacturing one of these!

Andy - Thank bro! No worries my friend!! Anything can be fixed with enough time and glue!!

Dennis - Thank you Sir, most appreciated!!

Bones - Thank you! It does prove that a bit of paint can make even a dog stand out in a crowd!

[wbill76]

Definitely enjoyed watching you work the usual magic on this one Todd, love the look of that blade and the auger just makes it look even stranger/meaner too!

[TRM]

Thanks a bunch Bill!! Glad to have you along for the ride!! Strange little monkey...but I am liking the busy look to these engineering vehicles!!

[reserve]

Wicked nice T it turned out a thing of beauty

Regards,
Mark

[TRM]

Thank you Mark!! Most appreciate the kind words!!

[Deleted]

Oh wow T !

[TRM]

Thank you Carl!!

[Deano]

Top drawer mate , brilliant work on all fronts buddy!

[dupes]

Aug 23, 2014 17:24:55 GMT -5 TRM said:

Dupes - Thanks bud! It is a bit of an odd-ball! With any luck, someone else might have a go at manufacturing one of these!

You gotta figure (with the oddball variants that are getting produced these days) that eventually you'll be able to build every military-type vehicle on the planet, no? Give it a couple of years.

[TRM]

Thank you much Deano!!

Dupes - You would think that...still thinking by the time the companies get around to making them...well, making them correctly, you and I both will be pushing meds and grabbing the butts of the nurses at the local old folks home first!!