Tamiya- German Main Battle Tank Leopard A7V First Look

History

The Leopard 2 is part of a line of third generation main battle tanks for Germany. The first series of 2's entered service in 1979, and it has an angled, arrow-shaped turret with appliqué armor, together with other improvements. The main armament is a smoothbore 120 mm cannon made by Rheinmetall  which can fire future, modern extended-range ammunition that allows the crew to achieve a maximum effective range of up to 5,000 meters. . This is operated with a digital fire control system, laser rangefinder, and advanced night vision and sighting equipment. The tank is powered by a V12 twin-turbo diesel engine made by MTU Friedrichshafen. In November 2020, the new battle tank passed one of the last tests during the tactical suitability testing conducted by the Army Concepts and Capabilities Development Centre at the Senne training area in East Westphalia. An improvement of the optronic cameras and the installation of an enhanced rear-view camera for the driver has provided the crew with a good view of everything even in poor visibility and darkness. Grousers are stowed on the back of the turret and can be used to replace individual normal track pads to improve grip in difficult conditions, such as driving on icy, snow-covered, muddy or slippery ground. A Battle Management System (BMS) represents new digital command and control technology on the battlefield which enables the troops, from main battle tanks to individual soldiers, to exchange important information in combat, improving situational awareness.

The chassis has been reinforced by an additional protection module fitted at the front to protect the Leopard against armor-piercing ammunition which increases overall weight of the tank. The 63.9-ton combat vehicle therefore is equipped with a more powerful drive system and a modified drive train, so as not affect acceleration and off-road performance. Powered by a 1,500-hp engine, its mobility is comparable to its predecessor. Despite its weight, the state-of-the-art Leopard can reach a theoretical maximum speed of 63 kilometres per hour.

Units began receiving the A7V in 2021 when it was first delivered to the 393rd Panzer Battalion of 10th Panzer Division in September, and in February 2022 to the 93rd Panzer Battalion of 9th Panzerlehr Brigade in 1st Panzer Division. It was later provided to 104th Panzer Battalion  to be used in combat should the need arise. Denmark and Norway also plan to upgrade their Leopard 2s to the A7V level. The V stands for "verbessert" which means improved.

The Kit

This is a completely new-tooled kit from Tamiya, due to release in late May. Tamiya has provided AMPS with an early release version which is comparable to what you'll be buying in May. There are seven dark green styrene sprues, two light gray sprues for the tracks, a clear sprue for lenses, a PE fret, and decals for three schemes. One can order the "Detail Up" metal barrel to replace the kit one piece styrene barrel for $21.

Sprue A (x2) consists of parts for the road wheels and sprockets, suspensions, seats, fan covers, tow hooks and the like.

Sprue B contains parts for the main deck and side skirts. There is subtle detail on the main deck that shows anti-slip surface details.

Sprue C contains all the parts for the lower hull tub- including the rear armor and the protective under armor against IEDs...and more of the excellent anti-slip surfaces.

Sprue D contains the turret pieces and the one piece gun barrel. As mentioned, there is a Detail Up metal barrel available to order as well, which Tamiya included in the review sample.

Sprue E contains some of the more delicate parts, as well as the pieces for the two torso figures- commander and loader (with two head options- helmet or beret), tow cables, tarp with straps, and pioneering tools. 

Sprue F contains more small parts, including hatches with anti-slip textures, grousers, hatches, and parts for the AC units and the BMS. Also on the fret are bending jigs for the PE turret baskets and grills.

Sprue T (X2) contain the parts for the link and length tracks. Assembling the links require a multi-part process. Detail looks great and the color is a light gray on these. 

A clear sprue for the lenses and a PE fret of engine and fan grills and the turret basket is included as well. I have added the barrel here, but it is not included in the base kit.

Instructions are typical Tamiya, but there is a glossy insert with the history and paint scheme for the three decal schemes for the 393rd and 104th Panzer Battalions which really only differ in which identification numbers, markings, and plates you use. One thing I really appreciate in Tamiya instructions is their inclusion of labels for the parts you are assembling, so you can tell what the AC unit is versus the BMS. Decals look to be nicely detailed and include uniform markings for the figures. There is also a masking set for the lenses.

Sorry for the rough photo for the decals...

Conclusion

Tamiya quality certainly constantly improves with each new kit issued. I saw no sink marks or blemishes of any sort on the surfaces facing outside- any were well hidden inside. The anti-slip surfaces were sublime and if you keep your paint layers thin, they should show off the details quite nicely. I am looking forward to getting a start on this one real soon! Credit goes to the Bundeswehr website for some of the information in the History.

Highly Recommended for Beginner to Advanced builders, pending full build.

Thanks goes out to Tamiya for this review kit.

Reviewed by Michael Reeves

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