PLAMO: Re-WiredWolf - Plastic Modelling, Share & Learn

This is the Hasegawa 1/72 scale German Army Leopard 2.... it is a project which was hung halfway about a year ago, or more! It came as a coincidence with this group build exercise, so I shall post here instead of the standard WIP column. The kit is very outdated when compared to the details and quality of today's 1/72 AFV kits.


The camouflage scheme is NATO Scheme. According to the instruction sheet, this scheme and its markings will be for the West German Army 213 Panzer Battalion. As I observed, the modern NATO scheme camo. patch demarcations are "not so sharp, not so blur". At least that's my personal conclusion for the modern German AFVs when I was studying photos of the real equipment (e.g. for the Leopard 2 A6, Fennek). I used Gunze NATO colours for this purpose. My plan is to achieve the camo. pattern using "blue-tacks", those plasticine-like adhesives without being too sticky.

Problem is, the based colour of NATO Black has been sprayed and applied with blue-tacks for the camo black patches more than a year ago! I do not know whether these blue-tacks has been "FUSED" with the paint!

But anyway, I shall assume the risk, and thus, provided here are some progress photos of the recent works resumed from historic ages.

In this photo, the NATO Black and Brown patches have been airbrushed. The deliberately shaped patches are applied with blue-tacks, and some with white-tacks (yeah, the same manufacturer came up with white-tacks!)


Following photos show the NATO Green, which is the final of the 3 schemes, airbrushed. I'm still considering doing some shades before final checks and removing the blue-and-white-tacks. That's when the truth will be revealed!



(Thanks to doc_ufo for taking these shots with his mobile phone camera.)

Lightened the original NATO Green colour with some yellow and white. Post-shading was perforned.


The tracks and roadwheels are all molded in a single piece, so effectively, there are only 2 pieces of parts to complete the tracks and roadwheels - the "left" and "right" side.


(Photos taken using Nikon Coolpix 990, edited with Photoshop)

Moment of truth! The blue-tacks were all removed, revealing the NATO camouflage scheme.

Finished painting the track & roadwheels "singular" parts.

Hey this looks good man. Saw you working on the tracks and road wheels and must say, you've made it look darn good.

In order: Painted the tools and turret stowage canvas(?), airbrushed a layer of "Future" clear coat; apply decals, washed with diluted oil colours (mix Lamp Black & Brown) to enhance the panel lines and crevices; cleaned up the surfaces with cotton buds soaked in turpentine, let dry; take photo. Below are photos of the model (not yet airbrushed with flat coat).

The shine from the clear-coat doesn't look good for an AFV. Fortunately this will not be the end outcome.
Edited 20070510-0410: re-edited using Photoshop, checked in a CRT instead of LCD screen


Greyscale equivalent for viewing the contrasts


Request For Help
The German army insignias ("iron cross" markings) that came with the kit is horribly "off" registration against its white backdrop (it was not obvious when viewed on the decal sheet). Does anyone have spare decals of these markings so that I can replace them? I require 2 pieces to replace both sides of the turret, measures 3.5mm x 3.5mm. I have not applied the flat coat so still can take them off. Thanks.
Edited 20070509-0254: I found replacement decals, thanks to my wallet.


Edited 20070510-0434: Replaced with corrected decals.

Completed the flat clear coating, painting of small parts and subtle dry-brushing. Here's a "test shot" photo of the chassis.


View Completed Works Thread - Photo Gallery

Hi shieldwulf,

I have not used blu tack before for masking work. A small question to ask here.

Is the blu tack re-usable after the paint job is done. ie can I re-use (roll it up and kneading it) it for the next paint job ?

As I write, I am looking at the small pile of blu-tack that has been used for the camo. masking of this kit. It is still sticky enough to be re-used for another round of masking - just try to knead the pile a couple of times to "spread" the painted/stained areas with the rest of the material before re-use.

whopper Wrote:Is the blu tack re-usable after the paint job is done. ie can I re-use (roll it up and kneading it) it for the next paint job ?

okie boz, thanks for the info.