Leopard 1 A5

Manufacturer: Revell AG.(Kit #03115)

When ESCI originallymanufactured their series of Leopard 1 tanks, the newest versionat that time was the A4. Since then, of course, Germany hasupgraded their Leopard 1 fleet to the A5 standard, and now Revellhas given us a remarkable kit of the tank.

Like Revell's other newestkits, this is an outstanding kit, with only a few minornit-picks. The detail and accuracy are fantastic. And for aunique change of pace, all of the vehicle's hatches are actuallymolded open. Now, if only they could include some crew figures toput in them. My onlycomplaint about this kit is that the pioneertools were molded onto the hull sides. I normally disapprove ofthis because I like to have options about which tools to attach.But in this case, it is even worse, because the tools are on thesides of the hull that slope downward at an angle. Because of theway the mold had to be made, the tools are therefore molded veryflat and in poor relief. Very disappointing. It will be best tocarefully remove them, and find replacements somewhere else.

The wheels and chassis areperfect.

Here's a closeup of thewheels:

As mentioned, the turrethatches are molded open. The machine guns are superb. They evenmolded the rubber coating onto the sides of the turret appliquearmor. Several options are included, such as different engineintake grills, and telephone box on the rear hull, which allowsconstruction of tanks from different production batches.

The tracks arespectacular. Not much else to say about them.

Markings are included fortwo German tanks. The decals are thin, matte, and well-printed.

According to OspreyNew Vanguard No. 16 - Leopard 1 Main BattleTank 1965-1995 by Michael Jerchel and PeterSarson; Jane's Tank Recognition Guide ,by Christopher Foss, the model scales out perfectly to 1/72nd.

Overall, this is one ofthe best small scale AFV models ever made.