We never like to "bury the lead" in a review. But when a kit leaves the reviewer so impressed as Clayton was when he saw this Leopard 2A7 Limited Edition Kit in 72nd scale from Takom, well, we knew it had to be worth looking at! See what made him so impressed in his review...
In-boxed: Leopard 2A7 Limited Edition Kit
From Takom
1/72nd scale
Kit No # 5011XI make no secret of the fact I am first and foremost an armour modeller, so any release with tracks and a turret is going to be of interest to me. But given the glut of subjects, genres, manufactures and scales there came a point where I had to draw the line and focus on a particular scale and a defined period in time. I made the decision that 1/72 was off the radar and I’d focus on primarily 1/35. More than that I decided that modern subjects were off the table and I’d focus on the WW2 period. Then this kit arrived on my workbench…
This little 1/72 Leopard was first teased here on The Modelling News back in November ’21 – Click here to check it out. A brief history and a number of reference pictures can be found from that article, so rather than cover old ground I’ll just get into the kit and what you can expect from it.
Being a 1/72 scale kit, the box is reasonably small and comes presented in the typical Takom fashion. The subject is the star of the box art. ‘Limited Edition’ features top right. How limited? Who knows… limited to how many they can sell?
The sprues are bagged and the hull section is bubble wrapped in its own bag. The kit contains 3 sprues, an etch fret, copper tow cable and a decal sheet. It also contains a Turret section as well as the upper and lower hull pieces.
The instruction booklet packaging houses the mask set, a fine copper tow cable, the etch fret and the decal sheet.
The instruction booklet essentially mirrors the box art and is presented in the typical Takom stapled booklet style.Parts overview
The instruction call outs are reasonably simple and well-drawn, however, the steps do have a number of assemblies per step, so a little care will be required to ensure nothing gets missed along the journey.The kit comes with a choice of two markings. One is from the Eurosatory Show in Paris in June of 2014 and the other is from Panzerlehrbrigade 9, Panzerlehrbataillon 93, Munster, July 2015. The three-tone camouflage is identical for both of the markings.Now… the fun bit. Let's take a look at some of the parts.
It became clear from the moment I started looking at the pieces that this kit was something special. The lower section of the hull is moulded in a single section and includes some very fine detail as well as all of the fixing points for the wheels and return rollers.The top section of the hull is again moulded in a single piece and is simply breathtaking.
The fine detail has all been moulded into the single piece of the upper hull. It is of a standard I have never seen before. Especially given the scale of the kit.A closer view of the engine deck. In the past manufacturers would often break these sections down and include them in the assembly steps…but this kit looks this good straight out of the box. Some may crave a more complex assembly, but for me this is perfect. No mess and no fuss.And now the turret… Oh My Goodness…I don’t know how else to explain it other than I am gobsmacked. The moulding and the detail is without doubt, the best I have ever seen - Absolutely stunning.Intricate detail. Textures, undercut and raised details. Simply incredible.
A closer look at the anti-slip texture on the front of the turret.
The kit contains 2 sets of Sprue K.
Each fret contains the link and length track pieces and running gear for each side.
Detail is in keeping with everything else I have seen with the kit.
Tow cable shackles, aerial mount and spade are also on the sprue. The parts are tiny and the connectors to the sprue are quite large in places…so cleaning some of these tiny pieces may present a challenge.
Sprue L contains the rest of the pieces to build the kit.
Beautiful, fine detail in the rear section of the tank. The grills over the fans are exquisite.
The gun barrel is moulded in a single piece so that will help ensure the final presentation is flawless.
The bonus mask set comes cut on yellow masking tape. The pattern is extremely comprehensive as it will have to deal with the numerous contours and raised details of the model. As precise as this looks, I do wonder how it will translate to the model when it comes time to paint. Sometimes on a scheme like this, a simple mask made from Blue Tac may be quicker and easier. I guess time will tell.The small and basic decal sheet for reference.
The mesh guards for the engine deck are included on the photoetch fret in the kit as well as a fine piece of copper wire for the tow cables.
Conclusion
Quite honestly, I have never seen anything quite as good as this kit. The quality of the moulding and level of detail is simply mind-blowing. Obviously, I can’t vouch for how it will go together because I haven’t got that far with it yet, but on appearances alone I am astounded.
As I mentioned before, I’d made the decision to focus on 35th scale subjects moving forward, but unfortunately, this kit may have tripped me at the first hurdle.
It is simply stunning, and it begs to be built. It is literally that good…If you get a chance to take a look at one, I wouldn’t hesitate because once the word gets out, I think these kits will be in high demand.
Now..fingers crossed it all fits together!!
Clayton Ockerby
Thanks to Takom for sending this kit to Clayton to build and review for us. You can see more about Takom's kits on their website or on their Facebook page
