03199
Price around 9.99 GBP (May 2013)
Review by Geoff Coughlin
Our thanks to Revell for supplying our review sample. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit www.revell.eu or email ukbranch@revell.de
Reference…
A little bit of inspiration here…
A bit of background
Stridsvagn 122 (Battle Tank 122) is an improved version of the German-built Leopard 2A5, utilizing new technology, improved command, control and fire control systems, as well as heavily reinforced armor and improved long-term combat capacity. Externally, the vehicle can be distinguished from the Leopard 2A5 by the French GALIX smoke dispensers, different storage bins, and the much thicker crew hatches. The Strv 122B, a variant equipped with modular AMAP composite armour from IBD Deisenroth, has increased 360° protection against threats like EFPs, RPGs and IEDs. The width of exactly 4 metres (13 ft) has been kept, while the weight increases by only 350 kilograms (770 lb). Discovery Channel named it the best main battle tank in existence, outclassing the American-built M1 Abrams in numerous tests. As of 2013, only 120 of these tanks remain in active service while 160 earlier versions are kept in storage as a part of the Swedish army reserves. The active tanks are divided upon three regiments, namely Skaraborgs Regemente, södra skånska regementet, and Norrbottens regemente.
Initial assessment
There are several other reviews of 1:72 Revell armour subjects in Here Now like the Panzer IV, Challenger and M 2 A2 Bradley? These are all really impressive little kits in this scale and this Leopard 2A5/A5NL is no different.
Moulding quality is to a high standard with very fine levels of detail across the board. The attached images should speak for themselves and you can decide what you think, especially as armour is probably your area. So I offer a basic insight into this Revell kit that’s widely available and this will be good news to all of you that are interested in armour modelling in this scale.
The package
Sprues moulded in dark green plastic form the basis of the model, a set of instructions, and small decal sheet make up the package.
Sprue trees
You can see that the hull top is very clean and crisp, as is just about everything else. The detail is cleanly and accurately moulded onto the textured surface and will look excellent when spray painted and given a subtle wash and maybe filters (see your Techniques Bank for how to apply these weathering techniques) in keeping with the small scale. The moulded detail throughout is good and although I can’t give an opinion on accuracy, what you get certainly looks consistent with some of the images I have seen on You Tube and elsewhere.
The fact that the few vehicle tools are provided moulded into the chassis might not please everyone, but remember that this is 1:72 scale and a subtle wash should create a sufficient demarcation between the two to look convincing.
There are some poor sink marks such as the one on the barrel that’s more like a crater but will be easily filled with putty to correct.
Other highlights include
The detail on the hull top, track links and one-piece gun barrel – the latter being easy to drill out with a pin vice hand held drill and bit. There are some ejector pin mould-release circles left during the making of the kit, but these are well placed in out of the way or hidden locations – nice touch. The engine grills look fine for the scale and I can just see that they will look good after a wash and dry-brush (again, see your Techniques Bank for how to dry-brush).
Unusually the tracks are plastic and not the more usual rubber-vinyl type and need to be immersed in warm water to allow them to be bent into the desired position – obvious care will need to be taken! In fact, if you add the side skirts then much of the track section along the upper run will be invisible, so what’s provided looks to be just fine in 1:72 scale.
There’s no flash or excess plastic on any of the parts, so this will help build time greatly but you will have to attend to the sink marks as described..
Decals
There’s a small sheet with the respective number plates and unit badges for the Swedish options contained in the kit. The quality looks good overall, although there is carrier film visible around most of the items, but applying them to a glossy finish should ensure that doesn’t show. I might be tempted to trip the excess away.
Instructions
These follow the usual Revell format with Revel colour references, parts and sprue layout diagrams followed by a 39-Stage build (no less) and finishing sequence. The sequence looks to be logical to me but of course you will probably want to leave off all the small, delicate parts like the aerial until near the end of the build to avoid damage.
To sum up
This is a very nice little kit and I reckon that you’ll be made up if 1:72 armour modelling is your area of interest given all the impressive kits being released I this scale. Levels of detail are excellent for the scale and fit looks to be clean and pretty trouble-free. At the small price of the kit, you can’t go wrong really now can you?
SMN Quick summary SMN Star Rating out of 5
| FEATURE | STAR RATING (out of five) |
|---|---|
| Quality of moulding | *** |
| Accuracy | **** |
| Instructions | *** |
| Decals | **** |
| Subject choice | **** |
| Overall | **** |
Geoff C.