Preparation

The instructions are written in English and have pictures of the built pieces with some construction instructions below each picture. They are easy to follow, but do not give any placement info on where they attach to the tank. The instructions give you web site to reference for placement. So, before you begin it is very helpful to have studied the instructions and to have photos of each mount. There are a couple web sites that have photos of every angle of the tank and I found it helpful to download the pictures to a folder on my PC for quick reference. Once you have studied everything and have a good idea where everything goes, you are ready to get your tools together.

Before we get into the tools needed you must decide if you are going to solder or glue the PE to your Leopard. CG suggests gluing for a static model and solder for an RC one. I am sort of a novice at PE and had never soldered before, but I think it’s the way to go. The parts are plastic coated to aid in gluing and if you are soldering, each sheet should be sanded before are pieces are removed. If you don’t, the plastic coating will interfere with your solder joints.

Once we have our studying done and decided between gluing or soldering we are ready to get our tools together. First up is a 100 pack of Single Edge Industrial Razor Blades and a cutting pad to removed PE from sheet. Then some course and medium sanding sticks to clean up the small tabs where you cut them. A PE bending tool and some good needle nose pliers are a must to get clean straight bends. If you are soldering, you’ll need a 25 – 40 watt iron with a small tip, flux, and some thin diameter solder.

The kit features workable latches and I used .6 rivets for the hinge pins and .6s bolt to attach each assemble to the hull. It is also wise to have all your pioneer tools ready to go because some of the PE bends directly around the tool in the case of the shovel spades. You can use the kits, but I used one that have wooden handles. Now we should be in good shape to start adding some CG magic to your Leo.

It is probably best to start making a the latches. These are included on Set 1 and are used throughout the model’s larger assembles. The procedure in the instructions are clear and the construction steps are easy to follow. I used the .6 rivets as the hinge pins. Having never soldered before I managed to screw a couple up, but I found the set has few extras. Once the latches are made they can be attached to the larger assembles. Once and assembly is made, it was tweaked to fit the various tool it’s mounting.


The assembly are then bolted to hull with .6 bolts just like the real thing. I started from the back and worked down the hull as I completed each assemble keeping an eye on my reference photos to make sure everything was lining up. The workable latches are nice because you can remove the tools for painting.


Set 1 contains most of the tool mounts and latches and is very easy to construct once all the latches are finished. It should also be noted that Set 1 also contains parts for the Bergepanzer if you are going that route (probably where my extra latches came from). Set 2 adds some PE for the front fenders and has some of the more complex assembles such as the Holder for the Lifting Harness and the Rear Storage Bin. http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i50/harpy207/DSC03300.jpg