@Tiger_III_L Regarding the leopard 2A8 - I notice the kit has a lot of flags on the box.
Are decals included for all these countries?
Are there the possibility for different versions for different countries in the box? Or just one version for all?
@Tiger_III_L Regarding the leopard 2A8 - I notice the kit has a lot of flags on the box.
Are decals included for all these countries?
Are there the possibility for different versions for different countries in the box? Or just one version for all?
The decals are whole with the multinational flags and the words “Under Contract” above. This mirrors the picture here, the all green scheme like on the box art, though the art only shows a plain green tank. The decals do also have the “EuroTrophy” markings for the Trophy system also in the pic below.
The instructions show the black and green scheme seen in other pics of the tank. Which has no flags, bumper numbers or national markings.
Amusing stuck to the demonstrator tanks instead of offering any “what if” markings. The tank is ordered by various countries currently, so I’d imagine markings will likely be made or even a new kit will be made with appropriate markings for in service vehicles at some point.
Curious to see what Meng will include with their upcoming kit of the A8.
OK, thanks for the quick reply!
With the SEALAB interior squared away it is time to fit the clear casing.
I attached the umbilical connection plugs and painted the points where various grabs, ports, and other fittings will go, and the last two berths were fitted to the inside of the casing. Before securing it I gave the inside a last careful cleaning to remove any dust or stray particles – there will be no reaching anything in there once it is sealed up!
The clear casing and end caps fit well, but a little sanding/filling was needed. Rather than polishing out the rubbed clear part I’ll just extend the paint a little to cover the scuffs.
The enclosure now closed up, I’ll have to make sure to secure even the smallest gaps since there will be no way to clear any dust or errant paint that may get in there.
This morning I was irritated to find that one of the habitat’s upper berths had broken loose and is now rattling around inside the newly-sealed casing! Damned annoying to say the least, but short of major surgery there isn’t much to be done about it. My fault really, as last night I’d left the kit box on the floor next to my desk…
…and apparently the casing had been knocked around as my cat made himself comfortable!
That is a pity, Tim! But that is what happens when you a handsome Mr. Kitty in the house. ![]()
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I was scrolling back through the thread and realized I didn’t post any in-progress or my completion pics. So, here they are:
Apparently I did not take that many shots during the build, but the build itself was pretty basic; since it is building a very specific version it skips a lot of the steps regarding the interior and some of the exterior fittings. It is sad they didn’t include the false tank tracks but there is a 3rd-party solution for that. I’ll attempt a retro-fitting once I obtain a set.
Anyway, the kit almost snapped together and it is fine for what it is, but the kit can’t be built as a normal Type 82 as those parts are not included. I really had only two major issues and both were user-error; the first is the light outline on the windshield which occurred when I wicked the adhesive into the space around the clear piece (I guess the dealer only had the light gray weather-stripping in stock when they replaced the windshield).
That error is a bit obvious. The other error I will address later; take a close look at the pics and see if you can figure it out first.
Great little Kubel tank.
Congrats on finishing ![]()
As my wife and I would say, rookie mistake.
I think the real culprit is in the background, just not sure who’s been hitting it.
Hi mates, I finally decided which kit I want to build here ![]()
Parts look fine as expected from Eduard and the decals are phantastic!
Good luck to you for your builds, I’ll keep watching while building myself….
Peter
As my wife and I would say, rookie mistake.
I think the real culprit is in the background, just not sure who’s been hitting it.
You have a point, Ryan - I knew I shouldn’t drink and model…! ![]()
Next up are the outer support frames.
A fun fact about these is that they and other parts from the Aurora SEALAB III kit were used by George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic to create details on the original Star Wars Millenium Falcon movie prop.
A repurposed SEALAB berth was also used to busy up the bulkhead. Very cool!
Not so cool were bite marks in one of the support frames.
As I was cleaning up the parts my cat jumped on the desk and made off with one of them. I recovered it right away, but not before he made several unwanted alterations to it. Fixing these wasn’t particularly difficult, but such repairs are NOT among my favorite modeling tasks. He and I are going to have a reckoning…
Gonzalo, I hope the Draken wins!
I would love to see how the kit fits. Does it come with Danish decals?
Tim, looks good despite the domestic “help” ![]()
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Interesting fact on the falcon. It is funny how so much of the Star Wars stuff was kit bashed.
Looking forward to see more. I am sure it will look outstanding when finished.
After filling in the cat bites and removing some minor mold lines, I was happy to find that the outer support frames fit perfectly around the casing.
The main frame support beams, topside platform, and cylindrical ballast tank were added next. It’s starting to look like a research base!
The habitat is now close to its initial configuration as SEALAB II before the diving station, observation/storage room, and other equipment were added for SEALAB III.
Draken it is then
It only comes with Swedish markings ![]()
Next up was the diving station. The only deviation from the kit was replacing the rods supporting the lift platform with styrene since I had lost one of the kit parts.
The observation/storage room was next, which was assembled without changes except for a hole cut in the bottom to accommodate the wiring for the lighting system.
Passed down through the observation/storage room into the large clump of marine growth on the seafloor, the wiring will extend invisibly down to the battery inside the base.