Nobody.
I referenced your topic as an illustration of a model builder who wants to make something very specific as opposed to someone who is happy with a mostly pre-painted model.
I prefer to build and paint myself BUT I will happily accept the provided decal options,
especially if one of them allows me to avoid painting a camouflage scheme.
Some will try to recreate a specific vehicle or airplane,
I build anonymous samples of a specific type.
I thank you for your suggestion. And if you can knock out a model in the time it took to post the thread, have at it. Like you said, “I’m not an “elitist, and I’m not here to tell others how to enjoy their hobby.” But if I’m building a “specific” model that requires “specific “ decals as I’ve stated, it’s because it’s special to me. This is the vehicle that “I” drove in Iraq. So being completely 100% accurate, to what “I” know, not Academy, not Dragon, not Takom, will bring ME satisfaction. Not anyone else. I have never worked with dry transfers. I don’t know how to use them, weather them, what they can handle, etc. I don’t want to paint and try to match a tan background, then hand paint a “1”. Your right! My eyes AREN’T that good, neither are my nerves from the injuries I sustained in my neck from jumping out of planes for 9 years. I just rather spend the $20 and get someone to match my “custom” decals to the rest of the model. All of us here have GLUE that almost cost $20. What’s another $20? It’s not that hard, it’s $20. Maybe you’re fine with painting numbers, and turning a 3 on a decal into a 1. I’m not. So thanks for the back channels talk. You gave your advice, as others did, I thanked you, and I continued to research this project that means a lot to me. Now,…the back channels show how I’m an idiot in your eyes for not taking your advice, or doing what you do. Very unbecoming of an 18B if I must say. Tell me how to delete the post, and I will.
Gotcha. Cause I was like, “who said pre-painted?” lol. I’m just trying to get the vehicle number as close as possible to the unit number. And add our names to the respective slots we’re had them. It’s a very special build for me. I’m going to display it in a plexiglass container at my father’s house. And I saw today that Echelon gave you props on the “instruction” sheet. Congrats bro!
And I’m sorry if I am misunderstanding the thread. I just have to stick up for myself, my passion, my hobby, my build. If I misunderstood, I will openly state an apology to you to everyone. I just saw me and my request/thread thrown around as a “look at this guy! What an idiot! I told him what to do!”, kinda way. So, feel free to DM me if you want. If it’s cool, it’s cool. If it’s salty, we’ll…. It’s salty. 
Some times you can use unused decals from past builds and cut apart some of the decals and recreate the one you need.
For those wondering about the complexity of the pre painted Leopard, it is the same kit as the regular Leopard 2A7 by Border Model, just with paint on it. The plastic is, they say, of a special formula which gives it a NATO green color. So any filing or sanding will not result in weird grey patches.
That’s the spiel from Border Model anyway.
They do say that. But even so, a quick walk around the motor pool shows touch ups on nearly every vehicle - armor, soft skins, trailers.
I remember the easiest way to get a few lines down in the 2404 was to write ,“Vehicle needs spot painting.”
Whether you had the paint or not, it gave the appearance you had done something,
A few mismatched patches of paint here and there would actually be prototypical. And therein lies a an opportunity for the lazy modeler to outshine the purist. Spending time with all of the little things - mismatched paint, grubby paint around handles, scuff marks, boot prints on top of the vehicle - can make the pre-painted model stand out.
Good point! Here are a couple shown with patchy touch ups.
The front shows some lighter green touch ups.
This one shows some touch ups on the lower right edge of the door by the black and brown.
We did it from time to time, touching up here and there with a color that wasn’t even close to the original lol but we did it and some vehicles started to have a patch work appearance after so many touch ups. That’s real life
There are folks who announce a build on Friday and show completed photos on Monday. And it shows.
For those that are missing the point, military kits, especially tanks, have gotten WAY more complicated and “fiddly” these last few years. Full interiors & multiple-part tank links. Full interiors that you can’t see any more. I’ve just about gone mad doing a Miniart tank kit…all those tiny parts…AGGGHHH…! My nephews asked me about my hobby and when they looked at the number of unpainted sprues in the box, they just ran away. Pre-painted kits are a god-send IMHO, to get kids OFF their damn cell phones and CREATE something with their hands, rather than just “thumbing” buttons. All I’m sayin is that, we should have enough “choice” in the model building hobby to grab as many of us as possible to enjoy what it has to offer…GO BORDER MODELS…!!!
I know first hand that some of the Dutch Leopards weren’t even properly washed before being painted/touched op. Just painted over the mud. Which did something to the paint job when the mud did fall off for whatever reason 
Which is one of the reasons why I have a sensible chuckle when I hear something being talked about on the news as having “military precision”.
More choice is always good. Fully agree. The last thing we need is some kind of fun police, telling us how we should enjoy ourselves.
I built their WW1 armoured lorry and was stunned to find it had individual spark plugs to add! I was surprised it didn’t also include tiny cans of motor oil…
Transportation restrictions. Having liquids in the box imposes transport limitations,
similar to shipping paints and other chemicals …
