I’m a new modeler this year and I’ve only built my Panther Ausf A kit from TAMIYA. But I’ve learned some modeling skills from my friends, so yeah, I’m getting better at it. And now I’ve desired the Leopard 2A7V model kits and there are 2 of them available in my local shop. One of them is the Tamiya Leo 2A7V and the other one is the RFM Leo 2A7V, so which one do you guys think is suitable for me?
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Honesty? Neither, as both are pretty complex. Meng more over so. Try a panzer 38 from Tamiya or the R-35 before
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Agreed, you may want to stay away from the more complex kits for a while if you’ve only built one kit. I would advise to stick with Tamiya for at least a while, because they’re easy to build — so if you really do want to build a Leopard 2A7V, go with the Tamiya one. The RFM kit will be a good deal more complex to build, and might just leave you dispirited as a result.
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Absolutely the Tamiya kit is a far easier build than the RFM kit.
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As a big Tamiya fan, I also opt for the kit.
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This might be of interest!
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Have both kits, and as the others suggested would build more kits and gain experience before tackling even the Tamiya Leopard 2A7V. Its a nice kit but much less complicated than the Ryefield Leopard 2A7V.
The Tamiya newest KV kits are build friendly in addition to the ones mentioned. If you just have to build a Leopard 2 the one like Tamiya’s 1/35 LEOPARD 2 A6 Ukraine mighy be a good choice. There’s also German version of the Leo 2 A6 from Tamiya that shouldn’t be too hard to find.
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I’m gonna try and build more kits before tackling the Leopard 2A7V, and the Leo 2A7V from RFM is my choice because it’s more accurate and more details than the TAMIYA one. Also I love myself a workable tracks too
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Judging by the instructions, Tamiya’s 2A7V is probably the best kit for workable tracks in that they’ve got for the middle ground between link-and-length, and workable.
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The Tamiya kit does not come with workable track links, they come with link and length tracks but they are not workable
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The Tamiya Leopard 2A7V has hybrid tracks.
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The top & bottom flat runs of track are length.
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The 21 individual links that go around the idler and sprocket on each side are workable.
This allows for easier adjustment of the hybrid link and length tracks.
True Length and length often look very bad because that little bit of slack where the bow slightly coming off the the idler and sproket isn’t present. The Tamiya Leopard 2A7V hybrid will flex and have a bit of slack where it should but have the convenience of solid top & bottom runs.
With the three part workable links, one must be very precise with the glue or they won’t work. Normally that level of precision assembly takes a little bit of model building experience to acquire.
Tamiya found an elegant solution to link & length vs individual link. Flat runs are conventional link & length and the individual links are workable.
I would post pictures but misplaced my 40% build Tamiya Leopard 2A7V on a riad trip.
HTH
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We all know how notoriously stiff the old Italeri tracks are. Even they can be tamed with a rod running through the hull, and pressing down on the track. Painted, it’s virtually impossible to see. Works on lin and length track as well.
Theres also the thread around the axle between the road wheels trick too.
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That’s exactly what I meant: workable tracks, but only for the sections where they actually matter.
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Well, in that case, I think I might go with the TAMIYA Leopard 2A7V first and then the RFM Leo if I were more experienced. The Tamiya plastic looks suitable for masking too, so I’m definitely going with the TAMIYA in this case
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A good choice. btw the Tamiya kit was researched by Tamiya on site at Kyffhäuser Kaserne in Bad Frankenhausen.
May I ask from which country you are?
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The Tamiya Leopard 2A7V is probably ~ 4x the parts of the very old Tamiya Panther A. There’s a lot of slop and forgiveness in the old Panther kit, there’s none in the new Leopard.
Building a couple of other models before stepping up to the Tamiya Leopard 2A7V is probably wise.
I suggest the following if you don’t already have them.
A) pair of precision nippers that flush cut or nearly do so like the top of the line GodHand’s or ZOUKEI-MURA or similar.
B) Plus quality sanding stick to ensure no burrs remain on parts.
C) Couple of adjustable clamps if needed.
Precision parts clean is critical with the Tamiya Leopard 2A7V. I recall clamping the Tamiya hull during assembly to keep it in alignment which is something I rarely find necessary.
Good luck & happy modeling
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Tamiya’s kit is very good, but they have unfortunately made one error. The number of slats in the louvres/vents on the left hull side is incorrect. Tamiya has 11, whereas the real A7V has 7 or 8 (RFM did get this correct). Not a major issue, and really only noticeable when you compare the kit side-by-side with a photo or the RFM kit. But still disappointing considering Tamiya did have the real thing at hand.
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Both kits have the same style of lower hull assembly; a bottom plate and two side plates glued together to make the lower hull box. Both kits come with PE, but the PE in the Tamiya kit consists of fewer parts, most large, and the kit comes with forms to bend the PE turret baskets to shape. The RFM kit has more PE, with a few of the parts quite small. You’ll also need nippers to remove PE parts from the fret.
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I’m from Vietnam, and the Tamiya kit was a little bit more pricey than the RFM kit, but I think that wouldn’t be a problem because I’m kind of a TAMIYA fanboy.
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I don´t care for such a minor issue.
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