ICM 1/72 Leopard 2A6 Unboxing and Build Review - as good as the 1/35th?

[@MannsModelMoments]

What do you think of this ICM rebox of the Revell kit? Let me know in the comments below...

[@Rob1972Gem]

How much is this kit compared to the Revel kit, cause I’m just thinking how much you pay for that little plastic part and a tiny bit of photo etch you can call me a sceptic but I am a little bit fed up with companies releasing other peoples kits and often chucking a little bit of extra in there and charging a lot more money which the sensible person would just work out the difference and then how much you’re paying for the little bit of extra

[@MannsModelMoments]

@@Rob1972Gem The Revell kit is about £1 more expensive!

[@h.m.4727]

Those tracks are difficult to assemble, I never got them right despite building several of these. To properly bend the tracks the plastic needs to be heated up to the glass temperature which is above the temperature of cooking water so the idea coined in the instructions don't work. Also bending them with you hangds doesn't work when they are that hot. Zvezda does it a lot better with preset bend marks on there tracks. Also the road wheels are to conical so you need to sand those down. But the rest of the model is great and the running gear is builable otherwise I wouldn't have made several. Anyway this way of making tracks is not something to repeat or they should perfect it like Zvezda.

[@nedlooby7419]

The most hotley anticipated video of this year outstrips any hollywood release- the MMM pledge / future alternatives video! Regardles nice video but P.E in a 1/72 of the shelf icm? Might be the first modern era kit i seek out thanks Alex!

[@choppergunner8650]

Was considering buying this kit at a later date because I wanted to have another 1/72 tank in my collection, but I think I'm gonna steer clear and go with the Revell 1/72 Merkava Mk.III

[@MichaelCampin]

As my school reports said, "Distinctedly Average, could try harder"

[@Gustav_Kuriga]

Should include FPV drone and mine-damaged tracks for full realism.

[@adrianhook9795]

Evening Alex

[@IndyR1Simon]

Hmm, having come back to the hobby with 1/72 aircraft and 1 AFV, I’m certainly not drawn to this kit as it has too many irritating issues and I’ve move to 1/35 while thinking about 1/48 for space. Pity about the strange choices as it could have been a decent kit 🤷‍♂️

[@bionicgeekgrrl]

Definitely looks like typical revell barmyness occurred here. I'm expecting icm were not able to put vinyl replacement tracks in the kit due to the agreement with revell and cost.

[@julianmhall]

hi Alex.. re the tracks: Revell have never been particularly innovative so I don't think the hot water idea is theirs. ICM on the other hand /are/ innovative and willing to try something new, so the idea is more than likely /theirs/. TBH I don't agree it was a bad choice. It seemed to work the first time with all that would be necessary to keep the track ends in place would be gluing them and clamping until the glue set, as you did with the warped uboat hull (I think yesterday?). As for re-emersing them, probably not necessary if the tracks are kept in the water longer which is probably trial and error - I doubt decals behaved properly the first time they were tried.

[@MannsModelMoments]

Unfortunately...no...this kit was tooled in 2011 by Revell, and the kit is solely theirs - the additional parts from ICM are only the PE and brackets. I also tried exactly what you said - I probably spent 40 minutes with very hot water, and the tracks just stress and break. Fundamentally 80-90 degrees is not enough to sufficiently deform polystyrene without stressing it...but of course Revell can't suggest higher as it would involve open flames and that would be both dangerous and unrpoductive. It's just a bad idea.

[@choppergunner8650]

​@@MannsModelMoments Can't believe I'm going to say this, but as much as it was frustrating to build my Italeri 1/72 M1 Abrams, at least the tracks worked. They have two flat pieces on each side for the upper and lower part of the tracks, and individual links for the rounded part on the sprockets.

[@rcrawford42]

Why not turn the heat-and-bend tracks into link-and-length with a saw or scalpel?

[@MannsModelMoments]

That's what I did?

[@adrianhook9795]

Hi all

[@Mike-mm4mx]

a silly combination will give it a pass