Restoring an old Tamiya Leopard A4

[RichJohnson]

How hoh oh boy,

I a big fan of the Tamiya leoprard 1s.
ive got a lot of them some new in box and the rest old junkers. I’ve worked out a complete modernization process I do on them. I convert the wheels and return rollers to ball bearings, instal modern tank tranys in them, have new 3d printed spring working shock absorbers working traverse elevation and recoil and IR battle in my tanks.
ivw got a long running thread on rcuniverse about the builds and upgrade process. I love bringing these old things into the modern world.

So here are some pics of my recently completed Belgian Leopard 1 BE.
I also make scale L7 recoiling barrels for the Leopard tanks, that’s my gun barrel in it.

I also have lots of videos on YouTube. These things run so smooth after my rebuilds.
if you have questions ask away

[Meter Rat]

Dragged this old crate out of obscurity. Again. 52BE0243-
Now I have more experience , I feel confident enough to have a go at upgrading it with new hardware, and modern electronics and getting it “full option”. First job was to partly disassemble the lower hull, and work out what was missing, or damaged. Turns out not a lot. It is just worn out and very dirty.
After a lot of searching on the twinternet parts have been found. Total cost is more than the original model, and more expensive than an all metal Taigen Leopard. Gulp.

So I used the good boy points, I gained over Friday and Saturday, by carting the financial controller, and her friend to and from one of the local music festivals, I struck quickly and placed an order for parts from Germany. I managed to forget to order new shock absorbers and fitting kit. Oh well I can make do with the existing ones, even though one is damaged and two are missing. Once the thing is able to run, using a HL6.0 TX and RX I can work on the turret. I think the RX I have, has a faulty elevation circuit. I seem to remember magic smoke coming from it. But it will do for mock ups and testing, and will probably be replaced by a HL TK7.1 so I can get a combined elevation and recoil system.
Luckily I have a lot of the original tools, stashed in a box. A few of the missing parts have already been replaced by metal replacements.

The worst part will be waiting for the new parts to arrive.

[UltraVargen]

Thanks for posting this, and good job starting this restoration. Looking forward to the progress!

[Alpha]

Meter Rat Thank you for posting! I hope you continue to update this thread as you proceed with your other plans for new running gear, wheels, etc. This Tamiya model is older than some of the people on this forum! It will be a great day when it's back in service.

[Meter Rat]

At the request of Alpha, whom asked me to do write up of my Leopard A4.
I have never recorded anything like this before as I did not think anyone would be interested. I have done quite a bit of work prior to stating this, and I will leave the bodged upper run for the tracks in place for now.
This tank has been sitting in the loft for 25-30years. Bought as a birthday present by my wife. During use various bits fell off, got lost, or just failed. During lock down I decided to do something with it.
First thing was to get it running. The gear box and motor were cleaned, lubricated, and put back in. The clutches were made good and shims fitted as they very worn and on the first run the thing would not turn. New radio gear was installed and a base made for the battery. Two of the shock absorbers were also made good. We now had a working, rolling chassis. The rear panel was next, with replacement parts made of plastic and brass, and holes filled in and sanded.
The turret was next to receive attention with new brass wire hand rails and cages around the smoke launchers and periscope., with a new mantel made from kitchen paper and varnish. The hull had various bit glued back o I needed some missing bits and a site was found in Germany. Rctank.de. Some beautiful case brass parts arrived, in the form of new mirrors, horn and the gun lock came in two days. Along with replica decals. These were not cheap, about £65. I could spend a lot more.
I have started to clean paint and remove the old decals, along with the tools.
This is where we are at now.
Future plans may include new running gear, wheels, upper rollers. I do not see the the point of doing any more, as to build it into a fully functional model would, for me spoil it.