1:35 Leopard 2 MBT spare wheels (2 pcs)

A small package with a big effect

Of all the accessories that can be added to a finished model, spare running gear parts have the best ratio between the work put in and the result. Nothing has to be cut, nothing has to be fitted, and it is enough to find a place on the hull where a crew would logically lash them down. And yet it is exactly the kind of detail that makes a vehicle look inhabited, like a machine somebody looks after rather than a display piece with no history.

Where a spare wheel belongs on the Leopard 2

The most common place is the rear hull plate above the exhaust grilles, where welded mountings for this very purpose are usually fitted. They also appear on the sides behind the track skirts, and on long moves the crews helped themselves with straps or a chain lashed wherever they could. The choice is the modeler's and it changes the sense of the whole build: two clean wheels high on the rear look different from one muddy wheel tied crosswise on the side.

The background

The German second-generation tank carried armament and armor designed from the start with decades of service in view, and time proved it right. It has been through a series of upgrades, some of which added further tons, and its running gear with torsion bar suspension has had to carry more each time than it did at introduction.

Working with the castings

Both pieces are separated from the block and the face is sanded. If you are lashing the wheel with a chain, thread it before gluing: once it is seated there will be no room for that. Keep the shade of the tire darker than the rest of the vehicle and leave the surface matte.

One last note on choosing: anyone looking for a more visible change to the appearance of the running gear will reach for a full set of wheels. This item, by contrast, is meant for those whose model is practically finished and who want to bring it to life in one move without taking it apart.