1/200 Scale Modern French AMX Leclerc Main Battle Tank.
Highly detailed tank with detailed Tracks and moveable Turret.
Contains:- 1x French AMX Leclerc Main Battle Tank
AMX Leclerc Main Battle Tank
The
Char Leclerc is a
main battle tank (MBT) built by GIAT, now
Nexter of
France. It was named in honour of General
Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, who led the French element of the
drive towards Paris while in command of the
Free French 2nd Armoured Division (
2e DB) in
World War II.
The Leclerc is in service with the
French Army and the army of the
United Arab Emirates. In production since 1991, the Leclerc entered French service in 1992, replacing the
AMX 30 as the country's main armoured platform. With production now complete, the French Army has 406 Leclerc and the
United Arab Emirates Army has 388. The price in 2011 was €9.3 million, which made it the most expensive tank in history at the time. Following the devaluation of the
Euro its price fell dramatically, and in 2014 the
K2 Black Panther surpassed the Leclerc's price record.The
Leclerc is equipped with a GIAT (Nexter) CN120-26 120mm
smoothbore cannon. This cannon is capable of firing the same
NATO standard 120mm rounds as the German
Leopard 2 and US
M1 Abrams, but in practice only French-produced ammunition is issued. The gun is insulated with a
thermal sleeve and has an automatic compressed-air fume extraction system instead of the usual
bore evacuator. The Leclerc has a unique autoloading system which was specifically designed for it, and reduces the crew to three by eliminating the human loader. The turret of the Leclerc was designed around the
auto-loading system in order to avoid the problems common to other tanks with an autoloader. The
Leclerc autoloader allows a rate of fire of 12 shots per minute and holds 22 rounds of ready ammunition; it can accommodate up to six different types of ammunition at once, although like most autoloader systems it cannot change ammunition types once a round has been loaded. The most common types are the armour piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (
APFSDS) with a tungsten core and the
high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) round. There are 18 other rounds available for reload. A Leclerc tank can fire while traveling at a speed of 50 km/h on a target 4,000 metres away.
The gun is 52
calibres long instead of the 44 calibres common on most tanks of the Leclerc's generation, giving the rounds a higher muzzle velocity.
The
Leclerc is also equipped with a 12.7 mm coaxial machine gun and a remote-controlled 7.62 mm machine gun, whereas most other NATO tanks use 7.62 mm weapons for both their coaxial and top machine gun mounts; the major exception is the American M1 Abrams, which has a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun and two top-mounted machine guns, one 7.62 mm and one 12.7 mm.
Cleaning Information
Some part cleanup will be necessary. The 3D printing process uses a waxy substance to support certain part features during the printing process. Although the parts are cleaned by Shapeways, some waxy residue may remain. It can be safely removed with water and a mild aqueous detergent like "Simple Green" using an old, soft toothbrush, Q-tips or pipe cleaners. During the printing process, liquid resin is cured by ultraviolet light. Microscopic bits of resin may remain uncured.
Let your parts sit in direct sunlight for a few hours to fully cure the resin.
Water-based acrylic paints meant for plastics is strongly recommended. Other paints, especially enamels, may not cure on Frosted Detail 3D-printed plastics.
Use dedicated model sprue cutters to remove parts to minimise the risk of damage to parts.
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