First released as an R/C tank in 1977 (Item 56002), Tamiya is now proud to release the West German Leopard A4 as a static display model.

When the new Federal German Army was instituted in 1956, US Army M47 and M48 tanks were the mainstays of armored units. This however was regarded as a stop-gap measure until a new main battle tank which incorporated the lessons learned from WWII and the anticipated conditions of modern warfare could be created. The first formal specifications called for a vehicle of around 30 tons, with a power-to-weight ratio of 30hp/ton, a range of 350km, and a width not exceeding 315cm. Several industrial consortia groups such as Porsche, Hanomag, and Henschel were interested in submitting designs. Porsche's first running prototype was produced in 1961 and called Porsche 723. It featured the same 90mm gun as the M48, but was later specified with the superior British 105mm L7 gun. It was a fairly conventional design featuring torsion bar suspension and a Daimler-Benz MB series 10 cylinder engine. The Porsche 723 was later chosen as the basis for the new "standard panzer". Further prototypes were built and development trials took place from 1962 to 1964. In production form, as the Porsche 814, the vehicle was given the name Leopard. The first production Leopard was completed in September 1965 and large numbers were built and supplied to the armies of Holland, Australia, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Italy, as well as West Germany. All Leopards came with sophisticated range finders with both stereoscopic and coincident ranging possible. They were powered by a Diamler-Benz MB838 four-cycle diesel engine with multi-fuel capability. They were also waterproofed for deep-wading up to the top of the turret roof, and for crossing rivers up to a depth of 4m they were equipped with snorkels. The development of the Leopard 1A4 represented a big advance on the earlier A1 and A2 models and was seen as one of the finest battle tanks to have been built in the world.

accurate 1/16 scale model of Germany's Leopard A4.

All of the original R/C equipment from Item 56002 has been removed but the moveable suspension and wheels remain.

The fearsome form of the large main gun and turret has been faithfully reproduced.

Features realistic link type tracks.

Included are photo-etched parts to provide the model with greater realism.

Upper hull accessory parts feature a fine finish Modern R/C equipment such as DMD unit, drive gearboxes, and turret rotation gearbox can be installed to convert the model into a working R/C model.