Even the etch is pre-painted! Border Models 35th scale Leopard 2A7V

Border Model really are streamlining the process with their latest 35th-scale Leopard 2 A7V. Pre-painted parts on this are really something else - we look at the features in our preview...

Even the etch is pre-painted! Border Models 35th scale Leopard 2A7V

Leopard 2A7 Chroma Series - (Pre-painted)

From Border Model

Kit No. BG-001

1/35th scale

Pre-painted photo-etch, metal barrel and fabric parts included.

Price: TBA

Expected: October

Border Models website

The Subject: The Leopard 2A7V

The Leopard 2A7V represents a vital pillar in Germany's modern armoured doctrine and NATO's collective defence strategy. Deliveries to the Bundeswehr began in late 2021, providing frontline tank battalions with unprecedented battlefield survivability and punch. 

Leopard 2 A7V at Bad Frankenhausen 2024

These vehicles have been actively deployed to reassure Eastern European allies, serving as a core component of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence. Their strategic presence acts as a powerful deterrent, proving that the platform is ready for high-intensity, peer-to-peer conventional warfare.

The Leopard 2A7V is currently the most modern MBT in the Bundeswehr.

Operating a 66.5-tonne main battle tank requires a massive logistical footprint, which the 2A7V design optimises through several engineering updates. The integration of a new 20-kilowatt auxiliary power unit allows the crew to run all combat systems, radios, and climate control without idling the main engine. This system dramatically lowers thermal and acoustic signatures while saving precious fuel during extended overwatch missions. Furthermore, modified final drives and a hardened transmission accommodate the increased weight, ensuring the tank maintains mechanical reliability under gruelling field conditions.

Lighter than many main battle tanks, the Leopard 2A7V's can be transported on Germany's heaviest hauliers.

At the heart of the Leopard 2A7V is a fully digitised architecture that transforms the platform into a mobile command node. The vehicle integrates the modern Integrated Command and Information System (IFIS), which provides the crew with a real-time blue-force tracking map of the battlefield. This digital backbone allows for instantaneous data sharing between individual tanks, scouting drones, and higher command elements. By eliminating communication delays, the 2A7V can react to emerging threats faster than older generations of armoured vehicles, maintaining a strict decision-making advantage.

The letter "V" stands for verbessert, meaning "improved" in German; it is one of the most capable tank versions across the German Army with a new laser rangefinder and thermal imaging device.

The kit: Border Model's new CHROMA Series Leopard 2A7V (BG001) 
The Border Model CHROMA Series Leopard 2A7V (BG001) introduces the line's premier 1/35 scale armour kit. Border Model has already brought the A6 version of the Leopard II in 35th scale. Now, they go one model newer with this, the newest operational Leopard in use.

A bonus for the first 1000 kits only...
Early buyers receive a fabric camouflage net and strip set, restricted to the first 1,000 pre-orders. As a pre-painted kit, this model offers a significant advantage for builders looking to skip the airbrushing stage. 

The NATO three-colour camouflage replicates the actual vehicle’s factory finish, and the kit includes a pre-painted metal barrel – photo-etched elements alongside functional tracks and suspension. However, pre-painted parts can complicate assembly, as modellers must carefully scrape paint away from mating surfaces to ensure a strong glue bond. 

To combat the translucent look common to unpainted kits, Border uses a custom-formulated, opaque NATO Green PS plastic as the base material. While this ensures even the smallest unpainted components maintain a flat, realistic appearance, enthusiasts may find that factory-applied paint limits their ability to customise weathering or correct seam lines without risking the underlying finish.

The fully optioned A7V Leopard II is an exterior-only kit (unless they throw one in there without letting us know). The kit is supplied with photo-etch for some of the thinner parts, like the stowage bins and radiator grilles on the engine deck.

The reverse side of the kit shows much of the same, with photo-etched stowage bins and grilles keeping the metal to a minimum. Modellers like that, only if the detail is just right on the rest of the kit.

The rotating turret, open and closed hatch options and metal barrel for the main gun are all features of this kit.

This kit is not on their website yet, but Hobbylink Japan always gets their kits. Check out the Border Model website for more information...