I compare rubber and built-in tracks, look at the APU chevrons and play with the dog. Greetings friends! Today I have prepared for you a review of a model that was not even announced by the manufacturer in the catalog for the current year. So I hasten to show you all the features of the unexpected new product of the year from the Ukrainian manufacturer of scale models, ICM. This is a 1:35 scale model of the Leopard 2A6 of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Together with him I will show figures of tankers and a huge set of weapons and chevrons of the modern army of Ukraine. I'll start with this huge box whose box art looks absolutely incredible. I haven't unpacked anything yet, but I already want to assemble the model and include the dioramas in the story. The manufacturer’s artists manage to perfectly combine technology into atmospheric box art, so you can simply collect boxes. From the list of markings it is clear that half took part in operations in the Zaporozhye direction. All this is very painful to realize. This was not the kind of glory I dreamed of for my hometown. Zaporozhye was, is and will be Ukraine! Leopard tanks began appearing in Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the spring of 2023. Like most other military equipment, in combat conditions these tanks are designated by crosses of various types. Leafing through the instructions, I caught myself thinking that I haven’t assembled tank models for a very long time. Although I came to scale modeling precisely thanks to this technique. The first model that gave impetus to further development was the Bergepanther, which I assembled with my brother around 2007 or 2008. By the way, the model is still preserved, so I’m ready to make a separate video about it. The instructions even explain the process of drawing sprue to create thin antennas. I saw some modellers using cat whiskers for this purpose. Please take care of the four-legged fluffies and learn how to pull the sprue correctly. The result will be much better! As a last resort, you can buy metal antennas, but don’t touch the cats. Castings with parts are sorted into separate packages. In the first one, an expanded set of materials is immediately visible, including transparent plastic and vinyl tracks. They are soft, have a minimal amount of flash and even have imitation joints. The tank's caterpillar has replaceable rubber cushions, so if everything is painted correctly, this will be another plus to the replica quality of the model. Next are two castings with steel wire. Which on the model will repeat the realistic sagging in the shape of the tank. And two rubber mudguards on the rear. I will start the review of plastic with the most interesting thing - the top armor plate. Just look how huge it is. And its regular rectangular shape makes it visually even larger. In terms of detail, everything looks as it should. An endless number of bolted connections, service holes and hatches. Interestingly, the overall surface is relatively glossy, on which rectangles with a matte texture stand out in contrast. My guess is that these are rubber overlays to increase traction on the tank soles. If you know exactly what it is, write a comment. I’m sure everyone will be interested. The crawler track has seven road wheels and four support rollers on board, with a idler at the front and a gear at the rear. The Leopard chassis uses a custom torsion bar suspension with friction shock absorbers and hydraulic springs. On the bow of the tank there are 18 winter spurs, installed instead of rubber ones for movement on frozen soil. They look like this. Do not confuse them with dynamic protection units. The next element is the tower. It is also quite large in size with sharp shapes. Its design has a separate compartment with ammunition, which protects the crew in the event of detonation. Special panels in this compartment direct the explosion and fire outward. The detailing of the turret is done at a high level with the ability to simulate glass on the commander's panoramic periscope sight and the gunner's thermal imaging system. On a curious note, I liked the design of the engine compartment mesh. At a certain angle, the division of the frame becomes visible. The Leopard 2A6 is equipped with a 120 mm Rheinmetall L55 smoothbore gun. In the set it consists of two halves with fine imitation connections. At the stage of gluing and cleaning the joint, care should be taken not to blur these elements. On both sides of the tower there are two groups of four smoke grenade launchers, from which you can fire remotely from one or all of them at once. The set includes two types of side panels, rectangular and curly. This option is more often found on the 2A4 modification, but is also installed on the newer 2A6 version. Therefore, you will be able to choose any option to your liking. In my opinion, the kit contains the optimal number of parts for 35th scale. Because, over time, I began to be panicky about sets that contain 1000 parts, but there are 250 of them in order to calmly and with pleasure assemble a highly detailed model. I also want to say a few words about rubber tracks. It's fast, convenient and effective. I don’t know exactly what this is connected with, but I no longer have the desire to spend dozens of hours gluing inlaid tracks that, under a layer of pigments, will look exactly the same as rubber ones. And given the fact that they are almost invisible on the model, this completely loses its meaning. And I quickly threw on the rubber one, glued it at several points and you can send the model by new mail without fear. I don't think she'll be able to break them. Although, knowing the new mail... The set is completed with figures of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers. This is a truly long-awaited new product for modellers, because there were simply no tankers in modern uniforms on the market. And here ICM gives us not only human figures, but also a cute dog. I liked that each soldier had individual equipment and a unique storyline. Two people under the tank are trying to repair something, a third is smoking a pipe while resting, a bearded man is playing with a dog, and the commander is watching this action. The set of figures is also available for sale separately from Leopard, so they can be combined on a diorama with other APU tanks. Separately, I would like to note the position of the fingers and their elaboration; they have the correct thickness and clear intervals. So you don't have to cut anything. Chevrons, shoulder straps and patches have a three-dimensional appearance, so there will be an opportunity to show artistic abilities by drawing out the smallest elements of the uniform. And the next addition greatly simplifies this task, because the kit includes decals with more than 500 chevrons and other marks. There are also a lot of interesting weapons here: LNG, Mavic, and even Stugna with Stinger. This set will make the plot of any diorama rich and varied. Well, just look at how huge the sheet of decals is! Even in macro photography, the chevrons have clear images with extremely fine lines. The sheet contains 117 chevrons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, divided into separate branches of the military: mechanized brigades, motorized infantry, mountain assault, tank, artillery, air assault, marines and individual units. To make it easier to find the required team, the manufacturer has collected all the information in the instructions. And what I liked is that the chevrons have both front and field versions. In addition to what has been announced, there are shoulder straps, patches with flags and other marks. The list of weapons includes more than 30 different units, which are located on 9 castings. There are no questions about the quality of the set. Even the grenade launcher and machine gun belts were worked out separately. Today, the production of such thematic sets is very important. Because thanks to them, military equipment and weapons used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine are popularized. So modellers all over the world have the opportunity to make a high-quality model or diorama of our defenders. At European model exhibitions, works on the subject of the Russian-Ukrainian war are increasingly being exhibited. That the feat of the Ukrainian people and defense forces will last for a long time. Just remember how, at the beginning of a full-scale war, our foreign colleagues made an endless number of dioramas with Ukrainian tractors pulling Russian tanks; all these jokes about the empty sea on the Revell box with the cruiser "Moscow"; washing machines with toilets using Russian technology and much more. All this is already in the simulation memory. Let's together reproduce in miniature the feat of the Ukrainian people! Low bow and boundless gratitude to our defenders! Together to victory!