Reservists and ex-service members gathered out the back of the Bendigo RSL's Havilah Street premises over the weekend to return the Leopard Main Battle Tank back to its former glory.

"It's amazing what a good clean and a coat of paint does," former troop sergeant David Key said as the team clambered over the tank, preparing it for a second coat.

He was in charge of a second tank, identical to the Bendigo one, that ended up in Beaconsfield, Tasmania after being decommissioned and put on display.

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Mr Key and his former army mates have already repainted that one.

He had brought a folder full of photos from that project with him to Bendigo last weekend, as well as of his team back in 2005 on their last exercise.

"All the tanks were lined up and they just fired off the last of the ammunition," Mr Key said as he showed off photos of his team.

In their heyday, the Australian Army's Leopards were the Rolls Royce of the tank world, Mr Key said.

"Good, German engineering," he said.

A four-person team would live and breathe their tank when out on military exercises. A driver, a gunner, a loader and a crew commander would spend long periods maneuvering around battlefields.

Everyone in Mr Key's squadron were reservists.

Some had previously served in the regular army. Everyone brought their own skills and life experiences.

Mr Key was a copper. Another member of the team was an upholsterer, one an electrician, a third a priest.

All of those life experiences gave the troop an edge. It gave the full-time soldiers a run for their money when out on exercises, Mr Key said.

"We were a little bit older than your average soldier and probably a little bit wiser," he said.

"We enjoyed what we did in the field - who else gets to play with one of these tanks? And as you can see, after 20 years we are all still together and friendly."

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Many people were redeployed to other tasks when the tanks were decommissioned.

There's talk of painting a third and final tank that has been found elsewhere in Australia. But over the weekend, at least, everyone was just happy to be together, sharing a laugh or two.

Mr Key thanked the Bendigo RSL and Epsom Bunnings for their help and donations.

"Without them, none of this would be possible," he said.

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