Academy Merkava IV Low-Intensity Conflict (LIC) WIP

Post by **Andyman23** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:50 pm

Hey everyone,

Here are some pics of a Merkava IV that I just started. It's Academy's Low-Intensity Conflict (LIC) version of the Merkava IV. Over the past few years, the IDF has upgraded and modified many of their tanks, making them more effective in low-intensity conflicts characterized largely by urban warfare and sensitive counter-insurgency missions - read more about it here: http://www.defense-update.com/products/ ... va-lic.htm

It's the Academy kit and so far it is absolutely fantastic. The fit is wonderful, the molded details are really good, and the molded on anti-slip texture looks very, very good (from reference pictures I have seen of various IDF vehicles, they really seem to used thicker anti-slip paint).

Just remember, I'm still a noob, so God only knows where this one is going haha but I'm having fun - I hope you guys enjoy this build log, I'll try to update as much as possible amid my crazy-busy life.

Just absolutely fantastic detail around the commander's cupola. And I just love that anti-slip texture.

Just completed the rear basket and I'm finishing up the aerial mounts....moving on to finishing up the turret here soon and getting to my favorite part: building and putting on the main gun >:D

Here's a sick video that will immediately make the Merkava your favorite tank.

Take care yinz guys,

Andy

Post by **JayCub** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:30 pm

Andy your a pro, looking really good and as mentioned very detailed, Academy could become one of the top manufacturers or at least i hope they do as good competition means good prices.
Great photographs also Andy.
Tom

Post by **HWGuderian23** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:33 pm

Wow! What a nicely detailed kit

. I like the rough surface on the Merkava but I'm not an expert so I'm not sure what's it all about ... is it a kind of anti-slip coating or something else?

http://www.youtube.com/user/longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:06 pm

very nice work mate

the ant-slip is very well done

Shane.

Post by **Andyman23** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:34 pm

JayCub wrote:Andy your a pro, looking really good and as mentioned very detailed, Academy could become one of the top manufacturers or at least i hope they do as good competition means good prices.
Great photographs also Andy.
Tom

Thanks bud! Yeah this kit is unbelievable. I highly recommend it if you're interested in getting into IDF armor. It's pretty cheap too, I got mine for $30.

Also check out Academy's new Magach 6B - it's an advanced M60 and is very mean looking.

http://www.youtube.com/user/longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:37 pm

Any Idea how you will go about the ball and chain armor around the turret basket ?

got work Andy

Shane

Post by **Andyman23** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:42 pm

HWGuderian23 wrote:Wow! What a nicely detailed kit . I like the rough surface on the Merkava but I'm not an expert so I'm not sure what's it all about ... is it a kind of anti-slip coating or something else?

Yep, they paint anti-slip paint on the surface. I'm sure current or former military guys could give you a better answer, but essentially most (not sure about Russian tanks) modern AFVs have some sort of anti-slip coating - however, each country seems to have their own unique type with varying thickness/roughness/density. I suppose tankers used to get alot of serious tailbone injuries from slipping on wet metal surfaces in the past, so they started painting it on haha

I sprayed a little vallejo primer on it so you can see it better. There are some good pics in this thread where you can see it for real: http://www.idf-modelling.com/forum/view ... &start=250 (I don't know if the Academy molding is entirely accurate, but it just looks so dang cool haha)

Fortunately, this kit came with it on. However, there are Merkava kits out there (like the Meng) that do not have it....but I heard a really cool technique (among many) where you put some tamiya thin glue down and then sprinkle ground cinnamon over the surface - I tested it and it actually doesn't look half bad (I'm thinking about doing the Meng Merkava next).

Post by **Andyman23** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:46 pm

longlance67 wrote:Any Idea how you will go about the ball and chain armor around the turret basket ?

got work Andy

Shane

Yeah, check this out:

If you hear faint and distant screaming and swearing, you'll know that's me from across the Atlantic doing the ball-n-chain lol

http://www.youtube.com/user/longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 12:07 am

Andyman23 wrote:
longlance67 wrote:Any Idea how you will go about the ball and chain armor around the turret basket ?

got work Andy

Shane
Yeah, check this out:

If you hear faint and distant screaming and swearing, you'll know that's me from across the Atlantic doing the ball-n-chain lol

oh god that looks fiddly

If you give Legend Productions a look see, they do a very good ball and chain set, might save your sanity

Post by **Paul** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 12:15 am

Great work on the antislip andy, look forward to seeing more.

Post by **HWGuderian23** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 12:29 am

Oh - that's very interesting

!
Thank you very much for your detailed description Andy

.

Post by **Andyman23** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 2:34 am

HWGuderian23 wrote:Oh - that's very interesting !
Thank you very much for your detailed description Andy .

No problem bud

also, if you guys want to see something really interesting that they're installing on Merkavas, check out:

Can you imagine the engineering that went into that? Unbelievable...

I might try to find a resin trophy system to put on my Merk....I wonder if I could model an incoming RPG getting blown up......

Post by **garywintin** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 9:24 am

Andyman23 wrote:
longlance67 wrote:Any Idea how you will go about the ball and chain armor around the turret basket ?

got work Andy

Shane
Yeah, check this out:

If you hear faint and distant screaming and swearing, you'll know that's me from across the Atlantic doing the ball-n-chain lol

One of the reason why I don't build a Merkava at all... the ball-chain ... the best ball-chain out there is the one from HobbyBoss Merkava 3; comes with metal balls with a casted on hook and and the small metal chain can be attached by means of a pliers ...

Anyway ... I got my eyes on this Andy ..... coming along nicely so far

Post by **Coen** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 12:35 pm

A wicked build Andy, I love the Merkava. I've been wanting to build one for ages.
So far I like the looks of your kit.

https://www.youtube.com/user/bnealuk · Post by **T3hGuppy** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:20 pm

Cool I love these tanks and seeing all these builds is always a pleasure.

Post by **JayCub** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:31 pm

If you hear faint and distant screaming and swearing, you'll know that's me from across the Atlantic doing the ball-n-chain lol

have sworn a few times Andy and i believe the guys here have made up quite a few new ones

Post by **Tiger131** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 7:53 pm

this is one of my favourite modern tanks looking forward to seeing more

Post by **Andyman23** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 3:48 pm

And so the ball and chain insanity begins....

This part is a little tricky. You have to cut the balls off of the sprue containing all the running gear/tracks/suspension, etc. Some of them went flying on me, so be careful if you're doing this kit. Also, on the first one, I completely annihilated it with my knife and took a chunk out of the second ball haha so take your time and take it easy. However, the F-bomb counter was only at 3-4, so far

You can see where I took a little chunk out....um....I mean, it wasn't me, it was that RPG fired by that crazy insurgent guy....yeah...

Hopefully, this gives you a pretty up close and detailed look at Academy's attempt at the ball and chain. It's ok. Actually getting the balls onto the chains isn't the hardest thing in the world. I just poke it with my knife, dip it in some super-glue, and place it into position. Just like with anything else, you have to take your time. The PE chains are flat though...so that's kind of a bummer I suppose... but I think they're going to look good on the finished product anyway.

Post by **Tiger131** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 4:33 pm

yes i remember the ball and chain when i built mine i was seeing the darn things in my sleep...luckily you have the pe chain the one i did was a chain pain in the arse.look forward to seeing them all on they are worth the pain

http://www.youtube.com/user/longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:29 pm

best of luck with the ball an =d chains lol

shane

Post by **Schoof** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:33 pm

Whahahahaha I stopped ready after "you have to cut the balls of..." au au au au au

Post by **Andyman23** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:25 pm

Schoof wrote:Whahahahaha I stopped ready after "you have to cut the balls of..." au au au au au

LOL Yeah I feel like I'm neutering the poor little sprue

Post by **Andyman23** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:34 pm

longlance67 wrote:best of luck with the ball an =d chains lol

shane

Thanks brother - it should be a fun one. Right now I'm just gluing my balls on.....wait....um.....hahah there's no good way to word any of this without making a horrendous double entendre (cutting balls off, super gluing balls to chains.....)

Before I actually attach the ball-n-chain armor, I need to take care of the tarps for the rear basket and the aerials. I don't want to be messing around with the turret at all while the fragile brass is on the back, so I need to finish the turret completely first. Here are the aerials so far - they need a little bit more detailing before they're finished:

http://www.youtube.com/user/longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 7:06 pm

nice antenna arrays mate, ya I know what you mean about the chains or should I saw dangly bits hahahah :p

Great work my friend, hope your Christmas is going well

Shane

Post by **Andyman23** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 10:01 pm

longlance67 wrote:nice antenna arrays mate, ya I know what you mean about the chains or should I saw dangly bits hahahah :p

Great work my friend, hope your Christmas is going well

Shane

LOL

This build is quickly spiraling into 8th grade schoolyard humor hahaha

Thanks man - and Merry Christmas to you too! I look forward to seeing more of your Stryker bud - make us Amuuuricans proud

Post by **Tiger131** » Thu Dec 19, 2013 10:25 pm

Nice antennae looks the part

Post by **HWGuderian23** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 10:19 am

Nice work on the antenna arrays

looking great so far Andy

!
Those individual link tracks are very nice moulded but it seems to be a real pain in the ass to clean them all up

! The same applies for the PE chains I guess

!
Anyways ... will follow your progress further on mate ...

Post by **Coen** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 12:08 pm

Looks fantastic Andy!
Nail polish remover is great for cleaning your balls dude.
Just in case you have any accidents with the superglue.

Post by **Paul** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 12:10 pm

Coen wrote:Looks fantastic Andy!
Nail polish remover is great for cleaning your balls dude.
Just in case you have any accidents with the superglue.

I found it stings like a bitch

Great job andy, have fun cleaning your balls lol

Post by **Coen** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 12:38 pm

Only if you lick them afterwards.

Post by **Paul** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 12:49 pm

Coen wrote:Only if you lick them afterwards.

Your a talented man lol

Post by **Andyman23** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 1:44 pm

I think my girlfriend has some nail polish remover. I'll ask her to clean them! Thanks Coen!!! This is going to be the best build ever

Post by **Schoof** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 2:32 pm

Coen wrote:Looks fantastic Andy!
Nail polish remover is great for cleaning your balls dude.
Just in case you have any accidents with the superglue.

You sure about that ? I always use a razor blade

Post by **Coen** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 4:39 pm

haha... well played
haha

Post by **Andyman23** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 4:48 pm

Nah, I think licking is going to work the best - the balls didn't hold up too well with those other techniques

http://www.youtube.com/user/longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 5:25 pm

Andy, I think we have descended into long dangley madness hahahah

see what I did there

Shane

Post by **Andyman23** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 5:57 pm

The situation is starting to get a little hairy

More updates later, hopefully....little bit busy today...I have about 2 more hours of PT to do today (training/preparing for the military) in addition to everything else ahhhhh

Post by **Schoof** » Fri Dec 20, 2013 7:09 pm

Andyman23 wrote:The situation is starting to get a little hairy

More updates later, hopefully....little bit busy today...I have about 2 more hours of PT to do today in addition to everything else ahhhhh

dont forget to switch hands.........

Post by **Andyman23** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 12:04 am

Did some scratch building to make the rear basket and antennas more accurate. It doesn't look like I did much, but believe me, it took awhile and was very fiddly. I also threw some tarps on the back - with one side pushed down for easier access to the cooler and beer boxes I'm going to put back there.

I feel like I need a beer after working on these antennas......

Gonna put my big balls on this thing next....

Here's a good pic where you can see all the crazy antennas/aerials on this thing - each Merk seems to have different configurations of antennas - still trying to find out why, but I've been running into the OPSEC/Top secret brick wall in my research of many of the features of this tank - if anyone knows, let me know or shoot me a pm.

http://www.youtube.com/user/longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 1:07 am

Andy, very intricate work mate, don't think I would be able to even attempt something as fiddly (excuse the pun

) as that

great work mate

P.S the Merk in that pic looks totally badass

Shane

Post by **garywintin** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 1:37 am

I honestly don't know If i should be focusing on the wip it self OR the ball jokes.. LOOL ...

coming along nicely Andy

Post by **Andyman23** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 5:55 pm

Well, started to give the Merkava some balls today.

I'm about halfway done. I glued them on initially and was happy with the result...then I put the turret on the hull and heard a horrible brass-on-plastic screeching sound (F-bomb counter went off the chart) - so, I figured they weren't in the exact right position....so I actually did get nail polish remover and took them off hahaha (Thanks Coen!)

I proceeded to glue them on again....only to have them rub against the hull, again. But I've now looked at reference pictures...and guess what? A few of the balls actually do rub against the hull....Check out this picture and you'll see what I'm talking about:

I have a love/hate relationship with this hobby hahah...ugh

I need a beer....

Post by **HWGuderian23** » Sat Dec 21, 2013 6:07 pm

Looking great Andy... I guess the work on those balls was really soul-destroying

and I can unterstand that you need a drink now

Skol mate

Post by **Andyman23** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 12:34 am

Ball and chain is done WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Merry Christmas everyone

http://www.youtube.com/user/longlance67 · Post by **longlance67** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 12:57 am

great work Andy

turret is looking great

Shane

Post by **garywintin** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 4:31 am

The balls are done... it's a christmas miracle

Post by **Coen** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 10:08 am

Gary... there are too many jokes for that sentence I don't know where to start.

Post by **Schoof** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 10:10 am

Good to see your balls hanging freely and not sticking onto anything

Post by **Paul** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 10:19 am

Very nice work andy, good luck with your balls too dude don't lick them too much lol

Post by **Andyman23** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 1:24 pm

"Every time a bell rings, a Merkava gets its balls."

Merry Christmas!

LOL