Revell 1/72 Merkava Mk.III

[FabianAUT]

Hi folks!

Here is my little entry for this Sig.
I always liked the look of IDF armor and the futuristic look of the merkava could be straight out of a SciFi movie.



The Merkava ( Hebrew for Chariot ) first entered service in 1979 and its 4 versions saw action in many conflicts since then.
Its layout is very special and like no other MBT. The turret is mountet way back on the hull like on Spgs. The engine is located in the front wich is supposed to grant better protection for the crew in frontal attacks. This also creates more space in the rear that allows increased storage capacity and a rear entrance to the main crew compartment allowing easy access under enemy fire. The Merkava can transport up to 6 passengers in addition to its 4 men crew.



The Mark III was introduced in 1989 and had upgrades to the drivetrain, powertrain, armament, and electronic systems. The most prominent addition was the incorporation of the locally developed IMI 120 mm gun. This gun and a larger 1,200 horsepower (890 kW) diesel engine increased the total weight of the tank to 65 tonnes (143,000 lb), but the larger engine increased the maximum cruising speed to 60 km/h (37 mph).
It was used in several conflicts from the South Lebanon conflict to the Israel-Gaza conflict in 2014.

Now to the kit. Its a 2003 tooling so it should be going together without major problems.
The parts have some nice detail for the scale.

Nice boxart!










Thanks for watching and good luck with your builds!

[Coen]

Totally agree about the Merk being the coolest looking tank!
The Israelies really know how to add cool factor as a well as deadly to their machines.
Good choice bud.

[FabianAUT]

Thx Coen!

Made a little progress today.

The wheel and lower hull assembly is complete and the parts are already primed. Looks like i have to completely build and paint the wheels and tracks before i can put the upper hull on. The tracks are link and length and i dont think that i can put them on with the upper hull installed.
So the next step will be some painting action.

[NAMBiohazard]

ooooh very nice... a Merkava
gotto love the Israeli designs

good choise

[FabianAUT]

Time for another update:

The wheels and lower hull had a first coat of Migs "IDF Sinai Grey 82" wich is supposed to be the closest match to the real thing. I had to do a little filling and sanding on the hull as well. The tracks have been painted with a mix of rubber black and iron and will be drybrushed and enhanced with some pigments later on.





While that was left to dry i started working on the turret. Still a lot to do there.



Thanks for watching and a nice Sunday everbody!

[gaz45]

Nice work so far mate

[Coen]

Is it me... Or does that turret look familiar?

[LTmodelmaking]

How's the kit? Would you recommend it? Would be fun to build an IDF AFV and it's pretty cheap.

[FabianAUT]

So far its going together very well. I also think the detail is pretty nice for the scale.

Only downsides i found so far are the molded on tools ( i would prefer seperate parts ) and the missing anti slip texture on the hull and turret.
Im trying to recreate that with some Mr. Surfacer wich shouldnt be too much work i hope

But i havent finished it yet because i had to wait for some humbrol maskol to arrive.

In general i think Revells newer tooled 1/72 armor isnt bad at all! Especially considering the price.

[FabianAUT]

As mentioned earlier i try to recreate the anti slip texture on the hull and turret wich is quite prominent on the original.



First i masked off smaller raised and recessed detail with humbrol maskol.


And then i mixed some mr surfacer with dry earth from a catcus and applied it. Maybe its not 100% accurate scalewise but i think it doesnt look too bad.


Now its time to let it dry and pray

[FabianAUT]

Quite happy with the result so far.



Everything is basically ready for some paint. Some smaller parts will be added later on.

[Coen]

Looks excellent! And 1/72!!?? Cool!!!