Merkava Mk. IV Israeli Main Battle Tank Academy 1/35

I made the Academy’s Merkava in March 2015, additional work such as surface antislip.

I watched “American Sniper” with my wife in the cinema complex near my house today. The combat scene was extremely real, and armored cars ran around Iraqi city corners lively. Maybe I was inspired by this movie. I want to make a modern tank and pick up this Academy’s Merkava Mk.IV from my stockpile. Probably this kit is already out of stock now.
Oh, I decided to put the making-in-process kits aside today. I also have Hobby Boss Merkava Mk.III, and if there’s a time in the future, I’ll make it, too.

Regarding suspensions, almost covered under the wheels and side armor, I think it’s no need to file parting lines and fill the dent of plastic injection marks so nervously.

The partial connection of the caterpillar tread looks pretty nice. I like better than the belt caterpillar, personally.

Compared to German Ausf. IV-type tank, Merkava, is a huge tank.

I glanced at the instruction 1st page, and there’s something about photo-etched parts that I have already attached the plastic parts!!
It seems no problem, but the etching is more detailed, so I tried to change them.

Ummm, maybe this etching is better. I needed to be careful that this etching part is the very fragile thin plates.

Like a pop-up from an SF movie form, it’s one of the characteristics of the Merkava tank. I have a feeling the chain curtain photo-etched parts are hard to handle.
(01-March-2015)

There are more parts of the gun turret than the body, which takes time. 120mm smoothbore, 12.7mm machine gun, and 7.62mm machine gun turned to the front.

The instruction manual indicates the caterpillar attachment in the last stage, but I suppose it’s better before side armor onto the upper body.

So there will be a few troubles, and I attached body armor, wire ropes, and rubber fenders simultaneously for a whole adjustment to each other.

I scraped off the hemisphere parts from the runner one by one and made the round ball of the chains curtain. At first, it wasn’t easy, but after a couple of trials, I’m used to doing this work. Please be careful, don’t hurt yourself.

It is the chain skirt that I attached neatly with much effort, but the rear body top surface interferes with it when I attach a gun turret to a chassis and turn around. I should be so careful. I bend the chain diagonally for a while and keep it off, and it should be adjusted for the last time after the painting is completed. These chains are easily broken when I bend them many times.
(04-March-2015)

There had been a gap to fill the putty. Probably these backsides were almost covered by the vast turret and not in my eyesight.

There’s no mold on the antislip surface on the body and turret uppers. I used this Tamiya Diorama Texture Paint of powder snow. It’s fixed on the body after drying and does not move the dust even I blow breathing strongly over them. It’s a moderately textured surface. I’m still not sure after painting. The whole impression was drastically changed, so it’s risky to work.

Academy’s instruction advised me to make the canvas sheet from tissue paper, but I used the lead sheet for fishing. It’s easier to stick decals.

I attached the plastic mesh of the grenade guard, which was covered in an exhaust opening on the side. I used a black marker to locate the position after using glue and a dirty mesh net.

Merkava turret has many antenna connectors. All poled is too noisy, so I attached four antenna rods. On both sides of the front are two connectors, and I attached two short rods.

The chain curtain and side armor were a little hitting if rotating, so the turret angle was kept like in this photo.

Assembly was very smooth and enjoyable. I’m worried because it’s my first Academy kit, but the instruction was easy to understand; all the parts joint is quite good. It’s like the finish-up comment, but the next step is painting.
(14-March-2015)

It was blowing surfacer and shadow along the panel lines.

The Merkava seems greenish more than the Super Sherman, which I made before as I look at real vehicle photographs. The Super Sherman was painted similarly to dark yellow, not mixed green colors. There’s Academy’s recipe that 70% of Mr.Color #60 RLM02 gray and 30% of #340 field green FS34097. Furthermore, I mixed orange with some adjustments. I think brownish washing makes more natural and complex color gradation. It’s becoming cool.
(21-March-2015)

I attached decals; this quality was not so bad. But the white gun barrel markings are pale, so the tone changes at the crossing point and the other area. I need to re-touch by brush later.
I’m reading a book on Naval General Staff interviews of the Imperial Japanese Navy; I’m eager to make battleships again.
(25-March-2015)

After painting the periscope and glass area, I used Mr.Crystal Color Turquoise Green after coating matte black, but this one is too glitzy. I coated clear green on them, but it’s not good to finish, like an aquarium with algae blooms and can’t see inside.

Hahaha, it’s a drastic remedy. I don’t have hologram film in my hand, so I peeled off the CD recording part cut out for them. It’s gleaming to catch the light from some angles. At least better than the above scheme. I thought to try coating it with clear blue for a moment, though this time, I left the film without concealment.
(26-March-2015)

Merkava series is the high-profile tank of the current Israeli army. Starting from Merkava Mk. I started the operation in 1979 and have been developing research continuously.

In the development of this one. It has been developed based on the number of combat experiences up to the fourth Middle East War. They are also experienced in several operations, such as Beirut military invasion until Mk’s development. IV.

The turret was larger than the former Mk.III, and attached removable modular armor from the Merkava Mark IIID which can be performed in a short time to recover after damage.
When I made this kit l, I felt this vehicle’s height was very tall. The height of the Merkava is 2.6m, and the Japanese main battle tank Type 10 is 2.3m.

Decals on the canvas, because the canvas width is too narrow to attach decals, I cut the part of the decal and changed the vehicle number. Adhesion was perfect because before pasting I blew clear on the canvas.

It is a chain and ball hanging from the edge of the turret, its so-called chain curtain that protects from mobile anti-tank weapons such as an RPG. I painted in black and blew the dust, occasional rust washing.

The characteristic of Merkava, the engine is disposed of at the front of the vehicle and has achieved an occupant survival rate when struck from the front. Excellent tank soldiers need to survive. Soldiers’ quality and experiences drastically affect their combat skills of troops.

120mm Smoothbore has been adopted in many current main battle tanks. Penetration varies by the shell; I wonder if it’s around 1000mm.

Windows, such as periscopes, look good. They shine. Someone thinks too glaring; it’s one of the effects of modeling.

This chain curtain grides on the body. I can’t round the turret frequently.

I drew contrasts to the basic color Sinai gray that was mixed myself. I had a dry brush to highlight the rivets and antislip patterns.

In the Academy’s instruction, three white bands are from the front from the right side, but these white bands are from the stump in the graphic from the left. I wonder which is the correct one at the end of my chosen photo.

Because Israel is a dry climate, more dusty paint would feel better rather than putting a lot of mud. I mixed the pastel dust in the enamel thinner and clear and flat base or mixed the pastel in water-based paint thinner to avoid peeling off the dust easily when I touched this model.

I thought about whether the short antenna was attached to the front. It seems pole for the vehicle width confirmation. These poles were broken many times in my work. I should have attached them at the very end process.

You can recognize the turret shape and vehicle largeness from above.

My wife, who does not know the military said it’s like a crab shell. I think so, too.

In some photographs, the antenna was leaned by another wire. Using a 0.3mm metal line is too hard; maybe a 0.2mm brass wire can be shaped in that position.

Now many companies released various Merkava kits, and I cannot compare them cause I have only one completed. There are exaggerated expressions in this work, but I like it. I did not feel the stress from making easily understandable instructions. And it’s also essential to factor in the price is friendly and reasonable.
(28-March-2015)