”...Bring me my PE of burning gold,
Bring me my scalpel of desire,
Bring me my Meng kit, given, not sold,
I’ll build a Chariot of Fire...”
Yes, time for me to wax lyrical about IDF machines again...after a pair of Sh’ot Kals, a Nagmachon, a Magach 6B Gal and a D9R dozer, i am drawn to the eternal conflict once more (Mostly because their vehicles are such fantastic modelling subjects, to be honest!).
(my Magach 6B build, one of my favourites)
Those of you who remember a certain Devonian hobbit with a fondness for Cider, AC/DC, and the colour green, will recall a man with tremendous generosity of spirit. It was this very fellow who, unprompted, dropped a Meng Merkava IIID through the post to me a year or so back. He’d cut a few wheels off sprues, and misplaced the fret of poly caps, and decided that the subject wasn’t for him, but that I would probably enjoy it- bless the man!
This is one that I started a few months ago, and I add a bit here & there when I get time. Now I have joined you lot, the mojo is starting to spark again, and I fancy pushing it on.
So- the kit:
One of Meng’s earlier kits, but still a goody. I obtained the Eduard PE set, some Chinese Fruils and the ET model PE side-skirts for it over a few months. I also scored the most excellent Desert Eagle book of the Merkava Siman IIID for reference.
So, a few progress pics to get you up to speed:
I filled in the crew stowage baskets with liners made from the fingertips cut from nitrile gloves, and added the tie-downs using strips of foil from a packet of scalpel blades. I really couldn’t be arsed sanding off the barrel clamps on the kit one, so made my own barrel from brass tube instead, before adding the PE clamps.
Detailing the rear of the hull- here you can see the crew stowage bins in position. I added a tarp roll, and the PE mudguards from the Eduard set. The rear crew hatch actually opens btw.
The forward hull and turret dry-fit- here are the front PE mudguards, you can also just see the PE covers for the various grilles around the front of the hull (remember that the Merkava’s engine is in the front, unlike Western vehicles). These are for “LIC” (Low Intensity Conflict, or Urban warfare) situations, and prevent enemy combatants from chucking molotovs into the grilles.
Tomorrow, I’ll get on to the turret detailing- hope you’ll follow along!
Alistair☠️
Bring me my scalpel of desire,
Bring me my Meng kit, given, not sold,
I’ll build a Chariot of Fire...”
Yes, time for me to wax lyrical about IDF machines again...after a pair of Sh’ot Kals, a Nagmachon, a Magach 6B Gal and a D9R dozer, i am drawn to the eternal conflict once more (Mostly because their vehicles are such fantastic modelling subjects, to be honest!).
(my Magach 6B build, one of my favourites)
Those of you who remember a certain Devonian hobbit with a fondness for Cider, AC/DC, and the colour green, will recall a man with tremendous generosity of spirit. It was this very fellow who, unprompted, dropped a Meng Merkava IIID through the post to me a year or so back. He’d cut a few wheels off sprues, and misplaced the fret of poly caps, and decided that the subject wasn’t for him, but that I would probably enjoy it- bless the man!
This is one that I started a few months ago, and I add a bit here & there when I get time. Now I have joined you lot, the mojo is starting to spark again, and I fancy pushing it on.
So- the kit:
One of Meng’s earlier kits, but still a goody. I obtained the Eduard PE set, some Chinese Fruils and the ET model PE side-skirts for it over a few months. I also scored the most excellent Desert Eagle book of the Merkava Siman IIID for reference.
So, a few progress pics to get you up to speed:
I filled in the crew stowage baskets with liners made from the fingertips cut from nitrile gloves, and added the tie-downs using strips of foil from a packet of scalpel blades. I really couldn’t be arsed sanding off the barrel clamps on the kit one, so made my own barrel from brass tube instead, before adding the PE clamps.
Detailing the rear of the hull- here you can see the crew stowage bins in position. I added a tarp roll, and the PE mudguards from the Eduard set. The rear crew hatch actually opens btw.
The forward hull and turret dry-fit- here are the front PE mudguards, you can also just see the PE covers for the various grilles around the front of the hull (remember that the Merkava’s engine is in the front, unlike Western vehicles). These are for “LIC” (Low Intensity Conflict, or Urban warfare) situations, and prevent enemy combatants from chucking molotovs into the grilles.
Tomorrow, I’ll get on to the turret detailing- hope you’ll follow along!
Alistair☠️
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