Chariot of Fire- Meng Merkava IIID

[Road of Bones]

Thanks gents- good to have your input :thumb2:

MikeC- I was dimly aware someone made an AM set, but frankly the ones I made cost me a couple of quid in money (lots more in time though). I have a HobbyBoss Merk 3D in the stash, and that has a rather nice set of balls & chains too. The moulded ones in the Meng kit were crap, frankly.

Jim- neither had I! The kit has a set of indy links in brown plastic, but they don’t form a workable track, they need glueing, and I just didn’t fancy doing the 2-part track runs this time around (though I may regret it when it comes to fitting these weighty buggers!).

Bob, Steve- PMs inbound...

Ok then, some more pics of turret detailing- mainly around the upper hatches to begin with:

I have painted the clear periscopes with a little clear green on the angled face, so the colour shows through the vision face more naturally. Obviously already masked ahead of paint! Some more of the PE detailing is visible here too, as well as some grab handles I made from wire instead of the kit’s plastic ones.

And from t’other side- I am not sure what that cage thing is, other than the fact that it was a bit of a swine to form around the domed part it protects!
Next up, I turned my attention to the smoke dischargers. The kit provides options for having them closed, with a tin lid,or open. However, the open version has no lids, which my refs show hinged one one side. I made these from thin card, and added the control wires as well:


Here are the Kung Fruils finished:

That’s all for now chaps! More soon...
Alistair☠️

[BigGreg]

SUPERB... MOORE MOOORE MOOOOOOOORE... ;-) :-) :-)

[Mr Bowcat]

Bugger, I'm going to have to buy one now, this is too nice.

Is all the PE included or is it AM?

[scottie3158]

Al,
Excellent bling work and nice scratched additions.

[Allen Dewire]

Evening Al,

Absolutely fabulous work on the Merk so far Sir. Your etching and little details are first class. I am a little concerned about one thing though.

Hanging your balls on a turret is a bit over the top I think. We'll send matron over to your house to insure your meds are at the right dosage and bring everything back to normal. Don't worry!!!

Prost
Allen

[Guest]

Thanks gents- good to have your input :thumb2:

MikeC- I was dimly aware someone made an AM set, but frankly the ones I made cost me a couple of quid in money (lots more in time though). I have a HobbyBoss Merk 3D in the stash, and that has a rather nice set of balls & chains too. The moulded ones in the Meng kit were crap, frankly.

Jim- neither had I! The kit has a set of indy links in brown plastic, but they don’t form a workable track, they need glueing, and I just didn’t fancy doing the 2-part track runs this time around (though I may regret it when it comes to fitting these weighty buggers!).

Bob, Steve- PMs inbound...

Ok then, some more pics of turret detailing- mainly around the upper hatches to begin with:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1114117[/ATTACH]
I have painted the clear periscopes with a little clear green on the angled face, so the colour shows through the vision face more naturally. Obviously already masked ahead of paint! Some more of the PE detailing is visible here too, as well as some grab handles I made from wire instead of the kit’s plastic ones.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1114118[/ATTACH]
And from t’other side- I am not sure what that cage thing is, other than the fact that it was a bit of a swine to form around the domed part it protects!
Next up, I turned my attention to the smoke dischargers. The kit provides options for having them closed, with a tin lid,or open. However, the open version has no lids, which my refs show hinged one one side. I made these from thin card, and added the control wires as well:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1114119[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1114120[/ATTACH]
Here are the Kung Fruils finished:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1114121[/ATTACH]
That’s all for now chaps! More soon...
Alistair☠

It's a mortar possibly about 2", I think I have a pic somewhere of it.

[minitnkr]

She will bring along her own chains, whips & crops in case you require more RX. Beautiful work. PaulE

[Road of Bones]

Evening chaps- hope you all had a good weekend? I was at band practice yesterday, and today we hosted SWMBO’s relatives for the monthly Sunday Brunch, so I was kitchen wizard all morning. Once they had all cleared off around midday, I was rewarded with an afternoon to myself in the Mancave. Deep joy!

MikeC- an internal mortar? How would you load & fire it?
PaulE- she will indeed! Thanks buddy :thumb2:

Today I are been mostly working on the ranging MG...this is the .50cal that is mounted above the main gun, and is sighted along the same trajectory. The kit offering is actually pretty good, as it is nicely slide-moulded, with no attachment point on the barrel (a crime committed by too many kit manufacturer, IMO). The PE set includes a fair bit of bling, especially for the remote servos that the loader uses to operate the gun from inside. Here‘s a shot of the work in progress:

I have replaced the fore & aft sights, the firing grips and barrel shroud on the MG, and added the kit servos to the PE frame and operating levers. Next up was to marry these together, and add the ammo can tray from the PE set:

I think I will attach this to the gun mantlet after painting.
I also made a start on the spare track links, as these have a bit of bling too, in the form of anchoring plates. These were enhanced with some Meng bolt heads, as per my refs.


A decent afternoon of moggling!
Alistair☠️

[scottie3158]

Al,
Lovely work on the 50.

[Guest]

an internal mortar? How would you load & fire it?

I’m not up to speed on the latest Merkava types, but a little searching reveals it has a 60 mm breech-loaded mortar, which implies it’s trigger-fired (which is also possible with muzzle loaders, BTW).

Earlier types of Merkava had basically an infantry mortar mounted on the outside of the turret, beside the commander’s hatch, but that meant the commander had to be half out of the hatch to aim and load it.

[Steve Jones]

That 50cal is a thing of beauty. Wonderful work Alistair

[Jim R]

Hi Alistair
That MG is superb. The whole thing is a real tribute to your skills. As has often been said with these super detailed models it is a shame to paint it. All the etch and the white scratched parts show just how much work has gone into it.
Anyway bring on the paint :tongue-out3:
Jim

[minitnkr]

You've certainly mastered the brass. Bent it to your will as it were. PaulE

[papa 695]

Coming along nicely great PE work

[Guest]

Evening chaps- hope you all had a good weekend? I was at band practice yesterday, and today we hosted SWMBO’s relatives for the monthly Sunday Brunch, so I was kitchen wizard all morning. Once they had all cleared off around midday, I was rewarded with an afternoon to myself in the Mancave. Deep joy!

MikeC- an internal mortar? How would you load & fire it?
PaulE- she will indeed! Thanks buddy :thumb2:

Today I are been mostly working on the ranging MG...this is the .50cal that is mounted above the main gun, and is sighted along the same trajectory. The kit offering is actually pretty good, as it is nicely slide-moulded, with no attachment point on the barrel (a crime committed by too many kit manufacturer, IMO). The PE set includes a fair bit of bling, especially for the remote servos that the loader uses to operate the gun from inside. Here‘s a shot of the work in progress:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1114307[/ATTACH]
I have replaced the fore & aft sights, the firing grips and barrel shroud on the MG, and added the kit servos to the PE frame and operating levers. Next up was to marry these together, and add the ammo can tray from the PE set:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1114308[/ATTACH]
I think I will attach this to the gun mantlet after painting.
I also made a start on the spare track links, as these have a bit of bling too, in the form of anchoring plates. These were enhanced with some Meng bolt heads, as per my refs.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1114309[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1114310[/ATTACH]
A decent afternoon of moggling!
Alistair☠

Hi Alistair
Found the pic and drawings,
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n[/ATTACH]
Many thanks to Desert Eagle Publishing.