Merkava IV Finished

In my opinion, the Merkava IV is the most futuristic looking main battle tank around, with its overly large, wedge shaped turret mounted towards the rear, front mounted engine and smoothly angled glacis plate!  I just wish it had a larger gun.....the 120mm looks too darn small for it!!

George, YOUR Merkava is splendid!!  Great job overall!   I read that the Academy kit has high marks, except for the fiddly balls & chains!  It appears you didn't have any problem with them!  Thanks for posting the pics!

Don't you mean February 4th not January 4th Disaster Master.

disastermaster

Excellent work here George.

Just wondering..... you said this is your 3rd armor build from 2012.

 Since today is the 4th of January, I'm assuming you meant 2011, right?

 Anyway, you've captured the essence of roughness that radiates from this handsome vehicle.

 My favorite era is WWII but this dude is my most favorite modern tank.

Again, really good stuff.

                   

George , the Mk. IV is an eye catcher .I just got the kit by Academy also . I looked at the reviews of the Hobby Boss Merkava IV and saw that was going to be a big challenge with its main problem .....the road wheels are ofset one side to the other , as if it has a torsion bar suspension . That plus the cost is a third more than Academy's. I havent opened the box of my Academy kit yet so this build of yours is eye candy for me .

Your other builds above look superb also . You build 2-3 models a month ? Thats a healthy output of models !

Love the weathering, great build, the vehicle looks awesome.

Terry.

disastermaster

Excellent work here George.

Just wondering..... you said this is your 3rd armor build from 2012.

 Since today is the 4th of January, I'm assuming you meant 2011, right?

 Anyway, you've captured the essence of roughness that radiates from this handsome vehicle.

 My favorite era is WWII but this dude is my most favorite modern tank.

Again, really good stuff.

                   

Thanks for looking and commenting dm. I started the new year 'on tracks' :o) At the begining of January 2012, I started with Tamiya's Chally Mk-3. It has a post date of January 10th, 2012 on my blog.

With a post date of January 30th, 2012 I had finished the Chally 2 also from Tamiya.

When I was finishing the Chally 2, I was starting the Merkava. This morning I wrote a bit about this build on my blog but actually the images were already uploaded and were shared here first. I recall closing December 2011 with these 2:

I usually build 2 to 3 models a month during the winter, not much to do here in MN. That might slow down in the Spring.

Cheers!

Excellent work here George.

Just wondering..... you said this is your 3rd armor build from 2012.

 Since today is the 4th of January, I'm assuming you meant 2011, right?

 Anyway, you've captured the essence of roughness that radiates from this handsome vehicle.

 My favorite era is WWII but this dude is my most favorite modern tank.

Again, really good stuff.

macattack80

Awesome build George!  The weathering looks fantastic.    I always like the look of the Meraka Mk IV.  I think they are on sale at Squadron this month......

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for looking, glad you liked it. I've got this one from an ebay seller in Korea for $32.50 and free shipping to the states. Took like 10 days to arrive, not bad IMO. I also got the 1/48 Mig 29 Slovak version from him. Saved a few bucks too.

Hercmech

Thanks for the quick follow up and the sugesstions.

No problem, hope they help.

Awesome build George!  The weathering looks fantastic.    I always like the look of the Meraka Mk IV.  I think they are on sale at Squadron this month......

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the quick follow up and the sugesstions.

Hercmech

 

El Taino:

 

 

Hercmech:

George,

Fantastic build. I love the weathering and the tarps...did you use pigments for the dust?

 

 

Thanks for looking Hercmech. Yes, I did used Vallejo pigments that I purchased almost 2 years ago and never used them. My LHS, stock them and I have acquired a few more shades.

 

 

Did you just dust them on or did you use the fixer and let it dry routine?

Hello again, that's a good question. I dusted sparingly around, but for the 1st time I gave it a try to their native Pigment Glaze 26233. It did worked like a charm on the wheels and hubs. It dries fairly quick.

El Taino

Hercmech:

George,

Fantastic build. I love the weathering and the tarps...did you use pigments for the dust?

 

Thanks for looking Hercmech. Yes, I did used Vallejo pigments that I purchased almost 2 years ago and never used them. My LHS, stock them and I have acquired a few more shades.

Did you just dust them on or did you use the fixer and let it dry routine?

George,

Nice work on the Merk...the base and figure bring it to life and hat's off to you on the ball-and-chain work as well.

Thanks for looking Tigerman! Out for delivery is another Merkava, the old one from Tamiya. Also in the box I should be getting the British Quad Gun Tractor which will be a nice canvas to practice and improve my scratch building skills. (Yay, HVH!).

On another note: If someone is building this Merkava from Academy, I'm hosting the hi-res label I made with Photoshop. Click on the link, right click on the image and save on your HD. Take it to your local photo kiosk and select 4x6.

Excellent effort George. Third finished already? Wow.

These Merkava's have grown on me. 

Thanks so much for your kind comments guys, coming from you all means a lot to me. Toyo72, the ball and chains are repetitive work. Once you have the halves ready, you can pick them up softly with the tip of your #11 blade; I had a soda cap with a few drops of CA glue on it and just moistened the halves a bit. If you don't poke the halves too hard with the tip of the blade, they will stick to the PE chains very easy.

Now you've gone and done it, George!  I'm gonna have to go pick that kit up now!

Great job!

That looks real good,someday I will have to pull this off the pile and get started.how were the ball and chains to work with

Also,that's a great simple base

Geist

I love it, great job. I'm working on the same kit right now. The only thing I'm worried about are the balls and chains. Any tips for cutting the ball halves without ruining them?

 

 

Erik

Thanks for looking and commenting Erik. You will end up with around 20 extra ball halves. I did cut the runners from the tree to make it easier. I used a brand new #11 blade and scrapped them off the runner. Try using the kit's box like if you were making the old box and stick trap. That way you wont loose them and they will fall inside the box. Hope this help.

Hercmech

George,

Fantastic build. I love the weathering and the tarps...did you use pigments for the dust?

Thanks for looking Hercmech. Yes, I did used Vallejo pigments that I purchased almost 2 years ago and never used them. My LHS, stock them and I have acquired a few more shades.

I love it, great job. I'm working on the same kit right now. The only thing I'm worried about are the balls and chains. Any tips for cutting the ball halves without ruining them?

Erik

George,

Fantastic build. I love the weathering and the tarps...did you use pigments for the dust?