Merkava Questions

Get the Academy Merk II to start. It's far better than the Tamiya, and a little more accurate. Like the Tamiya kit, the gun is mounted and not poseable (if I remember correctly). The fit is also very good. The hull machine guns are very convincing, and the hull mortar looks great. The suspension is quite accurate and very detailed. It's almost a shame the road wheels cover most of it up. The Merk II with the mine roller is another goodie. Same Merk II as the first one. I have heard that the Merk III is also a superb kit. The Merk II comes with rubber tires that go over the road wheels. Pretty nice, except you'll need to clean them thoroughly to accept drybrushing. The ball and chain shot trap armor does not come with the Merk II, but may come with the later variants; unfortunately, aftermarket and those supplied with kits all look pretty crappy. I built mine from old jewelry chain (about 22-24 links per inch) and #15 snake shot from .38 Cal. rounds made by CCI. I cut 40 pieces of chain (5 links each, with the 5th link cut in half) and superglued the balls on one the half link. Then take a piece of brass wire, bend it to the shape of the turret basket, drill two holes in the turret under the basket to accept the ends and thread the chain on the wire. Simply attach with superglue and you're finished. I've not built the Tamiya kit, but you'll not go wrong with Academy.
Gip Winecoff

The Merkava has been made in 3 versions. The Merkava 1 did not have the "convict clothing accessories". The 1st version is the one Tamiya produced several years ago. Whilst it is not up to today's Tamiya standards, I think it stills stands up well anyway.

I have built the Tamiya kit and would recommend it as a very good 2nd build. The Merkava Tank is bigger than it looks so don't be surprised when you look in the box.

There are heaps of after market out there for it, but I was happy with the OOTB result, with just a few simple improvements.

The latter Merkava 2 and Merkava 3 had the balls and chains, and kits of these have been produced by other kit builders-Acadamy being one. I have heard differing opinions about these kits, but most say you need to replace the B &C's as they are poorly done in the plastic. Both Legend and Royal models do a set of chains, and Legend does PE baskets for the Merkava 2 (and possibly a replacement turret).

I did see a built up Merkava 2 somewhere one the net, and the builder used the heads off seamstress pins and model chain to replace the kit product. It looked very impressive finished but I don't know if it scales out correctly.

As to your other questions:
1) The Tamiya Gun is fixed - the main gun has a dust (and sand) shroud affixed to it where it meets the turret, so moveable gun was not an option. You need to modify the kit parts to change the gun angle from horizontal.

2) Yes the tank does have an access door in the rear. It is a clamshell arrangement, and is used when the tank carries a few grunts inside like an APC. The Tank also has an airconditioner and water cooler for the troops too. (The Tamiya kit features no inside detail so if you want the back open, be prepared for some work, both research and plastic manipulation.

PS Good to see you've come over to the Darkside Keep modelling Armour and you won't be disappointed.


Happy Modelling

Peter

Ball and chain are used to detonate RPG rounds before they hit the shot trap between the turret and hull. There are several decent 1/35 Merkavas. I hear the Tamiya Merkava (1) is the best, but have not built it. I have the Academy Merk 2 and they make a Merk 3 as well. They also have the mine roller variants as well. Avoid the Trumpeter Merkava.