IDF GB April 15-October 1,2006

Looking good so far, sounds like a pain.

I won't be able to start for around 1-2 months!

I havent even started yet!!! Still trying to finish other GB's that end sooner than this one. How is everyone else doing??

Smokinprice

I ahven't started either. My dad and i still need to get something. .
Hey no pain no gain right maddog? Looks good so far though.

Well actually I guess I lied. I forgot that I primed the Paras. They are ready for painting. Might be a while though!!

Smokinprice

I have another to finish first then I will be on this Bad-Boy GB!

I was planning to build a Centurion, namely the Sh'ot D, and maybe I still will, but I've just invested in a Hasagawa Mosqutio FD.Mk.VI 1/72 in IDF colours.

Hey All,

Hope the building goes well. I still have my Paras primed but havent done anymore. I have two other builds in front of this one so.....been working on them. Just wanted to check in.

Good to see you smokinprice. I got a little more progress done on my Tiran 5, I'll try to get pics posted later.

I still gotta get some money.

ygmodeler4.....Yeah money does help a tad.

Duke Maddog....saw the earlier photos. Sounds like that kit is a beast. That stinks. Post some new ones when you can!

You got it smokinprice! Here they are.

I got the rest of the roadwheels on this beast and then started work on the turret. here are the pics of the roadwheels completed:



Later, after glueing some parts to the turret, I fit the turret to the top hull and testfit everything together to see how things will look.



While the turret was drying, I put the tracks on the roadwheels and then finished putting the rest of the details on the turret. Here's what it looks like all testfit together:



Now I can do some preliminary painting of the lower hull before putting the lower and upper hulls together. I have a major gap to fill at the front of this kit which will require the use of cardstock because it is so wide. Then I'll glue on all the upper hull details and be ready to paint the rest of it.

I'll post pics later when I get more done.

Handsome looking tank, Duke! I'm still kinda undecided on my subject. I was thinking of a very early a/c, like a Bf-109 or something like that. I do finally have some decent references. - Calvin

Very nice Duke very nice. Seems to be coming along well for a beast of a kit. You are doing an excellent job. I tip my hat to ya!

yes looks great duke.

Thanks you very much gentlemen! Yeah, this has been a real challenge putting this little terror together! I'll probably have more pics up in a day or so.

Lodni-k, an early Mersserschmitt in Israeli colors would look great! I myself have always wanted to do one. I'd say go for it!

Well, I'm just moving right along here with this build, despite the fight it has been giving me. I want to first show everyone the gap that I have to contend with now that I've glued the top and bottom hulls together. It is the black line running across the lower left part of the kit below. This should give you a pretty good idea of how difficult this kit has been, as well as how poor fitting the main hull assembly is.



The turret went togther quite well for an ACE kit. The new attachments for the turret that are added to make a Tiran 5 were obviously more carefully molded. They have crisp molding and good detail that hasn't been compromised like the molds used for the lower hull. The side box attached to the turret did need to be reshaped on one side, as the curve that was molded to fit the turret was too pronounced. I managed to fix it so there is no gaps.

Here are two pics showing the whole kit together. I painted the turret and set it aside to dry while I painted the lower hull, roadwheels and tracks. Once the lower hull was dry, I proceeded to glue on the top hull. After that, I finished attaching all the accessories to the top hull while it was drying on the lower hull.This is why the top isn't painted yet, I still need to allow it to dry.





Well, this is my progress on this bear of a kit so far. It is actually starting to look pretty good if I do say so myself!

I'm looking forward to seeing some more Israeli stuff getting built!

Wow looks very good.

That is looking great! Sounds like you haved a lot of "fun" building this kit.

Hey there YGMODELER, Academy makes the Merkava 1, 2, and 3 I believe. Tamiya makes a mk1

aefdesigns.com have excellent conversions for every version of it as well as many wonderful add-ons.

Pretty good prices on alot of their stuff. Be advised though, they are hit and miss with their quality.

btw, don't know when I am going to be finished with mine. Finishing up a Zelda for another forums GB ( www.armor.se/forum ) in case you are interested in joining another great modeling forum! ! !

Then time for this bad boy.

Thanks ygmodeler and Anthony. I'm glad you like what you see. Anthony, yeah, this is indeed a "fun" kit! Here is some pics of some more of the "fun" I've had fixing it.

As seen above, there is a major gap that needed filling on the front part of the hull. So, I took some strip styrene, and cut a section that was as long as the front of the hull:



I then cut that section in half lengthwise and put them together to make it thicker. That way it would fit more uniformly on the front of the tank. Once it was dry, I notched it where the fenders protruded, so that the piece would fit correctly:



This next pic shows the piece in place. I then applied some CA glue to hide the seam and used a riffler file and some sandpaper to sand it down flush without ruining the surface detail:



The model looks 'green' in the above pic because I had shot that one without a flash. I believe the rest of the pics show the correct color.

This next pic is the same, only viewed from the top. You can see how I left the strip wider so I could trim it down to the proper width once it was dry:



Once the strip was dry enough, I trimmed it down to the end of the hull. I then proceeded to apply some CA and sand it down to eliminate the seam. It is still visible here, but it disappears once painted.



Next, I cut some more small strips from the strip styrene and extended the protrusions on the bottom of the nose of the tank. Once dry, I applied some more CA to the tops of these and sanded them down evenly. I had to use the riffler file again to get rid of some of the CA that slipped between some strips. Here it is just before I sanded and trimmed them:



Again, no flash. Makes the tank look green. Sorry about that.

After sanding and trimming the overhang, I painted the nose to see how it looks. I need to do a bit more smoothing and refining, but you can see that the ribs on the nose look pretty good.



This last shot shows the whole tank with a new nose; the gap now completely closed off. I will do a bit more refining of the ribs on the lower part of the nose, and then this Bad Boy is ready for clearcoat and decals! At last!! [:0]



Well, that is my progress so far on this. I've had enough "fun"; now lets see some more of your projects guys!

Sweetness.

So much "fun"

I wont be able to start my kit until June sometime...SUCKS!!

The Bf-109 kit I was going to use doesn't have any stabilizers anymore! Opps! I may have another 1/72 Bf-109 in the stash but if not I can get an Academy kit at Squadron pretty cheap! Also, I have an early Mono 1/48 F-16 kit that I was thinking of doing for this GB. The decals will be from one of Italeri's F-16 kits, though. I was looking for an Eduard Zoom set to use w/ it, since the cockpit is pretty nonexistant! - Calvin

Sounds good Lodni. Either plane should look great.

Meanwhile, I am pleased to announce that I have slain the beast! Yes, my Tiran 5 is now completed (Finally!!).

Here are two pics showing my work:





Well, that is my contribution to this Group Build. I will still be around to check out everyone else's work as well.

I hope you all like my tank. Now, where is that darn badge.......?

Duke,

Excellent good as always. Man you build them fast. I havent been able to work on anything lately. Damn job!!! Well...awesome work on the tank. I love it.

Thanks smokinprice! I appreciate your comments. They help keep motivated to continue working on kits like these. Personally, I don't consider this ACE kit a fast build. Usually I'm finished days ahead of the time this took to finish!

Thanks again for your positive comments.

Wow lookls really good Duke great job.

Thanks yg. Looking forward to seeing your GB progress.

Great job!

Thanks Anthony, I appreciate that.