Thats an interesting comp. I've seen Merkavas, and they don't strike you as behemoths. Not like an Abrams.

Really cool, sharp work on detailing the suspension.

Good start. If the suspension is an indicator, it looks like a very well detailed kit.

Gee Russ,

  Looks like you're on a real roll as of late.

    Those spade Ace tracks are nice......cheaper and no drilling.

        I'll be checkin' in periodically for the big payoff.

Thanks guys.

RX, it looks to be well-detailed, with some spots, like the idler mounts, that are simplified, but all in all pretty good.

D-master, my wife finally realized how much easier to get along with when I get my modeling time. Amazing....

G, I've built a couple, and they never struck me as being huge either. I saw three, from a distance one time, and the only scale reference was an M151, so it didn't really sink in then either. Must be something about the proportions....

Gamera, even with the simplified idler mount, this is one of Academy's better efforts, which considering its relative newness, is good. Other than a small, easily corrected warp on the lower hull, fit has been excellent as well.

Mike, jump in, it's a nice kit.

Looks like you are off to a good start.  I'm glad you are enjoying the Merkava.

Wow!  That's lookin' good Russ!  Am I going to be competing against that one at SuperCon this year?!

A nice start and some very nice added details there.

Gino, thanks. Recognize it?

RES: End of May? It may be done, and I've already got the weekend blocked out...   :)

It's a nice kit, no complaints so far, other than the goofy half-balls you're supposed to shave of the sprue and attach to PE chains. Luckily (feel free to quote me on that later) the kit I got from Gino had the Legends set in it, with balls and chains. That, and pin marks on the inside of the L&L tracks, but I'm using SpadeAce so I dodged that big red rubber ball.

Thanks, Bish. I say this a lot, sometimes it actually happens, but I'm not trying to re-engineer the kit here, just build it with some quick and easy (remember balls and chains) enhancements.

Nah, you've got a couple more months...12 September!  :)

I did a Merk III once and scratchbuilt the ball and chain armor.  Took me forever cutting small jewelry type chain and super-gluing a tiny bead on the end of each.

September I think I can do for sure, no idea what'll be there with me yet...... maybe I'll finally have the Super Pershing all polished up.

ScaleFest in May then, right?

I'm pretty good about getting to the two local shows, and usually have two or three models  with me, but I live for the vendors.

Yeah, ScaleFest is in May.  That one's a little expensive for my taste though.  I may go to the IPMS/North Central Texas contest though.  In addition to my own club's (SuperCon).

I'll probably have three or four to enter; but I so dig the vendors too.  Had my eye on that Meng M2A3 kit though.  Just couldn't justify the $85 price tag.

Hey, curious to see this one come up... I also have a Merkava on my stash.

Will you be painting on desert yellow or gray?...Im also struggling with this decision.

How so, expensive? Or are you referring to the Squadron "EagleCon"? I pass on that one too....

Have we met?

So, last night was a little intense, lots of holes and rivets.

Holes:

Sixty four, thank you very much, each one done with a piece of wire in a hot knife, then drilled to .025", then shaped with a new #11 blade. Ouch.

And since I'm apparently a glutton for punishment, I re-did the gap at the turret rear with styrene strip, which I should have done in the beginning:

I may just as well go ahead and do the balls and chains......

Funny how that goes.

Never enough time to do it right, but somehow there's always time to do it over...

Been down that route countless times.

Very impressive model, Russ.

Thanks, G.

Yep, I can always make time to do it over, but at least I know how NOT to do it.....

Hello!

I'll be wathing this one too! Nice work, as always!

Funny thing, just today I was browsing through the newest issue of the Polish modelling magazine called "Modelarz" and that issue has a set of scale plans of the Merkava.

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Russ:  I just looked on the EagleQuest website and an event pass is $50.  That's a little much for me just to get in.

We've crossed paths at SuperCon a time or two over the years but I don't know we've been formally introduced!  You emailed me, since I'm the webmaster for our club's site, regarding what separated first place from second and so on.  Not out of jealousy I took it; but just how to improve your own craftsmanship.

Keep doin' whatcher doin'...

I was just eyening this kit on eBay too...cool. Can't believe how big that thing actually is!

One piece of admittedly opinionated suggestion--stay away from that "droid" thing. Correct equipment or not, they just look awful on a tank. Too high a profile, too "Star Warsy". The model will look better without it. Just my two cents..

Pawel, thanks. I'm a sucker for any modeling magazine that has Merkava stuff in it.

Richard, I think I remember the email, been a while. I too think $50 is more than I want to spend for an event.  We'll have to say hey at the next SuperCon or ScaleFest.

And thanks, I will....   :)

Doog, I dunno, I have another droid, and I have to say I'm torn on whether or not to use it. You're right, It's hugely Star Wars, but to me that's part of the appeal of it, especially on a tank that has a turret that looks like the Millennium Falcon.....  I'm going to make the decision based on whether or not I want to go through the agony of assembling another one and what I find in my references.

And you're right, it's really big.

Argh... still dealing with hull warpage. I straightened up the upper rear, and now it's pretty clear I still have an issue with the rear crew door:

I suppose I'll have to pop that out and have a look-see, but I envision some more remedial work there.  One step forward, two back......

I've also begun assembly of the fiddly bits around the T/C's hatch. The four hatch rests still need some cleanup, but I thought I'd better do that once they were firmly secured in their final locatiion, or I'd be making more sacrifices to the floor monster.

Now to get after the warpage issues. Yuck.

I feel better now......

And more bits:

I think I'm over the hump, until I decide to do the balls and chains.

Lookin' good, Russ!

Thanks, Richard.

I actually have some progress pics. I've gotten a few more bits on the turret, hatches, sights, etc, and begun "pre-painting" if you will, of the hull.

Not a contest model, but I'm having fun.

Perseverance,  Russ, perseverance... :)

Yep, it's a process, a journey, a trek......

I got a fair amount of fiddly bits on last night, turned on the lights in the model room this morning to take a pics and got a phone call right then that made me forget all about pics. Hmmm.....

"having Fun"  the most important 'parts' of any model kit

It's all fun and games till ya' gotta do the balls and chains.

In the interest of keeping this post "clean", I'll refrain from enumerating the many pitfalls I encountered while trying to assemble the Legends ball and chain RPG screen. Let's just say attempt number two didn't quite go as poorly as attempt number one from a couple of years ago, but it didn't go well at all. So, I ended up using the kit PE chains and plastic half-balls.

Believe me, it coulda' been worse.

Good news: I don't have that much more to do before it's time to paint.