Merkava Mk 4 completed!

Hi folks!
The Merk 4 is completed!

Merkava Mk 4: Work-in-progress 5

Managed to get a considerable amount of work done over the super long wkend(including added leave 2day for me....:D)...

Ball & chain armor was completed sat morning... Followed by primer of entire model to check for any irregularities....found some & corrected them.

Adding primer also helps the paint to adhere better.

Preshading of the panel lines. This time round I decided not to spray entire model black, only the corners, panel lines, & recesses recieved the black shadows.

Base color after much highlighting and ligtening of the base color. This time round, the color scheme was shifted away from my usual predominant greyish tone, toward a more khaki sand tone. Of course the color now is much lighter, however, this will be toned down in subsequent weathering steps.

Post shading done to enhance the shadows, decals added and the turret basket airbrushed. rubber tires & the rubber skirtings painted as well.

I've already begun adding the filters, a brownish grey tone... (pic above is without filters)

Next steps:

-Sand filters, umber filters...& many other combinations...can't tell now coz i won't know what i'll use later...keke..:p

-Pin washes

-Paint chipping

-Rust/dirt streaks,

-Weathering tracks, etc...the list goes on...

Good nite folks!

Merkava Mk4: Work-in-progress 2

Hi folks,
Some quick updates b4 i zzz...

Rear fenders modification: Original mud guards(right side) were too thick, thus out of scale. These were replaced with thinner plastic plates.
The replaced mud guards.

Rear fenders assembled & attached.

Rear turret basket modification: The rear of the turret has got 3 indents to cater for the original turret basket's antenna mounts. However, as I'll be replacing the turret basket with the resin version, these indents had to be covered up, else looking ugly...

1st pic: 2 of the indents shown.

2nd pic: Indent patched up [see if u can spot it...:)]

Some more areas to patch up. See the grey area? That was originally meant for the antenna mounts; this kit gave a total of 6 antenna mounts..gosh....wonder which tank cmdr was gonna use them all!! haha..so i decided to use only 2 of the mounts (2 antennas instead of 1 always seems nicer on the merkava)

Roadwheels added.

Turret top: Opened hatch version

Resin turret & hull baskets added(the cream colored parts)

Close up of the turret basket( with an antenna mount)

Commander's MG

0.5 HMG completed

Completed turret & hull. Tracks added

Close up of tracks from the front area

Close up of the rear portion.

That's the easy part...

Next tough steps...

1. Applying anti-slip onto the horizontal surfaces

2. Ball & CHain armor beneath the turret basket...

3. Separating the 1 piece side skirts...

Updates next Sunday...

Good nite folks..

Brandon

Academy Merkava Mk. 4 - Work-in-progress 1

Hi folks,
This is my latest project, Academy's Merkava Mk. 4. This kit will be built mainly OOTB(out of the box), with some slight modifications as below:

1. The turret & hull baskets will be replaced with Legend's resin parts as the mould & casting definitely are more detailed & look better. The ball & chain armor is also more realistic compared to Academy's version.
2. Decals will be from Isradecal, instead of Academy's kit decals, as the quality is most probably better & the choices of callsigns are more.

Along the way, there will be some other modifications to the kit as and when necessary, such as separating the side skirts, etc.

In the mean time.. enjoy.. :)

Cheers!
Brandon


Box art of Academy's kit

The grey areas are the replacement resin parts for the kit. Having worked with Legend's resin kits, these are definitely much better than the plastic equivalent from Academy & adds to the look of the kit when completed.

My all time MERKAVA "Bible" reference book to keep me on track.

Lower hull completed, suspension all fitted in. Roadwheels will come in at a later stage just before assembling the tracks. Overall quite a nice fit on both sides

Modification. The part on the right is the original piece from the kit. This is supposed to be fitted on the left side of the upper hull, but it is too thick & will not flush with the rest of the parts, thus I used a thinner plastic plate to replicate & replace it. (See thickness below)

The area that is replaced with my modified part. Now it sits nicely & more fitting. :)


Exhaust: After assembly of the exhaust, I realized that Academy did not have a plating for the bottom part of the exhaust, making it look incomplete, i.e. when the entire model is completed, u can see part of the tracks from the exhaust vents, which cannot be the case.

See pic below, the bottom part is incomplete; the tracks will be visible from the exhaust vents, very disturbing view.

Modification: Added another plastic plate below the vents to complete the look like the actual vehicle. The plate was glued to the vents & cut to size.

Overall, the fit is quite good for this kit up till now. The parts on the turret & upper hull is also quite well defined.

Stay tuned for more.