Merkava 4/4 LIC, Meng 1/35 and a little bit of accessories..

[roland66]

Hello everyone,


Mengs Merkava 4/4 LIC, I don't know yet if I will use the mine roller.
In addition 3 PE sets from ET Models, a Friul, a few worn wheels and a few walls from diodump and a figure from Def Models.
I will try to rework the anti-slip areas with the AK texture.
I'm also missing the tube from Panzerart, let's see if I can get that, and I've already got the antenna feet from FC Modeltrends.

[roland66]

Let's go......

I started the Merkava 4 kit at the weekend.



The undercarriage is complex to build, but looks good.



Suspended



sprung in



The resin wheels from ASR are really recommended, a lot of work, but good....



With rubber, without rubber, broken rubber, inside, outside, you can swap as you like.

See for yourself....

There are sets with only broken wheels, or completely without rubber, or healthy wheels, or like the set here, a mix of all of them.









Thanks for watching.....

[Leon]

WOW... That is a lot of nice stuff there Roland! I'll be following this closely.

[406 Silverado]

Very impressive aftermarket accessories and just a cool subject to begin with Roland!! It’s gonna be fun watching you build an armor subject bro.

[stikpusher]

I'll be tagging along observing.... 

[deafpanzer]

Holy smokes!!! This is a MUST for me to follow your build. Bookmarked! Good luck

[brandonk]

Feb 2, 2024 9:54:00 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Holy smokes!!! This is a MUST for me to follow your build. Bookmarked! Good luck

Agreed. It's gonna take a hot minute just to soak in all that AM he's gonna use. WOW !!

[handiabled]

Bookmarked!

[lyle]

Oh my, this should be good!

[rbaer]

That work bench is way too neat....
Watching too, gotta love a Merk.

[roland66]

Feb 2, 2024 20:01:41 GMT -5 rbaer said:

That work bench is way too neat....

Uh, no......
It looks devastating on the left and right........

Hello everyone,

the weekly update.

I started with the chain and the rest of the resin wheels.

The Friul was quickly built in the evening while watching TV. It fitted wonderfully.

You have to be careful with the inner wheels, 2 were cast quite thin and had to be reinforced.
The polycaps from the kit fit perfectly, as if they were made for the wheels.









Suspension also fits.



Then it was time to reproduce the anti-slip lining. Basically, the pad is well reproduced in the kit, but it could be better.
AK's Anti-Slip was used. It's a good thing that I tried the product on the lower hull beforehand.

The AK glue attacks the Meng plastic badly. A later correction is not possible. The stuff smells like Tamiya Extra Thin.

So I experimented a bit and had the best result with Vallejo Model Color paint. Apply carefully with the brush and
the AK powder into the wet paint, done. The color makes it easier to see where you don't want any to go, better than with the clear glue.
And, for me, the decisive advantage is that the surface is not affected and, if something goes wrong, you can rub it off with a toothpick.
And then start all over again.



I think the result is convincing.



The etched parts set also includes the handles. I decided against them because the handles are flat. The molded ones are so nicely represented,
that there is no advantage.

[lyle]

Nice.

[handiabled]

Good catch on the AK anti-slip. The Friul tracks weren't too fiddly and went together with no drama?

[roland66]

Hi,

the Friul fit without fiddling, 2 links had to be drilled out. All the other 186 fitted together. No problem at all.

[roland66]

The weekly update,

At the beginning I was still working on the rest of the lower hull.
The tools are still missing, peanuts to the side skirts.








I started the side skirts on Tuesday, today is Friday and a total of 5 hours of work later.

It took me 2 hours to understand how best to fold the pieces.

There are 10 of each piece, 5 on the left with brackets for the tow rope, 5 on the right without.

All the individual parts are then put together to form spring assemblies, like leaf springs. I will probably
rivet most of the parts together, like the original.

Another problem is the 40 spacers for the side skits. 3mm long, 1mm thick round material. They all have to be the same
length and at right angles. Here I first had to use my swarm knowledge.

The solution is a brass tube with a diameter of 1.1 mm. More on this later.



















Continue...........

Thanks for watching.

[tcoat]

[kyledehart5]

Oh boy. This is some intricate work going one. Nicely done.

[handiabled]

That is a TON of pe to bend!! It makes my eyes feel the strain just thinking about doing all of that!

[brandonk]

[reserve]

Looks like a good kit, most impressive AM work. To me that much PE would be the stuff of nightmares

[deafpanzer]

Stunning PE work! Now I wonder where I can find those cool metal trays because they looks pretty useful for small pieces!!!

[roland66]

Hi Andy,

Gunze D-175, Mr. Paint Tray. 10 pcs, ~ 3€/$.

@ all, Thank you very much.

[Medicman71]

Very cool! And here I thought I was crazy with the PE.

[roland66]

Hello everyone,

the weekly update.

The work on the chassis and the hull is almost complete. There are still 4 antenna aerials missing in the corners. I will attach them later before they break off three times.













The tooling was rebuilt, which is easier than sanding the brackets off the kit parts. Once the turret is on, you won't see much of it.







Thank you for your interest.

[ossie262]

hi

well must say that's a heap of etch and well done patience is a virtue looks like you have lots.

I must admit when I built mine many moons ago I used legends and desert eagle stuff but a lot of it not available now.
well done . I be watching this one
Ossie

[chromdome35]

Thats some beautiful photo etch work, great job!

Have the instructions for the etch been clear? I hate when they just give a vague picture and no guidance.

[roland66]

The instructions are ok, you need a bit of experience to understand what to fold how and what to fold first. However, the instructions sometimes give the wrong numbers. With the leaf springs, for example, you are supposed to rivet the ends together and then a shackle each end with a chain link.
Then you make the 5 suspensions with the leaf springs together, which is realy work. And then? Everything is too long and doesn't fit on the side armor. Great..... If you look at the pictures on the ET-Model homepage, they haven't fitted it either. They can't get it right either.

[Leon]

That is some very impressive PE work Roland! Looks really good.

[lyle]

That is a maxing work. The PE alone is stunning. Wow.

[handiabled]

Outstanding work with adding all of the photo etch!