IDF builds

[Deleted]

Definitely interesting to watch!

[wbill76]

Great progress happening on all 3, keep it coming!

[iking]

thanks a lot rbaer, dogfish7 and wbill!

I managed to update some items before leaving for work this morning:)

Here's a minor update on the Merkava 1.
The rain marks were cleaned and swiped with a solvent and here is how it went.



rear


AK interactives Rain Marks were used for this effect.
I find this material suitable for my need than the earlier Mig rainmarks.
AK is very easy to use and clean.
Some more push and this will be done.
Im only thinking of the accessories that I can put here.
Need to scrounge my reference photos for Beirut setting


Merkava Mk 4.
For the Merkava mk 4, I modified the rear baskets (all three of them) and detailed it with laminated aluminum foils..
The rear bustle rack were details with foil to serve as ID panels. This will be painted with a primer and also the same base color with the tank and then finally written over with a hebrew unit markings.

The 2 rear baskets were also modified.
I am not satisfied with the PE part that came frmo the kit so I sliced them up into 5 parts and then chained them up much like how it looked like.

The photo below shows the kit supplied and the one that I sliced.


The mesh were chained up using a fine gauge of copper wire.



Portside view:


Center View:


Starbord view:


The Merkava 4 is a very big avenue to practice scratching and improvising:)


Next build might be this one and the Fitter.
I got this from the LHS.



Cheers from the tropics!

Iking

[rbaer]

Lookin' good!
I've been curious about the book as well.....I picked up the Magach book and have just about worn it out.

[iking]

May 30, 2013 19:51:11 GMT -5 rbaer said:

Lookin' good!
I've been curious about the book as well.....I picked up the Magach book and have just about worn it out.

Thanks mate! yup I'm into idf now and the meng merkava mk3d is superb and really exciting to build. Idf armor is just quite expensive compared to other genres.

[bbd468]

Fine works Iking! That Tiran 5 is SHAWEEET!!!! Well done man!

[iking]

thanks gary! im only looking for stowage for the tiran and merkava mk 1 then I shall call it quits for the 2 items:)

so far here are the latest updates that I have.

The merkava 4 is being painted and detailed with a mixture of tamiya light grey and khaki but the mixture contains more khaki than a 50/50 ratio.
pre-shaded with hardware spray paint flat black


painted with first coating:


Close-up shot with the texture:

you can see the manual trigger for the 50 cal on the central turret axis.




A stowage was fastened on the turret roof using laminated aluminum foil and some strip styrene.



Digging up my stash i found these old IDF builds that I had.

I found out that I have old MErkava Mk 3, Magach, Zelda and a Shmira.

What I did was to refurbish the MErkava Mk 3 first.
I painted it with a 50/50 mix of light grey and khaki to give it a more relevant shade than its old desert yellow skin.




here they are together with the merkava 4, 1, and Tiran 5.


I might consider restoring the other IDF items on the shelf as well if i have the time:)

cheers mates!

iking

[rbaer]

Nice work. I especially like the no-slip texture on the 4, very nicely done and IMHO, captures to look of the real thing.
Also, I gotta say, there's something to be said for re-doing an old build....

[wbill76]

Man that Merk 4 looks mean! Love it.

[iking]

thanks a lot Rbaer, Dicky and Wbill!
I just reused the old decals for the merkava 3 that was restored.
Luckily it wasnt disintegrated yet:)

I will wash the mk 3 and continue with the ball and chain mountings tomorrow. cant wait to get my hands on my work bench again:D

so far here is the progress on the first batch of ball chain armor:




The chain is from a girly accessory and the ball is from a ball chain used on dog tags.
I cut them to length and mounted them on a drilled strip styrene as its main bracket.

I still have a long way to go as i need to make at least +/- 70 ball chains for the whole bustle rack undercut:)

cheers guys!

iking

[eastrock]

wow a very clean matt, btw where's my plane ticket? lol

this would be a very tedious build Comrade

[Leon]

Iking,that is some awesome work your doing there .Agree with Dicky and Russ on the no slip texture.

[madairbrush]

Great collection of beautyful tanks. I love them all.

[bullardino]

What a titanic job you started, comrade...

[wbill76]

5 down, 70 to go! Nice start and ingenious way to create your own B&C arrangement. Just so long as the girly chain isn't a prized possession of a significant other...or you might find yourself dealing with a much larger B&C in the end!

[rbaer]

Oooh, how true.
Balls and chains, balls and chains, the stuff of nightmares.

[iking]

thanks ches, leon, madairbrush, Dicky, Luigi, Wbill and Rbaer!
hahaha I pretty much made sure that there arent the missus stuff or ill get a beating:D

Here they are now after much eye-strain and a quite painful wrist from cutting ball chains and wires.

Portside:


Starboard Side:




The job was tedious but in the end it was a relief to see a complete set of ball curtain armor move and sway like the real thing

cheers!

iking

[rbaer]

The dreaded balls and chains! Well done!

[wbill76]

B&Cs swaying, what's the world coming too! Nice work iking, very convincing result.

[bullardino]

Great one, Iking

I wonder how good they will like when painted, IMHO they'll be hard to tell from the 1:1 scale ones...

[iking]

Thanks a lot Rbaer, WBill and Luigi!
It was indeed tiring and quite straining to the eyes but worth it if you see the end result:)

I will see if i can still try to add the droid or if not ill add it to the Mk3D Meng kit that ill build after this. I want to complete the line of merkavas from 1-4

so here it is now painted and ready to be weathered.
The wash on the hull is a mixture of tamiya washes black and brown.
I mixed it because the black is just too dark for me. I wanted something of an umber wash.










Next stop are the 2 rear basketcase i wonder how can i make the canvas bags inside them. I might try aluminum foil again.


Thats all for now comrades!

enjoy and happy weekend to us!

cheers!
iking

[eastrock]

Fafable profile, Comrade Iking

IP Phone? Oreo? WorkStation? is it allowed to do tank thing on the desk? I almost got suspended when I bought my kit at work lol

I may suggest you need a AK Dark Wash or OIF & OEF instead lol


Cheers!!!

[Deleted]

Nicely done!

The end result was well worth it my friend.

A Merkava IV LIC will not have a droid attached, most IV's will although it depends on the area of operation. 50-50 on the droid on a standard IV. You cannot go wrong.

G

[wbill76]

Wash is looking good, keep up the good work comrade!

[iking]

Thanks a lot ER, AgentG, Wbill!

I see, thanks for the input, i might consider putting the droid on my Mk3 Dalet instead

It is nearing completion and im letting the paint and clear coat dry up.
MEanwhile here are some updates on some other IDF matters.
Im trying to figure out which stowage to put on the Tiran.
I tried these combo but had regrets on the m16. I might replace it with more jerry cans as these are oil guzzling babies.




The mk1 stowage are as follows:

Im quite happy with this combination and i might just add the orange ID tarps.

For the other merkava, the revived old academy mk3, i painted it and finished it with the AK dust effects and used it as rain marks.





The roof part of the Mk3. you can notice the added manual firing cables for the roof mounted BMG.


The three are grouped sans the Mk4.

The Mk 4 is being weathered with pigments on its tractor systems. lube leaks are done via tamiya washes.

The pigments that I used are Vallejo and Mig pigments.

cheers!

iking

[jackh]

Great progress on the IDF lot, The Merkava 1 did'nt have the ball and chain armour at the start of "Peace for Galilee" as I recall, it was the conflict that made the IDF aware of the shot trap on the Merkava I'm not sure whether the implemented the ball and chain armour during the conflict.

[iking]

Jun 21, 2013 2:56:57 GMT -5 jackh said:

Great progress on the IDF lot, The Merkava 1 did'nt have the ball and chain armour at the start of "Peace for Galilee" as I recall, it was the conflict that made the IDF aware of the shot trap on the Merkava I'm not sure whether the implemented the ball and chain armour during the conflict.

Thanks Jack! yup correct. the Tamiya kit can be built as is for AFV during the 1982 Lebanon War. The ball chain curtain appeared because of the experiences during this war:) cheers!

Cheers!

Iking

[rbaer]

Lookin' schweet!
Re the stowage on the Tiran: you're correct in adding oil cans as the T55 engine uses almost as much lube oil as fuel oil. They also make great big piles of shavings and flakes in the sump. I've read that changing the engine oil on a "new" engine can involve removing several POUNDS of metal along with the used oil. Dunno know about those that are broken-in. Also, the crew personal weapons will be very close at hand for their owners. The later Magachs actually have clips on the turret top, right by the hatches, for this purpose.

[nemesis]

The T5 looks really good IK, one of the best T5's i have seen. The Merk is coming along nicely as well, looking forward to seeing that one finished

Regards from the Swamp

Eth

[bullardino]

Sweet builds, Iking