Merkava Mk4

Andrew Gledhill
Update 27/05/21. Lower hull parts built up. Suspension components painted and fitted. Slide moulded springs are great. Means the suspension works. All road wheels and sprockets painted and fitted.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 18.06.21. Been away on holiday for a week. So I am behind on the modelling. I can tell you something. Bloody Meng kits are not for the faint hearted. I doubt I will do another one. Anyway, I have been working on the turret elements. Oh boy, its been a trial for sure. The turret basket alone comprised of 33 separate parts. If I don't include the 3 part jerry can. The instructions say to paint the jerry can in a Clear Blue colour. But it's just the same sand colour plastic as the rest of the kit. So I think Clear Blue will look awful. So I have painted it the same colour as the main colour. The turret is no where near finished either. I have more ball & chain bits to put on. Plus hard kill APS system parts. Oh and 2 separate heavy machine guns. Only then can I think of doing weathering. Anyway, enjoy folks.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 24.06.21. I have now completed the build stage of the Merkava Mk4M. Main colours have been applied. Decals applied. Gloss coat, then followed with a Flat Clear coat. The next job will be to start on the weathering. I have also got a IDF Tank Crew set to go with this kit. Not sure if I will do all 4 crew members, or just the 2 that will go into the turret hatches. Anyway, onwards and upwards.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 01.07.21. Nearly complete now. I have done all the weathering on the tank. I used Tamiya Black Panel Line Wash. Then Tamiya Weathering Master Set A, which comprised of weathering powders, Mud, Sand & Light Sand. I have completed 2 figures from the MiniArt crew set. I am only going to use the 2 figures to put in the hatches. I admit, that I am not that good at painting figures. My eyes and a steady hand are not good enough lol. They are passable I think. I have ordered a set of backpacks etc to put in all the stowage baskets on the tank. Then I will call it complete.

Andrew Gledhill
Update 17.07.21. OK folks, I am calling this one complete. I have fitted items from a Tamiya US Modern Military Equipment Set. They will pass for Israeli equipment. I have added 1 x Bino's laid on top of the turret near the hatch. Then we have 4 x bedrolls, 4 x sleeping bags, 3 x small packs, 1 x medium pack and 1 x large holdall. I wish I could say it was an enjoyable build. It wasn't. The tracks were a nightmare to do. The kit has far too many parts at 900 according to the box. EG each road wheel was several parts. Had that been a Tamiya kit, each pair of road wheels would have been just 2 parts with a polly cap. Meng give you separate hubs, rims, and inner / outer wheel half's. The turret basket comprised of over 30 parts alone. The end result looks good. But I doubt I will do another Meng kit to be honest. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for looking.