Academy Merkava III with a twist
Oct 10th, 2006
 

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After a long hiatus I'm back to where I started - Static models.

However I used to do 1:72 scale planes. Now, with a couple of years more and a much worse sight I had to choose something I could actually see. I decided to have a go at 1:35 armor kits.

Why armor? Well, because they are beautiful pieces and in our days the degree of detail is outstanding and the choices on the market are huge. I was amazed with the quality of what we have now. The choices of Photo Etch alone are mind boggling.

I built the Bradley with all the care in the world. I almost lost my vision trying to put all the Eduard photo etch details on it. But I wanted something more.

Since the Merkava was built (the original 1:1 tank of course) I thought it was the most amazing tank I'd ever seen. A few years past and the tank is now on it's 4th version. I started to look for a kit. The recently released Merkava iV from Legend Productions was too much for me. All resin with a high price tag was a big no no.

But what about a more modest conversion to turn the Academy Merkava III in something decent? On the forums the discussion about how accurate the Academy kit was made me understand that if I wanted to have a decent Merkava I could not use an out of box kit. So I ordered the conversion for the Merkava IIID from Friendship Models in the UK.

When the package arrived I was amazed with the detail of the pieces and mainly with the huge weight of the massive turret. The thing was really heavy.

The parts needed to build the dreaded chain and ball armor was there too in the form of a set of tiny ball and an even tinier chain. Good God!! I had to do something like 60 minute chains with a small ball in the end, hang them in 60 microscopic holes on a PE piece of metal. I wanted something simpler than a complete resin kit... uh ooh.

The very decision was to hollow the turret. It was a solid piece of resin with an incredible weight and no hatch openings. Got my Dremel in hand and started to do it. After a while I was really dizzy with the smell of that stuff and covered in white dust. I assumed that a face mask would be a wise move so I got my mask (I used it for painting RC Car bodies and proceeded with the work.

After hollowing out the turret the next step was to fit the upper deck on the original Academy parts. There was a slight warp and a little difference in dimensions, but ciano glue and some filler solved the problem entirely.

In the above picture you can see how the whole looks. The all steel wheels also came with the complete conversion set from Legend and where very easy to put together.

The ball and chain armor

This must be the most daunting task that one can do on a miniature. This type of armor was introduced on the Merkava II to avoid RPG's to detonate on the turret ring. After the 1982 invasion of Lebanon it was the major reason for losses on the Merkava and with the typical Israeli ingenuity they conceived this modelers nightmare.

In all I built 60 small chains with a little ball, with different lengths (according to the photos on the kit instructions) and applied them on the back of the turret. In fact they are fixed to the excellent rack in photo etched metal that comes with the kit.

The pace was very slow and I lost a lot of balls to the carpet monster but after a good number of hours I completed the nightmare.

As you can see in this photo, the final result is amazing but it has to be done with infinite patience or it will be a mess. That the most important single step of this kit construction.

Other building highlights

The upper deck and steel wheels are not a problem on this kit. The same cannot be said from the rear baskets. For two reasons: They are very delicate to build (the resin parts are very thin) and they are covered with a set of photo etch plates that duplicate the armor found on the real tank. They have to be assembled with tiny metal links before removing them from the PE fret, and after that handling has to be very very careful because they can break easily.

The canvas sacs inside these two baskets were made from metal foil as where all the straps that can be seen on the real tank. By this time I had already completed a set of Friul tracks that add a realistic effect to the tank. After using them I can't imagine doing the Merk with the vinyl tracks that come with the kit.

Finishing the tank

Doing an Israeli tank has another small catch... The color. Since the 80's Israel uses a color that in some photos looks like brown, or green or grey. It's very elusive and very difficult to reproduce.

I used the Israeli Sand Armor from Xtracrylics but it was too brown. The turret was completed with that color but it didn't look right.

After applying the filters and washes it looked even more brown. I had to put all my work at risk and try to overspray the whole turret with a more grayish tone, running the risk of ruining everything. With luck I didn't destroy the work at all and ended with a very close and credible color.

As you can see, at this point the turret was weathered and finished and it looked GOOD.

The next step was to reproduce the same color on the rest of the tank and weather it enough to look like a battle tank but not as to look ready for the junk yard.

The final result is very nice. So much that I submitted this Kit to the Model of the Month July 2006 contest in Armorama and got the first prize. What about that uh? Not bad for a second armor kit.

   

 

 

What was used in this kit

Academy Merkava III
Legend Productions Merkava IIID conversion (complete with steel wheels)
Academy Isreal Tank Crew
Friul Tracks for Merkava III
Xtracrylics Israeli Armor Sand color
CMK and MIG pigments
Raw Umber and Black  oil washes

Photos taken with Canon EOS 60D and Speedlite 380 flash
&
Canon EOS 1D Mark III with 580EXII flash and Light System from Gutberlet

 

Related Information

Legend Productions
 Academy Plastic Model

 

 



The development of an indigenous Israeli tank began in 1970, after plans to locally produce the British Chieftain tank were cancelled by the UK, which preferred selling the tanks to Arab countries (Chieftains and Challengers were eventually sold to Jordan, Iran and several Gulf states). At the time, Israel was using British Centurions and US made M-48 and M-60 tanks, most of them modified with 105mm tank guns while the Syrian and Egyptian armies received the first T-62s from the Soviet Union, equipped with more powerful 115mm guns. Israel required two different types of platforms to better cope with the different terrains – the Centurions were slower, but their automotive system, primarily the track and suspension, was more suitable for the rough, volcanic, rocky terrain of the Golan heights while the wider padded tracks of the American M- series tanks was suitable for the soft, sandy plains of the Sinai desert.

At that time, Israel was preparing for the next phase of the conflict. The requirement for an up-gunned, better protected platform was clear, in face of the T-62s and evolving anti-tank missiles, which was yet to be experienced, three years later.

Faced with the demise of the British tank option, experienced with similar fate of other arms procurements, from France (the French embargo on the delivery of Mirage V fighters and Missile boats already paid for by Israel) Israel decided to base its armored force on a totally new platform, designed to perfectly match and reflect its unique priorities and requirements.

The basic requirement, clearly defined by General Israel Tal, the "father" of the Merkava tank, was protection. While most tanks designed for the 1980s were already equipped with 120mm gun, the first two generations of the Merkava retained the 105mm. This was the result of the priorities and tradeoffs considered by the designers. All tanks, from the prototype to the Mk 4 share a similar chassis, automotive system and turret design. The differences are reflected in the details, and balances between mobility and firepower. Following General Tal's guidelines, protection remained the highest priority for the Merkava and was never compromised. The initial design, reflected in the Merkava Mk 1 already determines the basic design envelope, with a triangular, flat turret, fitted with typical armor protection cells installed on both sides of the gun. The forward mounted engine, clearing the rear area for an access hatch, stores, and flexible reconfiguration options which are currently taking shape.

Merkava has been the longest production program in the history of Israel's defense industry. The tank has been in production for more than 30 years. In fact, this year the first Merkava Mk 1 tanks which entered service 25 years ago, are scheduled to be withdrawn from service, as they are replaced by latest Merkava Mk 4. For nine years, (1970 to 1979) the program went through development, prototyping and field testing, culminating in the delivery of the first Merkava tank to the IDF in 1979. A parallel process was the establishment of the local tank manufacturing industry, which required the expansion of steel casting facilities at Urdan, and expansion of IMI's tank gun manufacturing facility, where the new 120mm gun was developed. Hundreds of additional facilities, most of them privately owned small businesses; many located at disadvantaged and remote peripheral cities joined the program, to establish the industrial base for the new program.

Merkava Mk2

Only three years later, immediately after the Lebanon War in 1982, the next generation, Merkava Mk 2 was delivered. In fact, this tank was the more mature version of the basic Maerkava 1, a result of the "telescopic development" process, which envisaged continued development based on lessons and feedback from users, rather than a slow and linear operational testing process.

The Mk 2 introduced new, clearly distinctive 'special armor' modules installed on the turret's sides and skirts. The tank retained the 105mm gun with the benefit of ammunition availability and commonality, yet, the tank was equipped with improved fire control and optronic equipment, bringing it to the same level of the IDF fully upgraded M-60s (with the Merkava offering superior protection).

Merkava Mk3

Seven years later, by 1989 Merkava Mk-3 introduced a more dramatic leap, fielding a new, modular armor concept, enabling a rapid and frequent process of adaptation of armor to operational requirements and evolving threats. The tank was equipped with a new 120mm gun, produced by IMI and a new 900 hp diesel engine developed by the German firm MTU. Through an evolutionary process, the Merkava Mk 3 was upgraded with at least four versions, equipped with different armor configurations, and various types of fire control and optronic system, which, for the first time, was superior to the systems used in the M0-60s. Many of the changes were based on feedback and lessons learned through operational and combat experience in Lebanon and Gaza. As a result, the IDF decided to gradually phase out the Centurion and M-60s, and moved toward an armored force based entirely on Merkava platforms. This process culminated in 2005, when the last regular unit, equipped with M-60s replaced the aging American tanks with the latest Merkava Mk 4 tanks. At the same time, the developer's team was already working on the Merkava 4, primarily the new engine, which was under development in Germany.

Source: Defense Update



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Merkava III

 

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