Chariot of Fire- Meng Merkava IIID

[Road of Bones]

Starboard side (mostly) finished- just got linking chains to fit once all the brackets are mounted on the hull:

Thinking ahead, I suspect I am going to have to paint the lower hull & fit the wheels and tracks before I mount all this fiddly brass over the running gear. I tried a dry-fit of the tracks earlier, and it took some effort to get them in place, which would be impossible with these skirts in the way as well.

Onto the port side then...

Alistair☠️

 

[BigGreg]

Starboard side (mostly) finished- just got linking chains to fit once all the brackets are mounted on the hull:
View attachment 373447
Thinking ahead, I suspect I am going to have to paint the lower hull & fit the wheels and tracks before I mount all this fiddly brass over the running gear. I tried a dry-fit of the tracks earlier, and it took some effort to get them in place, which would be impossible with these skirts in the way as well.

Onto the port side then...

Alistair☠

Wonderful it's gonna be absolutely stunning...can't wait

 

[Jim R]

Hi Alistair
Now that is a tribute to patience and skill. Worth the effort though. Are the chains pe chains?
Soldering pe is something I have had little success with.
Jim

 

[scottie3158]

Bones,
hats off mate that is some lovely brass work.

 

[Road of Bones]

Greg- thanks again sir!

Jim- it was MikeC who got me started with the paste and torch method of soldering PE. Much easier than trying to use a soldering iron and solder wire, as you can sometimes use the paste to hold the parts together until you apply the heat. Failing that, blu-tack on a tile is perfectly adequate for holding parts in place ahead of applying the heat. I still use CA the majority of the time though, but soldering gives you a much stronger assembly where you can use it. The cage armour on my D9R would not have survived had I not soldered it, for example. The chains will be proper chain, not the flat PE chains in the ET models set.

Scottie- most kind mate!

 

[minitnkr]

First used paste when surface mount components were introduced. Great stuff. PaulE

 

[Steve Jones]

Wonderful work Alistair. Soldering is a dark art I keep avoiding. Great to see how well you have done it

 

[Road of Bones]

After a hectic week at the mill, I finally got a few hours at the bench tonight

I finished off the side skirts on the other side, and they’re all stored until needed later. Time to tackle the notorious anti-skid texture, which is a feature of these vehicles. In reality, the anti-skid is created by adding sharp basalt chips to the paint. There are several ways and products available to mimic this effect in scale, and I nabbed a bottle of stuff from True Earth products. It’s a bit like a thin, granular Mr Surfacer. I used an old brush cut back to 1mm bristles, shook the bottle well, and basically dabbed it on. Took more than 1 application in places, but here’s the lower hull:

So far, it looks like it will do the part, but I wonder how much will be still visible after priming and paint...

Thanks for looking chaps,

Alistair☠️

 

[Steven000]

Nice progress Alistair, detail looks good
Steven

 

[scottie3158]

Looking gòod.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Alistair
That anti-skid looks good. It is very easy to get it out of scale but yours looks fine. I have bought some of the solder paste and a torch. Looked at a few videos of that method and it does look straightforward. So thanks for the heads up.
Jim

 

[Allen Dewire]

Nice etch work and great anti-skid Al. The Merk is looking real fine Young Sir.....Me likes!!!

Prost
Allen

 

[Road of Bones]

Thanks for the kind words gents

I broke out the True Earth anti-slip goop again, and touched up a few places on the hull, before turning my attention to the turret. Here’s the first pass over the upper surfaces. I compared with my Desert Eagle reference book to see if the bolts were covered in anti-slip too (they were), but I had to be careful to leave the handles free:



I’ll let this set for a couple of days, and give it a touch-up if needed later. Time to start thinking about painting the running gear and tracks...
Thanks for looking chaps,
Alistair☠

 

[BigGreg]

Well Mr. Alistair.. ... it goes better and better... the anti-slip is really well placed can't wait to see next installment...

 

[SimonT]

Cracking stuff Al

 

[scottie3158]

Al
All looking top draw mate

 

[Jim R]

Hi Alistair
Top job Sir. Glad your references didn't show 'ungooped bolts'. You'd have been working round that lot for ever.
Jim

 

[Deleted member 7237]

Hi Alistair amazing work so far, keep it coming. I have a question on your anti skid true earth paste is there any odor to it at all because I've got a Magach 7C"Gimel" to do and I want to add the anti skid.
Pete

 

[papa 695]

Looking sweet Alistair.

 

[Road of Bones]

Hi Alistair amazing work so far, keep it coming. I have a question on your anti skid true earth paste is there any odor to it at all because I've got a Magach 7C"Gimel" to do and I want to add the anti skid.
Pete

Thanks Pete!
There is no noticeable odour to the True Earth stuff, and it cleans readily enough using IPA thinners. You really need to shake/stir the bottle though, and I do think a second application to the model is a good idea too. It should work a treat on your Magach 7