Merkava III by mikegr - Revell - 1/72 - PLASTIC

[mikegr]

Time for a short getaway from 1/700 scale. Lets built something more relaxed.

The kit in details doesn't impress much. The tracks are plastic in many pieces, not the most friendly option to a below average modeler. Somebody on youtube commented that one piece is missing matter how good can be assembled. We will see. The upgrade kit I found for 25€ doesn't sounds tempting although Revell kits do need extra detailing. I have tones of very  close pics to get ideas from

Edited September 14 by ccoyle
corrected log title

[Canute]

Nice detail pictures.

[Dave_E]

I’ll watch! 👍🙂

[mikegr]

Major parts were assembled

I noticed on the above pics that horizontal surfaces are not smooth but have some chipping. Spending some time thinking how to do it I found at the basement some plastic ice crystals that were used on a diorama as ice effect. Put them in a coffee grinding machine, turned them almost in powder form, like salt. Then I brushed the surfaces with PVA + water mix and sprinkle them over. Let them dry for a while then airbrush with primer on low pressure to avoid chipping from blowing away. I have to say the result, after strong initial doubts turned more than satisfying.

 

[mikegr]

Done painting the wheels. With little brush and micro lenses. Chassis was also painted with airbrush. I really love how easily Tamiya colors are sprayed and thinned. On the upper part I cut the thick plastic at front and rear and replaced it with 0.10mm ABS to create spoilers

 

[king derelict]

The wheels look very tidy. I have to agree with you about using Tamiya paint with the airbrush. Always seems consistent and easy.

alan

[mikegr]

18 hours ago, king derelict said:

The wheels look very tidy. I have to agree with you about using Tamiya paint with the airbrush. Always seems consistent and easy.

alan

Thanks Alan

actually wheels don't need to be perfect as they are quite weathered and imperfections can be hidden easily.

With Tamiya I usually dont get the snowy and watery effect

[mikegr]

Today I finished the track fitting. Some basic weathering applied although there still more to be done. The fitting was less troublesome however I lost one of two pieces so there were a coyple of gaps under the fenders. I would call the job satisfactory as the result was far from perfect but for the time spended definitely worth it, took me a couple of hours only

 

 

[mikegr]

Today I finished the turret. Some details added according to pics. Tomorrow I will deal with the chassis.

 

 

Edited September 20 by mikegr

[mikegr]

Some add on details and a few pics form today's work. Soon will be working on weathering

 

[mikegr]

I had to make some loopholes for the wires so I found an affective way

I cut a needle in small pieces, made a loop with 0.3mm wire and glued them. Easy. Then I moved on weathering the tracks

 

[mikegr]

I added some equipment to fill in the empty space behind the turret. Next was the weathering by painting some areas with light shade. Then applied acrylic black wash all over but i made it thinner over the rougher horizontal surfaces to avoid excess accumulation of dark liquid. Tomorrow more shades will be applied

 

 

 

[Dave_E]

Nice job Mike, top notch! 👍😀

[mikegr]

I added the decals and did some light washing. Im looking for a medium effect

 

[mikegr]

I wanted to build a base,  like a small presentation but without  spending much time. So I found a  some 3d files, however it took me all Sunday to adjusting to my preference and scale. Anyway I turned quite ok.

A couple of pics with the other beast.

My first base of the M1A1 was big and empty, the T-90 muddy terain was better even simple. The 3rd was nicer I think

 

[mikegr]

A world class job in 1/35