Chip's 1/35 Merkava***Finished***

[Molly-new]

Finally managed to drag myself from my sick bed (Man-Flu) to update you on the work I have managed to get done on this.

Modifications to the second figure have been completed and he has been painted up:



As have the bits to be added at the end;



Bit of a 'catch 22' situation with the figures as the arms cannot be fitted until the MG's have been mounted, and I can decide which figure will go where.

After getting sucked in to the black hole of IDF camouflage colours for a couple of days I decided to go with Revell 75 Stone Grey, and gave the hull and turret a couple of light coats to enable the pre-shading to show through :



This was followed by a further coat, lightened with a couple of drops of white, onto the center of the upper panels:







At this point I have also painted the rubber items in matt black (mudguards and AE bases). Unfortunately the pictures do not show the variations in tone, I will endever to take some daylight pictures next time.

[jssel]

Very nice shading that is for sure. Keep the pace.

[Titan]

Yes that is shaping up very nicely, I have this kit myself somewhere so it's good to see one being made here and to have an idea on how it builds.

Regards
Mark

[Molly-new]

My method of doing roadwheels is to spray on the black outer first (usually whilst I am doing the pre-shading),



then make a template on card the correct diameter for the hub and spray each one individually:



Quite time consuming but the effect is worth it:



For the tracks I have followed Titan's excellent tutorial, the rust wash is still wet so shows up a bit too bright at the moment:

[jssel]

Like the idea for masking the road wheels. It may be time consuming but the results out weight a steady hand with a hairy stick.

[Molly-new]

I have also applied a wash to the sub-assemblies:







Next step is to attach the running gear and tracks.

[Softscience]

Thats looking great, Chip! Looks like you caputred the Israeli sandy gray shade quite well.

[Molly-new]

This has been finished for a couple of days but I have not been able to upload the photos. The finished article:




It has been built OOB apart from the crewman in the loaders position, and the identification panels on the back basket which was made out of some metallic tape. In time I will replace them as I am not happy with them, but they will do for now.

[jssel]

[iggie]

Superb!
The weathering is beautifully restrained and sets the detail off very nicely

[Migrant]

What a striking model- very cool looking tank, especially in that grey scheme.

[TimJ]

Excellent work, well done.