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 Hi All Had this arrive this morning from China along with some etch I ordered also but more on the etch later. The Merkava or chariot is the I D F main battle tank and is unusual that the engine is mounted at the front. It has been designed to give maximum crew protection and can even carry 10 fully kitted support troops inside with the crew. There is a rear door where the troops can deploy from. As with all Meng kits the box is crammed full with light grey sprue's with a choice of rubber or all steel road wheels. The hull is in two parts as is the turret also included is a bag of individual plastic tracks along with some cord,wire and lead sheet. The instructions are in booklet form and breaks down the build into mini sections at the back there are two colour painting views for two different versions. The three etch sets are from Voyager the main set includes real replacement springs the second set is side armour and the last is a 50 cal main turret gun. I also have the Legend resin hull basket set to go on. All in all a nice kit with little if any flash and highly detailed parts and would build a decent model without the extra's. I have found some metal tracks for the kit but will probably stick with the supplied ones, as for metal barrels I have not been able to source one but the kit one is fairly substantial. This will be going into the stash for a while as I have plans for a future build including this kit. Regards Andy  arpurchase attached the following image(s): Current builds:-C57,Zero, Lamborghini Countach, Caldercraft HMS Agamemnon,Robi,R2-D2, MFH Cobra .
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 Rank: Vice-Master       Groups: Registered
Joined: 07/01/2015 Posts: 856 Points: 2,479 Location: Sevenoaks, UK
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Meng is making some really nice kits, I'm becoming a real fan of them. Not really a fan of Voyager - I find their etch really hard to work with, very flimsy and easy to break, sometimes a bend followed by a small correction is enough to split the part in two. Anyway, I'll be watching this build when you get to building it :-) Any images I post on my personal builds are free to be used and shared under Creative Commons Attribution license, which means you can do what you want with them, on the condition you mention I'm the author.
Happy building :-) http://www.model-space.com/gb/
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I can see you having a lot of fun with this Andy especially with the etch that's on show.... No doubt it will turn out to be a fabulous build and look forward to seeing it come together.... .. Going to be interesting to see what you have planned for it.... Regards Alan
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Hi Mitch and Alan Thanks for looking in and your comments, @ Mitch I tend to prefere the thinner etch by Voyager, Lionroar or Grifon as its more to scale but I agree it sometimes has the bend once fatality but investing in a good etch bender and a few other etch tools can save misshaps. I forgot to mention I have the IDF paint set and also the Osprey book on the Merkava. Just a hint of things to come, I am a follower of a certain aftermarket supplier and I have already said to much     . More soon. Andy Current builds:-C57,Zero, Lamborghini Countach, Caldercraft HMS Agamemnon,Robi,R2-D2, MFH Cobra .
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 Rank: Super-Elite   Groups: Registered
Joined: 27/01/2014 Posts: 5,060 Points: 14,980
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That's a very nice looking kit and certainly an interesting looking tank. I wasn't aware that they were capable or carrying troops as well. Meng have just announced the late version with the mine roller which I am keeping my eye on With all the extras you've got there this will be a fun build to follow, I quite liked the Voyager etch myself and found it very comprehensive. Looking forward to this
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Hi Dave Thanks for looking in and your comments, the Meng MK IV Merkava is a nice kit but dont be tempted by any really cheap Academy MK IV kits, the hull wheel mounts are in the wrong position and it takes some serious surgery to put it right. Regards Andy Current builds:-C57,Zero, Lamborghini Countach, Caldercraft HMS Agamemnon,Robi,R2-D2, MFH Cobra .
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