Merkava Mk.IIIC
Conversion set
Legend 1:35 Set #LF1072
Review by Terry Ashley
The set consists of approximately 100 resin parts in a light cream resin, two etched metal frets, a long length of wire and fine chain with the small beads for the rear turret chain armour plus a length of twine and sheet of lead foil. The resin parts are on the main well cast without any blemishes with some very fine parts along with larger parts and due to them all being packed in one plastic bag there were a few minor breakages among the smaller parts.
There are the usual casting blocks to be removed and some of these are quite substantial requiring care when removal such as on the turret hatches and side skirts. Due to the multiple pour points the parts are perfectly formed with the side skirts having the lower section very thin but perfectly straight without and hint of warping, so take your time removing the blocks as the extra effort will be worth it to preserve the overall excellent details.
There was one exception here with the barrel which had a couple of substantial air holes on the underside when the casting block was removed, one looked more like an open cut mine that an air hole and will require the use of a two part putty to fill, but apart from this the parts were mostly blemish free.
The largest part as with other Merkava sets is the complete turret cast solid with openings under the hatches and includes excellent details on the roof and additional side and top armour with the only cleanup being the large rear casting block and some minor pour seam lines on the underside of the front and rear extensions which are easy to deal with.
The large turret has many smaller detail parts added from resin and etched parts including well detailed M2 .50cal MGs on the Commander’s cupola with additional etched parts and mounted centrally above the barrel as well as the 7.62GPMG on the loader’s hatch with separate ammo box and lid. The two large smoke grenade clusters are also provided with covers in place.
At the rear of the turret is an incredibly detailed and complex turret basket from etched parts that will require care to assemble and some soldering skills would come in handy here. Added to the underside if the basket is the usual chain armour made up of the fine chain and beads provided and again care and patience will be rewarded with superbly detailed assemblies.
The added details on the hull include new very detailed multi-part rear storage containers with resin frames with the distinctive grills in finely etched metal and the lead sheet for the inside liners. The new style side skirts are as mentioned very finely cast in resin with all the bolt head details and additional top etched parts and small resin bolts.
The instructions are in the form of a two sheets with clear colour photos of the model during construction with the parts called out by number clearly showing the location and these instructions should make assembly quite easy to accomplish.
Conclusion:
Another nicely detailed and extensive conversion that will build into a fine
replica of the Merkava Mk.IIIC but as mentioned some previous experience
working with resin and etched parts will come in handy as sections like the
turret basket and rear bins are quite complex but the result will be excellent.
Recommended.
Review set courtesy:
Friendship
Models
12, Delta Drive
Musselburgh
East Lothian, EH21 8HR
United Kingdom
Phone: (0131)-665-4087
Email: friendshipmodels@btinternet.com
Page created 26 June 2005