MERKAVA MKIV מלחמת חרבות ברזל WAR OF IRON SWORDS,GAZA

[tankme]

I replaced all the fake rubber pieces on mine in my thread to include the front and rear mud flaps. viewtopic.php?t=36273

[HERMAN BIX]

Thats what I intend also. The hard plastic faux rubber shall be gone & replaced with material yet to be confirmed, but very likely the same stuff I used to do the soft skirts on the Lion Of Babylon a while back.

[HERMAN BIX]

Today has been about creating recoil on the barrel.
It did have the newer version BB/recoil system but that only offered 8mm of barrel travel.
I hacked off the drive motor & bb launch housing & cleaned up the base of the mechanism.
Hucked out more material from the top on the housing to enable more travel and some in front to let the barrel have another 10mm to the rear before hitting anything solid yet still enable the mantlet to be secured the same way.
Its going to have 22mm of travel from rest to full battery which is plenty.
A wee bit er "agricultural"but the ends justifies the means !!

For interest, the turret on these things are massive.
The top skin section of this when looked down from directly above completely oversizes a StuG III
You can just see the tip of the muzzle brake & thats it !

I whipped up a brass servo mount & it would be on if it wasn't for me forgetting to get Gel super glue today
Now its about getting the pull link right and buttoning up the two turret halves.

[HERMAN BIX]

In the search for that right picture, knowing it needs to be one of a MKIV without the Trophy Hard Kill system I have found a couple of candidates.
Seeing the Merks on day 1 of the conflict has a certain look, factory-fresh and tidy.
Not after all this time in action do they have the same pristine appearance...............falling right into the Herman way of doing things !!
A lot of mud, dust and dirt all over them. Very reminiscent of the condition of T72's in the Syrian conflict.
Some have non-factory Cope cages fitted, differing from the larger ones that have the tapered sides, one showing being bent backwards a bit.

Of note is the black coloured ERA panels that are apparently unpainted replacements. I have seen a pic of crew replacing some on the front right side of a MKIV but damned if I can find it again at the moment
Mr Paval mentioned the manufacturing expediency of covering the bustle cage with a tarp, I may have to venture into that prickly territory to see if its practical and achievable to do an open cage with a distressed tarp on it like the one in the pics.

Getting a feel for it now, so on we go...........

[Pavel]

By looking through a bunch of photos, I came to the disappointing conclusion that the Chinese did make a composite image of the Merkava 4.
I found a turret and a hull with "pimples" and without them, but one has Mickey ears, the other does not.
A hole for bolts on the turret with and without a skirt, but again, where there is a skirt, it is not our option.
With the instruments removed from the turret in front, with a clean (even) commander's hatch.
I am no longer glad that I started bringing it to the original.
IMI should have given letter indexes for each modification.
A skirt made of rubber, both straight and with a wave, and some with protective sheets without it...
Handrails on the turret with different fastenings...

[Pavel]

The pimples turned out to be rivets with a guide hole, but this tank has mouse ears, like the Merkava 3.

[HERMAN BIX]

I believe there has been a lot of MK4's mixed up with an updated MKIII to further confuse matters !
I reckon just going ahead with the features that represent a LIKELY if not accurate MK4 is the way Im going to go.

[Pavel]

support your opinion, otherwise you can create something unimaginable.
It is necessary to assemble with minimal modifications, adding what they simply missed.
Now I am finishing the FN machine gun mount and the Browning itself, with a remote trigger.
The platoon is carried out by pulling the cable, trivially simple!
I am making sighting systems, especially this "saucepan" there are two windows, one blue, the other yellow...
Here you can see the version with pimples, OUR handrails, but there are ears on the tower and no instruments, just brackets.
And under the handrails it's clean....
And look at the "saucepan"!

[HERMAN BIX]

Thats the MK4 "Trophy" in that last pic mate.
There are loads of nuances between the plain ole MK4 and the 'Barak' with Trophy , and the MKIII with the MK4 upgrades on the turret but not on the hull...............

Im off for a drink or several !!

[HERMAN BIX]

Looking again, the Merk to the right of picture with the canvas cover over the dog-house is a MK4 with no 'Trophy' system fitted.
It does change the look of the turret a lot without it.
The one directly behind the primary subject is another with Trophy.

We can buy the Trophy set from Ludwigs D.E. and not for that much money, but more than I can part with and certainly when postage & currency exchange is added