Academy Merkava Mk2

Here is my latest model, Academy’s Merkava Mk2 with the Legend basket set. Bought this for a really good price on E-Bay. It has been built for the Israel Defense Forces Campaign but I thought I’d post pics in the new forums also to see how they work. There are 1 or 2 things not done as I am waiting on materials and also the positioning poles on each corner aren’t fitted due to the carpet monster gaining a couple! That will be for the future once suitable springs are sourced.
The anti slip is done using VMS Hull Tex which is really good. It has been deliberately added to show wear and tear and hopefully be not too uniform. The Legend baskets came with the kit when i bought it which was a real bonus.

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Nice job @Maximus8425. The anti slip looks great how you’ve done it. I will attempting anti slip on an M1A1 for the ODS build in the new year so hopefully I can get it looking like that.
The general finish looks spot on as well for an under the sun and in the dust vehicle. :+1:

Hi Johnny, the VMS stuff is a doddle to use and turns out looking really good. To apply I used the box lid and a piece of A4 to catch the spills and brushed off excess then poured it back into it’s bottle. I seem to remember reading somewhere there was enough for 2 or 3 kits, but I would say it would easily go to 6 or 7 kits.

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Big fan of Israeli armor. Not built the MkII yet but it’s on my list. :+1: :+1:

I know there is a new Takom Mk2D out there but the Academy kit isn’t half bad. Some of the detail is a little heavy and the 50 cal firing mechanism is way overscale which is why I scratched a new one. The band tracks were a relief and realistically for the amount that shows they are adequate to the job and don’t involve hours of tedious fun to put together. I’ve got Meng’s 3D and 4M for future builds as I have a bit of a thing for Israeli armour too.

I’ve done the Meng 4M tracks were a bit fiddly but workable if you are careful. Other than that no issues that I can recall.

The tracks on my Meng M1A2 Tusk nearly finished me off. I think it’s a result of being ex armoured corps and approaching most things with brute force “Hulk smash”!!!
It’s nice now and then to have an easier option. :grin:

Looks great! That anti slip looks perfect!

I have no idea what Academy’s offering is like, but apparently you got the most out of it. Looks great!

Excellent work Maximus! I’m with all the others about the non slip surfacing. That adds a huge boost in the final appearance. All of the stowage and weathering tops this off just right.

Thanks for all of the comments guys, I’m a firm believer in the devil is in the details and spending a little extra time on the finer points makes a huge difference. There are quite a few different routes to go down for non slip and I think I’ve found my preferred method.
On a slightly different note Santa was good to me today and brought this so thought I’d maybe join the helicopter 2 campaign on Aeroscale with it.

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