Nothing too exciting. The completed lower hull and running gear sans wheels.
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Not part of the campaign but IDF I’ve also been working on.
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As M752 is still waiting for painting and I’m going on a course for 2 weeks, so I will start another model… 
with extras only tracks from Bronco…
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Some more progress on the detailing, almost ready for antiskid
Used Eureka wire rope cables
Just my 0.02$: If you want to build a Merkava 3 Ramak, get the Meng Baz kit and do the detailing. The biggest change you have to do is the loader’s hatch and the turret roof panels behind it. With some basic scratchbuilding it is doable.
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Very impressive work Nikos.
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Thank you.
I finished the .50 cal mount and the only detail missing from the turret are the cables for the .50 cal remote operation, which will be added after the antiskid application.
The only detail missing for the hull are four shackles and their mounting points that are used to lift the engine deck.
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Lovely work Nikos…the .50 firing mech looks sweet … Great work all over 
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Small Build update: I’ve got the lower hull mostly built up minus the tracks. Just a little bit more clean up and I think it’ll be good to go. I can’t remember if I had to fill the slight gap in the rear area on the AVRE version of this kit I did a while ago or if I’m taking more care into since I’m not the only one looking at it.
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Pictures aren’t the best but these are some shots of the lower hull and running gear painted and gloss coated. Next step will be the oil wash. Wheels got the same treatment. Also photos of the completed turret. Several locating holes had to be filled and some locating bumps as well. Basket was a bit fiddly but not difficult. And yes I used the DS mantlet cover. It’s a 2 piece affair. Glued using Tamiya x-thin. The mold seam lines were “erased” using Testors liquid. The gap between the 2 pieces received the same treatment. The fold detail is a bit soft but it might not look half bad under some paint. We’ll see.
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Looking good DV … Really like that mantlet…
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Thanks. I took it as a challenge to see if I could make it look half decent. Probably not a contest winner but it will look good on the shelf. 
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So here goes: my first progress post, such as it is.
I’ll be building an M548A1 Aplha using the AFV Club kit, Star Decals and the DEF M113 resin/PE upgrade kit, mostly for the exhaust kit along with a bunch of accumulated spares.
After @gtdeath13 so graciously supplied me with a bunch of Alpha pics, the two main Alpha differences from US versions I noticed were, aside from the exhaust, the split tailgate, and most, but not all, have the front winch removed and blocked off so:
That’s it for now. It’s 62F right now, so I’m gonna go sit in the sun and read. It’s supposed to be 28F or something tomorrow.
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Looking great. The tailgate and the exhaust are the key differeneces.
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I decided to prime the Ramak turret because I wanted to avoid any issues when using mr surfacer for the antiskid on the resin turret roof.
I also primed the corrected Hobby Boss 3D turret.
And noticed that I have not added the straps to the rear hull baskets and the springs that lated Mk3 hull have on the rear fenders.
You can also see the differences on the engine decks .
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Ok, you’ve convinced me Nikos, I need to get a Merkava
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What’s a good option for totally OOB build … I can live with a few slight inaccuracies… ?
Meng Baz all the way. Or the 3D if you want the bigger turret
Edit: The Baz kit has rubber band tracks, the 3D indi link tracks.
I do not know if Meng changed the track in the Baz kit when they reissued it.
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Some more work on the Alpha. Dragon road wheels, horn and blackout lamp. Filled some holes, worked on tailgate.
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