This build keeps getting better. 
Spent 40 minutes last night getting the top of the hull to “fit” on the hull tub. Had to use an Evergreen shim on the left front corner then putty. Putty as well from there to about the second road wheel position.
On the plus side it seems that I was able to get the template for the front right and drill the holes as everything looks properly aligned.
Hope this ends up like making sausage, the process ain’t petty but it sure tastes good.
Sorry we voted to put you through this mate 
Eh. Looked like a fairly decent/easy build in the box. Except for more PE than I usually like looked pretty straight forward with a low parts count. Could have sprung four the AFV offering but I just finished their Paladin and wanted something simpler for a break. Oh well. One can only hope that the worst is over although I still have to deal with the turret template.
Looking forward to that SMB! Does it have parts and markings for a pre-'67 version without the engine upgrade?
Michael 
You can do it, DV!
I’ve had a change of plans. (Wait, a change of plans? Me?) Yeah, well, a while back I picked up the Meng F-35 planning to do an IAF bird with it. But then those naughty boys at Tamiya came out with their’s, and with IAF markings in the box. OK, says I, I’ll get that one and do one IAF and one USAF. Should be an interesting comparison. Well, yesterday I remembered that I’ve teed up a Stealth Aircraft Campaign that starts in June. So, the new plan is to do a dual build:
For this campaign I will be doing the Tamiya kit just about entirely out of the box, just adding Eduard seat belts. This kit represents a real rarity in my collection, an unstarted kit:
It’s a fantastic looking kit and I’m really looking forward to it!
The Meng kit will be in the Stealth Aircraft Campaign. It is a little bit started, but well below 25%.
Let’s see if I can stick with this one!
Michael
Oh, this just gets better and better. Got to where you attach the drives to the hull. HA! It’s a two piece affair with C 9@10 first attaching to the lower front hull. The drives then attach to them and the lower hull proper by means of two locating pins. Not really the usual method but no big deal. BUT, either I failed to center the drilling template properly or the template itself was off. I was very careful about cutting out the template and with placement(measure twice, cut once). Results was that the two pieces of add on armor interfered with the placement of C 9&10. Had to remove them. Installed them only to find that they do not fit flush with the lower front hull so out came the putty. Are we having fun yet.
Dude, this is not playing nice … I feel very guilty about voting for it now mate …
Fixed the issue with poor fit of C 9&10. Filled the gaps with putty as best as I could then added weld beads from stretched sprue. Not been textured yet but I think once painted and weathered it will look acceptable.
Very nice recovery mate. Looks a whole lot better now.
Think I finally have the lower front hull and drives fixed. Also added and repositioned the add on armor plates.
Almost afraid to move on. Who knows what other “horrors” await.
@Armorsmith, I was just looking at all available kits of M109 in IDF colors and found that Kinetic also produced one. In fact, I liked their approach as it has parts to build both current variants in the service.
However, I have not had the opportunity to look into the pros and cons of this offering or any other M109. Though, I am glad to see you building one here so I don’t have to look far to find out about Kinetic offering. And, I am not pleased with what I am see. The parts alignment and fit issues on this is no different for the rest of their offerings…
Well, time to search reviews of AFV offerings.
I have built the AFV 109 A6 Paladin. While it can be a bit giddily it is more detailed and overall pretty trouble free. It comes with a metal barrel. Tracks are rubber band but several AM options are available if you so choose.
The AFV Club M109 series is definitely the best. They are light years ahead of the old Italeri ones, which date from the late '70s. The filling of the front hull joint is typical on Italeri M109s, along with a host of other issues. Kinetic’s is better than Italeri, but nowhere near the level of AFV Club’s M109s.
Work continues on the Rochev. While not a difficult kit it is a tedious build. Some flash but prominent mold seam lines on just about every part so lots of clean up involved. Got the torsion bars on as well as some of the details on the front and rear hull. Working on the wheels now which are surprisingly trouble free.
I will play along with you guys…
IDF Rochev Yom Kippur war
AFV Club kit with Riich tracks and Star Decals
The real thing
Notice the antenna at the rear left of the turret
No photos but an update nonetheless. Lower hull and running gear complete and painted. Also started working on the tracks. Indy links supposedly workable but the connecting pins are very loose so it will all have to be glued. Clean up of tracks not too bad but as always a tedious undertaking.
Nice looking kits Bert 
Nice combo. First time seeing these colors on a De havilland Mosquito in a model and she looks good.
The nightmare continues. But first the good news. Got paint on the lower hull and running gear. Also painted the tracks.
Started on the turret. Turns out most of the locating holes were already predrilled. Couldn’t get the paper template to align properly for the remaining holes so I decided to just eyeball them. Lots of cleanup on just about every part, especially those with a round cross section. Also turned out that the rear lights were missing. Luckily I managed to scrounge them from my spares bin. Thus far only minor problems with the turret until. . .
Now for the bad. Turns out one of the cutouts for one of the side doors is out of square. Kind of a trapezoid/rhombus combination. Wider at the top than the bottom and askew to the left. Still shows in the photo but it’s not nearly as bad as it was. With some more work I should be able to get it to fit.
