Hello, I am the author of the referenced article!
I would like to note that Magach research is still very much ongoing and that article is missing two variants which I have only been made aware of a few weeks ago!
Regarding this thread as a whole, Russel, while your model does seem to be an accurate representation of a standard Magach 6. Sadly these were not present during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War (Yom Kippur War).
Confusingly, the IDF procured M60A1s before joining the very small club (Ethiopia is the only other member I know of) of nations which used the base M60 aside from the United States of America.
The first M60s (Magach 6) would be imported during Operation Nickel Grass, however, the first M60A1s came in 1972, a year prior.
During the war, the IDF fielded Magach 3 and 6A tanks, the 6As served in Brigade 600 (in its entirety it was 6A.) Scout Battalion 87, and eleven tanks were in Brigade 460, which was the training brigade, which fought during the war.
The Magach 6 began service shortly after the end of the war.
All that said, the model itself is amazing! If you or anyone else is ever in need of reference for IDF AFV models, I’ll try my best to be active on this forum.
Best of luck with your next projects.
Yours,
Sisay E.
Regarding markings, it is very easy to get things wrong, especially due to poor coverage of serial number patters, and brigade markings online and in current literature.
I will note that this is partially due to Israeli military censorship and I am unsure if I am legally allowed to help you in any way aside from the following tip:
Do your best to find a few photos of the same serial number vehicle in the same place and copy the markings, however for this correct vehicle identification is required.
With certain variants this might be quite literally externally impossible without prior deep knowledge, which I don’t believe has been published yet.
Me and a small group of very dedicated people are working hard to bring some incredibly Magach variant information to the internet, I am currently working on mapping out which units used which variant and when.
I will say that while I don’t always agree with everything written in them, Michael Mass & Adam O’Brian’s books published by Desert Eagle Publishing are your best friend when looking for good quality Magach references for modelling.
I will note that in spite of my disagreement with some of the writings, Michael Mass has always been a pleasent fellow to talk to and a great source of information.
Please try to get a hold of their books, if even then you are unsatisfied, you will find that my email (shiryonarchive@gmail.com), and Michael Mass’s are active.
I do in fact have several of the Desert Eagle books, 7 in fact . Michael was one of the admin of the old IDF modeling forum which I miss greatly and always found him very helpful when he could do it without crossing any security barriers.
Perhaps you could have a look at a thread I recently started regarding YKW Magach markings and see if you can shed any light on it. Maybe you can confirm the ideas already put forward
Oops. I based this build off of pics and info in a couple of older Concord books.
I look forward to more info on the Magach. I have several of the Desert Eagle books and a couple from Dr. Rob, but more is always better.
