Now, for those interested, some background info:
From the start, I wanted a Magach 6B, not a Magach 6B Gal, or a Gal Batash. So, I thought I could get away with just swapping the Merkava 1-3 tracks on the Gal with the M60A1 tracks.
Boy, was I wrong. I got this kit over a year ago, when I still didn’t know as much about tanks as I do now. I didn’t know different sprockets support different tracks!
So the M60A1 tracks arrived, tried to pop those on, but, obviously, they didn’t fit the guiding teeth of a Merkava sprocket. So, I ordered the cheapest M48/M60 kit I could, and I nabbed the sprockets from it (A Tamiya M48A3). Replaced the sprockets, checked to see if the tracks fit, and they did.
Boom, it’s not a regular Magach 6B.
I struggled a lot with the periscopes and optics, and it took me several days to figure out how to make them as realistic as possible. Shoutout and huge thanks to everyone in this thread that helped me!
And, that’s about it! I’m really really happy with how it came out, even though objectively speaking it’s not perfect, it’s perfect in my eyes, and that’s all that matters, right?
Anyway, that’s all!
Until the next one, cheers!
I’ve said it before, but the only thing that matters is if you’re happy with it.[1]
Interesting that you backdated the Meng kit with T142 tracks and sprockets. I’ve got this exact kit in my stash, with in the box also the sprockets and final drive housings from Takom’s M247 Sgt. York DIVADS and AFV Club tracks, with the intention of — someday — doing the exact same “conversion” Which tracks did you use?
Unless you intend to enter the model in a competition ↩︎
Yup, you’re right!
And yeah, I don’t know I just wanted a Magach 6B, but no other kit for that really. So had to throw this boy back in time haha.
I used Takom’s T142 workable tracks!
Which, by the way… Were a complete nightmare to assemble.
Unless you flood the pin holes with cement, the track pad halves don’t stick together. But if you flood it with cement, it risks leaking out and cementing the “pins”, causing the whole track block to no longer be workable…
Really glad to see another one of your builds here, you really did a great job. I love the way your Magach turned out, and your paintwork and weathering is awesome!
But I’m super excited to see the Merkava Mk4m, I hope the build will be fun.
Those come with their M247 kit, too. Before I even started on that one, I sold the tracks on to someone else who claimed he was quite happy to assemble them I did this because the tracks assemble exactly the same way as RFM’s T80 Sherman tracks, and having done one of those in recent years was enough for me for the foreseeable future … (I then bought the Meng Magach kit to get its tracks and drive sprockets for the M247.)
The problem with doing the blazer active armor is that it is mounted off the turret and hull by welded mounting posts of various lengths which after attempting on two kits I had to get fitted for the dreaded trifocals using fine punch on varied thicknesses of plastic sheet and on a few of the top ones using plastic rod. It isn’t something to try till you’re a good many years in ..
But you did an impressive job
There are a few other differences between the 6B and 6B Gal than just the tracks, and in fact some Magach 6Bs were equipped with Merkava tracks as well. The sight and turret stowage bin are different from 6B to 6B Gal and are the main visual differences. There are kits of a base Magach 6B available, AFV Club make one and although it is always listed as M60 Blazer the old Italeri kit is on fact a 6B. But all that aside nice build and being satisfied with our results is really all that matters in our hobby
Oh and I forgot, I’m not sure an IDF tank can be “too” weathered. In the field they are generally pretty dirty😂
We usually wait for the rains to come since we have water restrictions. The only time we cleaned off our ride was during a full maintenance like complete rebuilds ..
I know what you mean about spacing the blazer off the hull. I did this on a Magach 5 that has been “in progress” for going on 20yrs now although I really haven’t modeled much for the last 10 due to my mental health. But the result makes a big difference in the look of the model and can add a lot to the realism
My physical Health stopped me from building I can’t feel my fingers or hold my tools due to serious nerve damage due to spinal cord damage.
As for mental health issues I know building helps I’ve gotten lots of guys suffering from PTSD and TBI into the hobby and they all say it’s helped them more then some MD telling them about a new pill etc.
I actually assembled the Ryfield sherman tracks for my Tamiya M-51 (will be done very soon)!
And those weren’t a nightmare at all! They assembled very nicely! Yeah, it took time to assemble and it took a lot of cleanup (mainly filing) on the track blocks, but when it came to cement, they did so without issue
The difference between the easy Ryefield tracks and the nightmarish Takom tracks are how the pins fit into their holes. In the takom tracks, there’s some issue, and you have to flood the hole with cement.
I’m going to have to deal with the Takom tracks again when I do my Magach 3, not looking forward to that…
Great M247 as well! Didn’t even know such a vehicle existed
Thank you!
Hmm, the blazer ERA wasn’t too difficult, but I definitely had to use my pin vise to enlarge and deepen the holes on the turret to get most of the ERA to fit nicely on it XD
I was going off the Magach 6B I saw in Yad Lashiryon (Israel’s tank musuem, tons of tank there), but seems there are differences I didn’t notice!
And yeah lmao, I guess I can say unevenly weathered then?
I don’t know where the other half of the sprocket went, I searched through my entire scrap pile and boxes…
I did find this sprocket half, but it seems to be very different from the others, and doesn’t fit with any of them
Which tracks did you use?
I did this because the tracks assemble exactly the same way as RFM’s T80 Sherman tracks, and having done one of those in recent years was enough for me for the foreseeable future … (I then bought the Meng Magach kit to get its tracks and drive sprockets 
