Out of my comfort zone, but sometimes I need to build something
Gonna build it straight from the box without aftermarket.
a lot of plastic, once you opened the box it wont fit in again
It’s my first box from Meng, and my first impression “a lot of parts for a single part”
7 parts for a single road wheel
next part the suspension, surprise it’s workable
dryfit the wheels
to be continued
Looks good so far but I totally get about what you say with regards to the wheels… That would kill it for me… I get fed up with 3 parts for a track link…
It’s a lovely kit Jan- you will enjoy it!
That maybe a lot of parts, but probably the only way to really represent the actual wheel given moulding limitations:
Nice build so far.
It was a nice trouble free build,tracks were tedious but worth the efforts
I’ve got this one but was unaware it took 7 parts for one wheel. I already have a downer on wheels and this will tip me over the edge!! But I will be watching this to see how it goes.
Great start!
Nice. I still need to get this Tank in my stash. Just need to do my homework as see which is worth purchasing Meng or Takom. Maybe both 
Meng does Merkava III and IV, Takom I and II. You can choose depending on the timeframe/battle/deployment of interest.
@Jan_Degryse Looking great, IMHO the kit needs no aftermarket at all as long as someone is not too nit-picky
I see said the blind man lol. Thanks for the info my friend. Smart move by the manufacturers as it makes a perfect sense and not waist $$ by repeating what has already been made.
They don’t compare to the Meng one BUT the LIC Version of the Academy kit is decent and can be a fun build. You can use this kit to build an early (no loader’s hatch) or later Merkava IV. The hull shape is nice, the suspension decent, detail is good and there is antislip molded where it should be. The tracks have sinkmarks and are a bit on the thin side, so aftermarket tracks would be a huge improvement. Legend used to produce a single piece bustle rack but the ball and chain is a huge PITA to do. Academy provides PE parts for that but provides the balls in two halves that you need to remove from the trees. If one is looking for a cheap MkIV and especially wants to do the first barch of vehicles the Academy kit is ok.
EDIT: Meng also does an early IV kit, kit no TS-049, haad forgotten aboout it.
Thanks Nikos 
Johnny here is my rendition of the Academy Merkava 4 LIC.
Academy Merkava 4 LIC
I used AM balls and chains.
Edit: it looks like the image doesn’t show up so I’ve added a link to my article.
Olivier
Oh,I also liked the way Meng handled the ball and chain armor,pretty easy compared to some AM
That looks really good Olivier… I’ve bookmarked that link
Thanks, for the time I 'am impressed from the kit, it takes his time to assemble but until know everything fits ferry well. But still it’s a lot of filigree parts.
Step 7 & 8 of the plan
my merkava IV built out of box
the most difficult part was the assembly of the tracks I had to make myself an assembly jig to make my work easier
I used the paint ak real color sinai gray 1990
Doesn’t a after market company make these storage boxes in resin full of gear?
