There were quite a few reviews and discussions about the “myriad” of problems with this kit when it came out in early 2000s, but I cannot find any of them now - i.e., it was based on a prototype, incorrect idlers and wheels etc. Looking at available resources and the upgrade kits from Legend etc., they all seem to be about upgrading the existing kit to later production batches (with roof armor) and models (like Baz fire control system etc.) rather than fixing problems with the actual kit.
My question is; does the kit, out of the box, actually represent a production model or was it a complete prototype/made-up version? I think one key difference is the roof armor with the Academy kit and the aftermarket updates. With very few early photos of production models I could find and almost all recent photos of early/non-3D Merkava IIIs having been upgraded with roof armor, it is tough to say if all production models had the roof armor or whether it was a later retro-fit / introduced in the subsequent production batches?
Are there any other big “mistakes” in the kit?
Thanks in advance
Deniz
The dimensions are off, turret is too flat, the wheels aren’t nice, the tracks are old rubber ones. I hopes that Meng will do a MK3 early.
I have a resin turret from Legend and i wanted to use it with a Meng MK3 base but the turret is too small for this kit. For me the Academy kit don’t worth money and time.
I believe it does represent a production version, but the turret is horribly misshapen on the right side. Compare the shape of the side armor modules below.
It’s a shame, because nobody else makes this same version.
That’s exactly my problem as well, there are no real alternatives, because all the manufacturers switched to the saucer turrets immediately and skipped over the flat early turret that still seems to be in use.
The right-side view is interesting. I think there are different types/combinations of side armor that went in that location, with the picture you have showing an empty one. I will try to compare that shape with the kit itself to figure out the overall flatness issue (I think the height of the turret is supposed to be the problem).
Here is another side view that shows the stepped right side armor that is more single part, rather than the split version on the kit (it is two seperate parts).
and another version that looks split like the kit:
The interesting one is neither of these show the extra armor on the side of the sight (part D8 below), and all of the armor is flat rather than the uniform holes it has on the kit.
Again, I have collected a couple of these kits over time and I don’t want to have to chase the Legend turrets that are not in production anymore. I will try to scratch-build the roof armor on a couple of the kits as well - looks geometrical enough and following the kit outline.
Interesting photos - thanks for sharing.
There are a couple of other options:
Meng makes the 3 BAZ with the ‘flat’ turret which you could kitbash with the Academy kit to backdate it: Merkava Mk.3 BAZ, Meng Model TS-005 (2012)
And I just remembered, SS Model makes it as a 3D kit - looks like it’s available (or soon will be) in 1/35: Pre-sale 1/35 Military Model Kit Israel Merkava MK.3B Main Battle Tank | eBay
As well as Legend, there was a corrected turret from a company called Castoff, but that’s long gone.
Are you saying that manufacturer has been “cast off”?
Ken
Thanks for the 3D kit option, I had not seen that before. The version information is interesting as usual (where I see people calling certain Merkava production runs whatever they want without any official source). It is not IIIB for Baz (which people usually mean), but another intermediate version with the roof armor but neither the Baz-related commander sights nor the armored engine deck. Here is a similar version with a cope cage installed:
They also seem to have a 3C version with Baz components installed in the turret and the armored engine deck, whereas the Meng kit only says Mk. III Baz, and has the turret and engine deck armor and the Baz components.
The Meng kit is on my radar as I work my way through the Merkava 3 versions. I already have their 3Ds. I wish there was a way to get their sprues separately for the turret armor from this kit. It would have made life much easier 
Deniz
I actually liked the kit for what it was. I only had to add the non slip using fine railroad sand and won viewers choice for best in show.
I might be off scale a bit but who cares
Not sure if the Meng kit is considered the standard for accuracy, but I am going to take out the caliper and compare the hull and basic turret dimensions of the 3D early kit with the Academy kit this weekend and post some photos. As a bonus, this Meng kit actually has the turret top and engine armor pieces as separate parts that I am going to use to duplicate for the Academy kits to create different variations of upgrades.
I also found these pictures of new things hung onto the turret sides of both III and some IVs. These are apparently new ERA boxes (which look more like tool boxes) in interesting patterns (especially compared to how the Magach 6 ERA blocks were built to cover everything).
Deniz
Some measurements and photos for the hull first (and again this is just a comparison between the kits, and does not assume one or the other is accurate)…
The width of the hulls are only off by 1.96mm according to my calipers, the Academy hull coming in at ~103.94 and the Meng at ~105.9. and the length is off by ~1.5mm (211,5mm vs. 210mm), but it is difficult to measure because the front taper is built differently (see photos).
And looking at side by side photos, the major components and panels actually almost match (please note the Meng hull has a separate engine deck).
Deniz
The bottom is more difficult, because the geometry is different; Meng’s hull is built higher, but the angles of panels match quite nicely (except the very front panel of Academy is maybe tapered a few degrees tighter). The only thing I don’t like is the Academy’s wheel blocks are cone-like vs. cylindrical (see photos again). It might be different production batches, but also Academy might have simplified/made it up because they might not have seen the bottom of the hull. I might try to shape the Academy ones better by cutting off the end of the cone.
Deniz
ps: I will follow up with the turret later today. Let me know if anyone needs more comparison photos, while I have both kits in front of me.
“And I just remembered, SS Model makes it as a 3D kit - looks like it’s available (or soon will be) in 1/35: Pre-sale 1/35 Military Model Kit Israel Merkava MK.3B Main Battle Tank | eBay”
I’ve bought a few models from SS in 1/72. All of them had annoying features; ie; omission, simplifications, poor fitting parts, and sometimes warped parts. I would look for reviews on any of their kits before buying.
I agree. I don’t have any of their full kits, but have bought a whole bunch of their detail parts. They can be very good with top-drawer details; but others items have been poor, with quality control issues thrown in. So pretty mixed overall.
Looking again at that Merkava 3, some details look off, like the skirts. The turret shapes look much better than Academy though.
I believe from my research into fixing the Academy Mk3 has the turret as the biggest problem with a correctly “shaped” result. I know that the suspension is also messed up on both sides but in different ways 
nice job Academy, but it’s mostly hidden by skirts.
I solved the turret problem by purchasing mine on eBay a long while ago which included a Coree conversion with the earliest version of the turret add on armour, which comes with a full resin turret.
In the real MK3 vs Academy kit photos it’s quite evident that the last “wheel” position on the kit is misplaced, and certainly a few other wheels.
I let my academy kit + the Legend turret in their box for a one day project but i hopes a better kit will come one day.
The photos I posted are a bit misleading. I think it is the second to last wheel that is 1-2 millimeters off - closer to the last wheel, when you align the front of the lower hulls (alignment is really difficult because of the different geometries of the hull parts). I am more bothered by the shape of the wheel mount (half cone vs. half cylinder), and I want to check if that was a production change or completely made-up.
For me, I think the bigger point so far is that it is not that critically throw-it-in-the thrash bad as I’d thought/read (especially the hull top and running gear) considering its price and when it came out. With that, I still didn’t get a chance to figure out the turret problems - I only have the IIID turret from Meng that has the flying saucer shape built as a single piece rather than as add-ons, which would have actually helped a lot with strength and alignment issues.
As an additional question, I am 3/4ths of going through the IDF photo thread here, and I am surprised by the distribution of the Merkava photos so far. I don’t follow the exact units involved or can’t say why some units might be more photographed in these series. But everything being equal, there seems to be almost half Merkava IV/IVMs and half Merkava IIIs in the field, with most surprisingly, almost a 10-1 ratio between older non-flying saucer Merkava IIIs (Bs - no engine armor, and Cs - engine armor all with turret-top armor, with a lot of them having Baz components) vs. new IIIDs. It almost feels like instead of upgrading the older IIIs with the new armor package of IIID, the production switched to IVs and the older IIIs only got the basic turret and engine armor. If that is the case, I will need to get more of Meng’s straight-turret kit and/or find ways to upgrade the Academy kits to create the many variations, especially the new rubber bands that seem to be glued on everything zimmerit-like.
Deniz
Yeah, it’s definitely usable and there are nice details in places. Still, I really wish somebody would do a new-tool early Merkava 3.
If you’re okay with taking a knife/saw to what’s in the box, this is where you could start: Cut away the RH turret armor module (keeping it intact if possible) score a bend in it roughly where the white line is, then re-fit it with the front part angled downwards. Once you’ve fixed the roof, then you’ll need to reshape the sides to match.
While you’re at it, the coax slot is too shallow, so extend it backwards.
This is from memory - I started on the same project a few years back, but it got lost in a house move. Probably somebody on this forum can give you more accurate guidance.
Something I find hilarious/infuriating is that the Revell 1/72 and Trumpeter 1/72 kits have the exact same turret shape as the Academy 1/35 kit. Possible explanations are: a) nobody does any proper research, or b) it’s actually the real thing that’s inaccurate.
I was just checking those kits and they also have the exact same hull bottom with the half conical wheel mounts. It is either super laziness on these manufacturers or maybe there is something to it, as I cannot find a photo of a rolled-over early Merkava III
Deniz
Thanks for the drawing and the instructions. What did you mean by fixing the roof - adding the roof armor or something else?
Deniz
No, I should’ve said ‘upper turret’ or similar - just fixing the part in the picture. Point is, once you’ve done that you still need to fix the shapes of the RH turret side pieces.