Thanks for the clearer images!
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Here’s an update!
I’ve been working on the Sho’t Kal a ton, I’ve almost gotten the hull down! I’m just waiting for packages since I honestly lost a ton of parts because I got this kit before I moved this year. I’ll still be able to finish this and get it all done though. I’m planning to finish the ZiL by about this Friday or so, and then I’ll just focus on painting and diorama making next week! I’m personally pretty happy with the way it’s turned out, since I always thought that resurrecting this kit might be impossible.
Here’s some photos:
I put on this IDF Jerry can from the AK IDF accessories set on the left fender, there’s normally an IDF water can there but the kit part has these two huge indentations on the side of them; and I have a photo of a YKW Sho’t Kal with a gas can on it, so I just decided to go with that.
Also this kit has a bunch of inaccuracies for a YKW Sho’t Kal Alef, but I noticed a couple that I don’t remember anybody else mentioning.
I realized this while looking at a photo of a mount for one of those folded stretchers that the idf just loves putting everywhere (since I lost the stretcher and was planning to make my own mount for one), and I realized that the back towing hook/loop that the kit includes isn’t present on any YKW Sho’t Kal Alef. I’m 99% sure that this tow hook/loop only started appearing on the Sho’t Kal Gimel, it could’ve started appearing on the Sho’t Kal Bet but with the amount of reference photos it has (barely any) I couldn’t really tell.
(Here it is on some Sho’t Kal Gimels though)
But anyways, I removed this part with single bladed sprue cutters (which are SO good if you don’t have one just get it already, you get instant clean cuts with them), and I reapplied the rolled steel texture onto the area and it’s like it wasn’t even there in the first place:
(It requires some filling but make sure to put on the tow cable holding bracket on the back at an angle, the one on my kit might be a bit too angled but the kit tells you to put it on completely straight which isn’t accurate)
But I got the mantlet cover mostly done yesterday with Tamiya epoxy putty, I feel pretty nice about it but something’s off to me. (I think I gotta add more material on the bottom, it might not be tall enough)
(Also ignore the black specks, I used gloves that had dried primer on them)
I feel pretty nice about my mantlet cover but compared to the real thing something just feels off, I forgot to put it there beforehand, but I’ll still add the headlamp/50 cal mount to the mantlet.
Also finally I lost a couple of PE parts but at least I’ve got an AFV club centurion kit to steal parts off of, but they still dont 100% fit. I’m sure none of you noticed this until I mentioned it but these PE parts have fit problems, but I don’t know how to fix this or if I really have the time to fix this 
Thanks a ton for reading! I’m feeling way more confident about my progress on this, I’m planning to try out hairspray chipping on both the Sho’t Kal and ZiL to save time though.
Take care and happy building!
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Mantlet cover looks great. 
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Nice progress. Maybe you can add the mantlet cover stiffeners from strips of masking tape. That’s what I do and I’m quite happy with the appearance. And retention strips made from .010x .040 strips, and bolt heads.
On those PE gaps, oddly enough I started working up a photo before I even scrolled down far enough to see your photos. Definitely poor engineering there - not your fault in the least.
You could try sliding a chisel bladed underneath the glacis armor to loosen it, and raise it until it meets those PE pieces. It’ll leave a gap, but you can add welds beads all the way around, which you’d have had to do in any case.
If that doesn’t work, my second option would be to slice off those mounts with the three bolts. Then slide an oversized piece of styrene underneath the gaps to fill them. After that briefly sets, again with your trusty chisel blade, slice straight down on top of those pieces, using the PE parts as a guide. The excess should fall right off, leaving you with a tiny sliver that would have been nearly impossible to stick in there any other way. After that, replace the mounts with strips and bolt heads. The entire thing should be invisible once painted.
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Thanks for the response! I think I’ll remake the bolted mount for the PE parts, and I’ll definitely add the rim to the mantlet!
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Hi everyone!
I’ve been nonstop working on this project for the past week, and I decided to take a break from it since I won’t be able to get this done before this Saturday (the day the IPMS show I planned to make this for happens). I’m honestly SO glad that I’m gonna postpone this, it’s felt more like a chore than a fun project and I’ll have more time to do whatever I want with it! I’ll probably take a bit of a break, but I’ll 100% post a more in depth update post on this soon.
Thanks for reading and I hope you’ve all been doing well!
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Could it be that the crinkles on the real thing are sharper, more well defined and not so many?
Those PE brackets/supports: Could you make adjusted copies from thin plasticard?
Ordinary copier/printer paper soaked with CA-glue would work. Cut first and adjust the fit and then soak with CA.
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I thought the crinkles might’ve been too numerous too, I think I’ll consider going over them a bit. I’ll look at those PE fender supports and see what I’ll do about them though. Thanks for all the suggestions!
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Hi everyone!
So I went to that IPMS show I was planning to make this project for, and I got this in the mail to add to this diorama too!
I’ll have this at the distant front of the Sho’t Kal; from what I know these TOW jeeps passed through the Suez Canal into Egypt, and were in action in the very late stages of the YKW so I think it’ll be appropriate for the time frame of my diorama.
I also got this figure set from the IPMS show along with a ton of other things:
These figures aren’t 100% accurate for YKW TOW jeep crewmen but the Israelis did use the same uniforms later in the war, so I’ll use the same bodies but I’ll get replacement heads for them. I’ll still need a driver figure though, so if anybody has any recommendations for jeep driver figures (ideally M38 jeep drivers) which are wearing only basic military fatigues to use I’d really appreciate it!
But finally I’ve been working on the TOW jeep and I’ll post again soon to keep you all updated, and I’ll share more about the IPMS show too.
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Thank you! I’ll look into my options on how I’ll get this, thanks a ton for pointing it out!
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