Merkava Mk.1 anti-slip, ball & chains?

[ErikB]

Hi everybody,

I'm busy with a quickie project; Tamiya's Merkava Mk.1. Looking at walk-arounds on the internet I see that the museum pieces have both the ball & chain protection at the back of the turret and the anti-slip coating on the horizontal surfaces of the tank.

I'd like to finish the model as a vehicle from the 1982 Lebanon era.

Are the ball & chains retrofits from the period that the Merkava Mk.2 and newer entered service, as I believe it was one of the modifications from Mk.1 to Mk.2 as a result from lessons learned during the Lebanon war with the Mk.1?

Was the anti-slip surface in place from the outset or was it a later modification?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,

Erik B.

[Ingo Degenhardt]

About the ball & chain - according to my literature it was invented after the 1982 Lebanon war and a standard feature from the MK II onwards but MK I tanks were also retrofitted with the device after the war.

Don't know about the anti-slip coating.

[demiles]

short answer yes and yes

check out the links below

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkava

scroll down to merk 1 and pic on right

http://www.israeli-weapons.com/weapons/vehicles/tanks/merkava/MerkavaMk1.html

Edited January 6, 2016 by demiles

[XL929]

The Merkava I at the Latrun museum has the anti-slip coating, but no ball & chain turret armour. (well it did when I visited in 2013!)

[ErikB]

Thanks for the answers, guys! Much appreciated!

Cheers,

Erik.