Border Model Israeli Merkava Mk.2D (BT-037) 1:35

[Mike]

Israeli Merkava Mk.2D (BT-037)

1:35 Border Model via Albion Alloys

 

 

Merkava means ‘Chariot’ in Hebrew, which is an appropriate name for an Israeli tank.  They began development of an indigenous solution to their armour needs in the early 70s, taking most of the decade for it to reach maturity in the shape of the Merkava Mk.I.  The design established key criteria, making survivability of the crew a key requirement, mounting the engine in the front of the vehicle with the crew and turret at the rear, above a capacious crew compartment, which can be used for medical evac and troop carriage when ammo has been unloaded, exiting to the rear for safety.  The Mk.I utilised the 105mm license-built version of the American M68 gun, and this was carried forward to the Mk.II, which was an incremental upgrade to implement lessons learned during the 1982 war in Lebanon.  The internal 60mm mortar was moved totally inside the vehicle for remote operation, adding shot-trap covers to defeat rocket projectiles with shaped warheads.  The transmission was switched to an automatic unit that reduced the workload of the driver and freed up some space for additional fuel, upgrading other critical systems, such as optics, imaging, and improving the overall accuracy of the gun.  The Mk.IIB added thermal optics and more fire-control improvements, while the IIC added appliqué armour to the turret to improve defense against air attacks.

 

The Mk.IID extended the appliqué armour to the hull and side skirts, taking the shape of modular blocks that can quickly be replaced in the event of damage or operational detonation, to protect the crews, the tank, and to enable engineers to return it quickly to the frontline if it should be hit during battle.  After reaching service in 1983, the majority of Mk.IIs were out of service by 2015, those that remained being converted for use as specialist vehicles, either armoured personnel carriers, ARVs, and other tasks where rough ground handling and armour would be an advantage to the mission.  By 2016 the last units had been re-equipped with Merkava Mk.IIIs that had started to reach battalions as early as 2003, and the newer IVs that replaced it just a year later.

 

 

The Kit

This is a new tooling from Border, and it has a full interior, plus workable tracks, with a lot of detail present.  It arrives in a top-opening box with a painting of the subject matter on the front, driving through a stretch of desert, kicking up plenty of dust in the process.  Inside the box are ten sprues and three large parts in grey styrene, fifteen trees of track links also in grey, a clear sprue, a bag containing eight metal springs, a small Photo-Etch (PE) brass fret, a smaller decal sheet, and the instruction booklet that is printed in spot colour on glossy white paper, with profiles on the rear pages, plus 3D renders of the interiors with additional painting guides to assist with detail painting.  Detail is excellent, including raised and recessed features, a finely engraved anti-slip textured coating on the horizontal surfaces, and a crisp rendering of the diesel power-unit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the lower hull, adding rear surfaces to suspension mounts, and towing eyes on the underside of the glacis, before fitting the Mine Resistant keel to the bottom, which has a pivoting plate under the glacis, and has additional eyes added.  More suspension parts and armour shields are added on both sides, fitting the final drive housings to the front, and a single return roller at the mid-point on each side of the hull.  The 1,500hp turbo-diesel engine is a large lump, starting with the twelve-cylinder block that is a two-part assembly initially, building a large square box with twin fans on the top from ten parts, mating it to the top of the block, and filling a gap at one end with two detail inserts.  Transmission is next, formed from two main sections, plus a pair of end-caps that are each built from five parts, mating it to the engine with a five-part turbo unit between it, which has some more excellent detail moulded-in.  A two-part tapering box is fitted in the front of the hull, adding a multi-part assembly that forms a rough H-shape behind it, fitting the rear crew access door from two parts into the cut-out in the rear bulkhead.  The floor with cut-out for the turret basket is laid into the lower hull along with another box to the side of the rear door, after which detailing of the interior is started, which includes a folding-backed seat for the driver on the left hull side, and a couple of pressurised bottles just behind him.  A complex bulkhead that separates the power-pack from the driver is built from three facets, plus a set of driver controls on the left side, starting work on the floor of the turret basket, which includes a PE shield that is rolled to match the curve of the basket base, a couple of seats with small backs, and a large tapering stowage bag that is strapped to the floor.  The engine and basket are both inserted into position in the lower hull, adding an exhaust duct from the engine on the right side.  An internal bulkhead is detailed with a set of ammo boxes on brackets, a breather and box, plus a tapering ‘airlock’ to the rear exit, slotting it in place on a raised guide near the back of the hull, adding seven ready-rounds to the turret basket, and a stack of twelve boxed rounds to the rear right of the hull, each box made from two parts.

 

The adjustable idler axles are fixed to the very rear of the hull on the outside, making the idler wheels from five parts each, and the drive sprockets from two parts each.  The road wheels are paired, and made from four parts per pair, making up twelve in total, to mount in pairs on bogies that are based on three-part castings, plus swing-arms that have a basic spring moulded-in, and trap a real metal spring between the two ends, the details of which are on an errata sheet that also corrects a few mis-labelled parts at the same time.  The sprung units are fitted one each side of the bogie, making four with two three-part struts, and two with a pair of brackets on the bottom pivot points, installing those with struts at each end of the hull, and without in the centre, locking the loose ends in place with additional brackets, whilst adding the idler wheels on stub axles, and slotting the drive-sprockets in place at the front.  The track links each have four sprue gates on the curved edges that will be mostly hidden, and have been moulded without ejector-pin marks that should speed up the process of preparing them.  They are made up in lengths of five links, securing them together with the pins that are moulded in lengths of five on carriers to ease construction, cutting them off once in place, although a jig would have been appreciated.  113 links are needed for each side of the vehicle, and it will take some time to make them, but the design has been fine-tuned to ensure it’s as quick as possible.

 

 

 

Before the upper hull is mated to the lower, sections of the undersides of the sponsons are created, fitting a PE mesh panel to the right forward section, and a hose to the left forward section, the rear lengths simple flat parts, all of which fit into slots in the sides of the hull.  Inverting the upper hull, you will notice several raised ejector-pin marks, which should be cut away first, drilling out four flashed-over holes in the rear deck, and two more behind the driver, slipping three clear vision blocks through the deck in front of his hatch, then flipping it back over to glue in two PE mesh panels and two rear inserts over the track runs, plus two more recessed stowage boxes and appliqué armour panels either side of the turret ring, some pioneer tools at the rear, and the driver’s hatch that is made from two parts and rotates with the help of a washer beneath the deck that allows it to pivot if you’re careful with the glue.  The cut-out in the glacis is filled with two inserts, the forward part holding the travel lock that is made from two parts, adding another PE mesh panel to the space on the opposite side of the driver’s hatch after bending it to fit.  Two more appliqué armour packs are installed on the left front fender around a grille, mounting the relocated headlight to the front, and the right headlight in its usual recessed position, both with clear lenses.  The rear bulkhead is decked out with two stowage boxes, and two hatches are fixed in their openings, adding separate hinges and another layer of armour once they are installed.  More storage and light clusters are mounted on top of the larger boxes, making up two louvred panels from four parts, each one with weighted lengths of chain along the bottom edge, and fixing them both over the hatches.  A fuel tank is glued over the left rear sponson, then the upper hull can be mated with the lower, fixing a pair of two-part brackets to the front of the lower glacis plate once the glue is dry.  The hull sides have detail plates fitted, adding two short mudguards with separate sides to the front, before building the side skirts, one for each side that are made from two layers, mounting on several recesses in the hull sides.

 

It's time to make the turret, based upon the ring with the floor moulded-in, adding seats, and copious quantities of equipment around the rim.  This is put to one side while the barrel is made from two halves, with a hollow muzzle as a separate part, sliding it through the tapering inner mantlet and clamping it in position with a two-part ring.  The breech is built from seven parts, sliding the barrel into the front, then building the breech block from four parts, which traps the centre parts without glue so that they can remain mobile.  It is glued to the rear of the barrel, adding extra details around the breech, including the coaxial machine gun and elevation mechanism, then installing it in the lower turret, resting the pivots on the trunnions moulded into it.  A bulkhead with detail parts is fitted at the rear of the crew area, doing the same with the interior sides, which locate on raised guides on the lower turret, replicating the thickness of the turret’s armour.  Before the upper turret is mated with the lower, it must be detailed with periscopes and other sighting equipment and other parts, making up a faceted cupola that fits in a ring with a similarly faceted top, with more small parts, the loader’s hatch, and an aerial at the rear of the bustle, which has a PE shroud around the lower end.  Two bustle hatches are installed on the left, one having two ammo boxes on a rack, the other with a PE part on the underside, dotting more small parts around the top, then making up more ammo boxes on a rack for the large bustle hatch, plus two slender two-layer hatches on the front left, and three more on the mid-right.  A machine gun is fitted to a three-part pintle-mount, fixing a searchlight with clear lens on the breech, and a three-part ammo box on the left.  This is installed on the right side of the turret roof, making another from a single part with two-part ammo box for the right side of the roof.  The sighting recess has a pair of protective doors fitted in the open position, inserting the clear lens in between them, and closing the turret after fitting a forward-leaning aerial with separate base on the left rear, and a vertical aerial on the right, with the same PE shroud as the first one.  Two triangular armour packages extend the turret on each side of the barrel, adding a lifting-eye and triangular stowage box to the left side of the bustle, an insert on the top-side of the mantlet, then fitting a sensor to the right side, and two spare track-links on the rear.

 

The forward-facing aspect of the turret roof that is most exposed to enemy fire is covered with a single part that represents several armour packages, adding a cover over the barrel shroud, and yet another machine gun in the centre that fits on the mantlet with the remote sensors mounted behind the breech, the ammo box on the left, while the gun is made from a two-part breech with separate barrel and mount.  There’s never enough room inside a tank for storage, so a bustle basket is needed, which has a tubular set of railings, with more weighted chain to defeat/weaken incoming fire to the shot-trap under the bustle.  A framework floor is covered with PE mesh and four more spare track links, making up two sides that have the same weighted chain, and additional stowage compartments fixed to the outer faces, joining them all together and fitting the completed assembly under the bustle.  Two frames have been made and sited on the sides of the turret, which are used as supports for the next round of appliqué armour panels that are made for each side, each one built from four parts that form the surface on which smoke grenade launchers, grab handles, and extinguishers are fitted, gluing the completed armour packages to the sides of the turret, twisting the turret into position on the hull, and locking it in place with the bayonet lugs moulded into the turret ring.

 

 

Markings

Two pages of the instruction booklet are devoted to painting the interior, and are followed by two more pages of profiles, one page for each decal option on the sheet, the profiles having been designed by AMMO, and using their brand of paint codes to call out each colour.  No information is given regarding dates or locations for the options, but from the box you can build one of the following:

 

 

 

The decals are printed anonymously, and consist of mainly white markings in Hebrew, a few of which have black shadows.  Colour density and sharpness are suitable for the task, and the two colours seem to align well.

 

 

Conclusion

This is a very well-detailed model of the second generation Merkava, and that detail continues to the interior.  You’ll have to ensure that the upper hull is relieved of its ejector-pin marks if you intend showing off the interior, but as they’re raised, that’s just a matter of cutting and sanding them away.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Available in the UK in all good model shops.

Review sample courtesy of