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Merkava Mk. 4M Trophy (Meng)

Looks like a great model.

I hope you don't mind me asking this. Is it my imagination or are the road wheels on the left side NOT offset from those on the right side?

I like your weathering reference images too.

Cheers
 
Got this little package in the mail yesterday.

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After about 30 minutes of clean up they are ready to roll....Much nicer then the kit supplied tracks! :good: Though not totally sure about the resin trak pins


Tankbuilder said:
Is it my imagination or are the road wheels on the left side NOT offset from those on the right side?
Click to expand...

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner TB, it was the wife's B-Day so was out of town for a few days. You are seeing that correctly the road wheels are not offset. I'm not a Merk expert so not sure if this is correct...I sure hope it is.

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Nice that it came with pins. I suspect they will hold up well enough, you're not stressing them much.

I would like to see Scale Hardware make threaded track pins of various sizes but I know that would be a nightmare for them.
 
I agree that the resin pin should be ok just have to see what the failure rate will be when I install them as some of the pin holes needed a little cleaning/in largeing. Scale hardware did/does make some really kools stuff.
 
Are those tracks resin or styrene?

Meng goofed by not offsetting the left and right road wheels. The Merkava tanks have torsion bar suspension. Fortunately the goof isn't really that noticeable exxept to someone who is fairly familiar with Merkava tanks.

Cheers
 
Looking good. The pins work great but you need to be gentle with them, they break easily. I have started using brass rod. Aber for most of the tracks I've built. They give the hole size on the box which is awesome. .5mm would probably work well and be easier to insert.
James
 
@ Peter, the tracks are metal but the pins they provide in the kit are resin.

@ James, I got steel wire that I can use if a break to meny of the resin pins. ;)
 
errains said:
@ Peter, the tracks are metal but the pins they provide in the kit are resin.

@ James, I got steel wire that I can use if a break to many of the resin pins. ;)
Click to expand...
They require a bit of finesse but are actually quite good. One suggestion that might make it easier, or at least I found it easier. I chucked a drill bit and twisted it through the 2 tracks to be joined. Pulled it out a bit and started feeding in the pin. One side done pull the bit out and pin it. Despite taking a little longer it ended up faster in the long run. Also if the pin seems stuck, start flexing the link a bit. As for the steel wire, that works. I just found the rods so much easier and am thinking of using them from now on.
James
 
Bad Day at the Bench...the Track saga continues :bang head

So I finished assembling the Master Club tracks for one side and when I went to test fit the run of about 80 links it broke into 6 pieces. So I took a break and came back later and tried to reassemble the run but it continued to break apart. The worst thing is that the resin pins a slightly tapered. So they don't come out at all unless you do what I tried to do and drill them out in which the track was destroyed in the process...I stopped after four links. :vmad :vmad

...Maybe the kit tracks aren't that bad after all :facepalm :smack
 
Better now than later when the final assembly of the entire vehicle is complete. I use brass wire with Friul tracks, no BS. :soldier
 
Eric, I found that the resin pins on my JS-3M worked pretty well. I found the best method was to use your fingers, but to me they were not perfect as blackening the tracks means the resin stays same color. I am at my phone at the moment, I will dig & either tonite or early tomorrow I will look for the wire I used, cannot recall right now the diameter I used
 
That's tough Eric, Hobby Lobby has several size wire and brass. Are you using a drill bit on the resin pins?
 
Hey Bruce thanks for checking but I got some wire that will work...if I can the resin pins out.

Hey Bob I tried using a small drill bit but for some reason i was damaging the pin hole beyond usability so I stopped before I totally lost my kool. BTW we still on for tomorrow?
 
Roger on Lunch tomorrow, looking forward to it. :drinks

Instead of a drill bit, make a half round out of a brass rod. I've had issues with the drill bit heating up the resin pretty quickly and expanding, learned that here...:bang head.
 
errains said:
Hey Bruce thanks for checking but I got some wire that will work...if I can the resin pins out.

Hey Bob I tried using a small drill bit but for some reason i was damaging the pin hole beyond usability so I stopped before I totally lost my kool. BTW we still on for tomorrow?
Click to expand...

Hey I saw your earlier post, but this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmlB2HPf83Y&t=8s

has a great method. I want to say the hole diameter is like.023 so I think K&S makes the brass rod to fit it.
 
So after the fiasco (a thing that is a complete failure, especially in a ludicrous or humiliating way) with the tracks I decided to step away for a few days to get a fresh perspective. I worked on the kit tracks and kind of got them to where I was happy with them. Also started adding the anti-skid as well. Both are a bit time consuming but I'm not going to let this kit get the upper hand! :bat

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