I love that rough look on the track pads, I'm going to do that on my next projects pads.

This track has been a real pain and I can't believe that I still have one side left. I have had little time at night to work on this ans it seems that it has been two steps forward and one step back each time. Several times over the past week I have completed one section only to come back and find that the whole assembly that I added the previous night wasn't actually glued together. joy.
SO I think I am at the point on this side where everything is ready and all I have is the last two links and she is G2G. One questions for the rest of you, do you glue the track to the road wheels or not? I am thinking of doing this but am concerned about the final result and it looking hoaky. feedback welcome on this questions.

Here are the pics for the week including what the other side will look like soon, although I am still toying with the idea of having it be in the middle of fixing the track on the left side, since the track on the top rear is glue ravaged, from the spill a few months back. Thoughts again welcome on this. Cheers.

Started the track work on the left side and have most of the bottom run done. Two steps forward one step back seems to continue to be the theme with these. every time I think I am done with a segment and start to move on I am forced to go back and re glue. I am worrying about glueing the tracks together totally right now as I really do not know how to paint those without screwing up the paint I have already laid down on the hull and wheels. If any of you have some brilliant tips please enlighten me. My other question is do you all glue the tracks to the wheels or no? I am planning on adding in some weights in the kit to make it sit on the dio base a bit more realistically, but do I go ahead and glue it to the wheels to avoid "floating" ? Am hoping to get all this wrapped up before the holidays as I have been working on these two kits since February? Seems too long for a OOB build. That's it for now, cheers.

Quick update as work has been busy this past week. Have managed to take several steps forward only to take several more back. I am starting the top run at the drive sprocket and it is very challenging to say the least. Add to this that the drive sprocket is not properly aligned on the inner and outer teeth, making for some frustrating time spent getting things to fit together. The Testors glue is also an issue, as it takes a long time to set and does not set strongly. But managed to get some of it glued today, we will see how it holds the next time I pick it up. Will post pics sometime this week. Cheers.

Keep at it, it'll work out!
If you need parts, holler. I have a full set of the ESCI tracks and at least one set of drive sprockets. They're left-overs from a kit I bought for other parts on an early Magach 6B, which has just hit a snag......

Thanks Russ, it has been a struggle but I am determined to get this beasty finished and use the kit parts for the rest of it, including the antennas (I used to be pretty good at stretching sprue . . .). I am hoping to get some more work done this week as work settles back in and start on the hull and turret detail painting. Will post pics later today. Cheers.

Took the day off from work and my daughter asked if we could work on HER model airplane that we started at a show back the first of OCT. How could I say no? So after she got bored I did some work on the Blazer kit and made some antennas for the LAV and my M1A1 as well. I found a place online that sells carbon fiber rods in the .010 size in 2 and 4 ft lengths. The price is good, but shipping was expensive. Next time I will invest in a larger amount and offer them up pre-cut for those that are interested. But that is not important right now.
What IS important is that I have made some good progress today on the track. I have almost the whole top run done and fitted right now. One link left on the front to add and then just painting and mating the top and bottoms on both sides. I am opting to paint before I mount them in place as in my opinion, which isn't worth very much, it would be harder to paint it while attached to the model. If someone knows something here that I do not please speak up, otherwise I am going ahead on this. Here are some pictures to show my progress. Cheers.
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ted some detail paint work this afternoon and just finished doing some some. Managed to paint the smoke dischargers and the commanders periscopes. Not quite done with the scopes but we'll see how it turns out. Top ruin of the track fell apart earlier and am waiting for it to set right now. Looks good so far and if it holds we'll be in good shape for painting this weekend. Cheers.

Managed to get some detail painting done today and here are the results.













I also let the glue dry on the top left side run of track and it seems to be in good shape. Just paint both top and bottom runs and adjust fitting and connect. Sounds easy enough. . . .









I am having an issue with one of my airbrushes it keeps spitting and I am in fear that I need to replace the needle. I am hoping to have time tonight to take it apart and examine. Once that is done I will paint the tracks, do some pre weathering and then attach to the kit. I am hoping to get more of the detail painting done soon so that I can begin final assembly and begin the weathering process. Cheers.

Quick update; managed to fix the issue with the airbrush. Turns out the needle was not seated far enough forward on the action lever, go figure. Once I moved it forward so that it was in contact with the nozzle when not engaged, it worked perfectly, in fact even better than I expected. (Note to self, check fit of parts BEFORE re-assembling. . . and test before running live. . . .)
Since the airbrush was working I managed to get all 4 runs of track resprayed with some black rubber paint. Coverage was good and there is a nice look to it. Very pleased with the results. I need to find a few more links of track to make it all fit, 4 altogether I think. I will probably steal these from my other kit, unless I can find a few more somewhere on my desk. . . .(could have sworn I had more the other day. . . .).
Once I get a few more links prepped and ready I will begin the weathering process on them and then the whole beast. On a separate note, I also managed to spray some stowage for my other ongoing project and the results with the airbrush on that were again superb (to me at least). So I am hoping that I can get the stowage for this project lined up soon and begin THAT process, as I kinda feel that I have the hang of it now. I think. Cheers.

Update, photos:

This first photo is the track that got crazed by the glue accident. . . .

Pretty much everything you see in the photos above is in pieces right now. Tried putting the runs top and bottom together, and everything came apart. Woo, freakin, hoo. I was so ready to scream. Gonna attempt to reglue everything tomorrow night. What a giant pain in the . . . . Cheers.

Have not attempted any more work on the tracks due to lack of initiative. Those tracks are seriously sucking the life out of me. . .
In the mean time I have done some detail painting and added the MG's. The commanders MG did not want to stay attached so I added some kicker to the super glue and viola! That stuff is awesome! Hoping that I will have more time today but with family in town, I am not so sure. Cheers.

Managed to get some work done on the tracks looks like I am going to be a few links short of a run on both sides. I have decided that I am going to plunder the other kit for some "spare" track" and managed to get a few links dinged up and even primed black. I will trim these from the tree and add them to the runs this week, time permitting. I took some photos that I will post later (they are on the other computer) on tonight. But so far the work this weekend looks like it is holding and that is good news. Cheers.

Last post here was on Nov 28, I have been that busy with work and the LAV C2! The LAV is finished, just under the wire for the Command Campaign to earn a ribbon, if we can ever get the photos to upload
I am still trying to get the track to stay together for a long enough period of time to handle so that I can weather it and call it done and permanently glue it on the beast. I have broken it down into sections that seem to be able to stay together and have started doing some metallic dry brushing on all of the center guides and end connectors. The photos that I have of 60's in IDF service show the tracks caked with dirt and dust and only a bit of metal showing through. My plan is to lay the metal look down, add a few washes, then dust with over spray, set in place and weather the rest of it and dusting with chalks at the end. We'll see how this turns out. I still need to get stowage going for this, as I have not started any. But I have some ideas and plenty of black jerry cans. . . .cheers.

Managed to get some sand overspray on the tracks the other day, only to have every thing start falling apart again. Yesterday I was able to reglue several of the sub-assemblies of the track and managed to get the right side track on and now it looks like I need to take out one link to make it tight. oh boy (can you feel the sarcasm?) so once I get one side glued together and onto the wheels I will do the left side and then start some weathering on the tracks.
My plan now is to add back some of the rubber and then begin the washes and drybrushing. I will be adding more dust onto these once the whole vehicle is assembled. I would like to be able to wrap this up under the one year mark as I feel like it is taking way to long. Haven't begun on the stowage yet, and honestly I am not looking forward to it right now, but I am sure that my outlook will change soon enough.




You can see in the above the the length is just a bit too long. I am hoping that the removal of one link will be easy and fix the issue. . . .

I know you've put an immense amount of work into those tracks, but if it hasn't been said already your best option might be to bin them and use AFV Club workable tracks instead.

Kevin;
believe me I have considered it MANY, MANY times. More than I want to mention, in fact. But I committed myself to and OOB build and come hell or high water that is what I am going to do. Only the commanders MG mount was not standard equip on this as it was just a giant pile of junk. But thank you. I am going to do my best to make it work and look good too. How are things looking from your perspective?

Still trying to get the left side to cooperate, will post photos when my hands thaw out. Its cold in that garage today.Brrrr.

Ok here are the latest pics. Left side FINALLY went together and these were taken while the glue was drying. Seems to be holding ok so far, hopefully it will hold up over the long haul.

I now need to start putting together the stowage package for this beast. I know that I am going to make some bed rolls and fart sacks from tissue (the old school way). I have some Israeli jerry cans, as well as some old AEF resin boxes that will be used, might even make me some copies now that they are no longer around . . .
A spare road wheel, some ammo boxes and ammo tubes and some personal bags and such from the verlinden line. What else am I missing for a circa 1982 PFG Magach?
Cheers.









that's it for now until the garage warms up. Brrrr.

Congrats on getting some tracks on, I know you've been fighting them for a while.
Your stowage sounds good. There's lots of good pics from the Peace for Galilee operation showing the Magachs loaded up, just like US tanks from years past and present. No suprise one of the mods the M60 got later was a bigger bustle rack.

Russ;
thanks for the comments. I just ordered some Verlinden stuff and that with the old Verlinden stuff I have and the odd AEF pieces I think i will be able to make enough stowage for several IDF vehicles. Your is coming along nicely too, I like the cover for the bustle rack. My question would be why not make it go over the top of the rack so that you can cover all the stowage? There is still room to place things on top and still have it nice and cluttered. I have some great pics from the old Tank Magazine invasion of Lebanon issue that has some great photos and that is what I have been working off. If I ever get the chance I will scan them and post them here. Looking forward to seeing yours finished. BTW, what tracks did you use for yours?

I have three major sub assemblies now. The lower hull with all of the running gear, the upper hull and the turret. These have just been give two light coats of future. I am going to let this dry and hit it again tomorrow with the same to build up a really good seal as I am going to go a bit more aggressive with the oil washes on this one and want to make sure that we are not scrubbing off any acrylic paint.
Had to re flue on small section of track that some how came apart, it seems to be holding right now.
Stowage is on the way and I am already gathering what I have and dividing it into groups by colour. My plan is to have stowage painted and ready to go on just as I am ready to begin weathering, assuming that things arrive on time.
From the photos that I have it looks like the IDF ammo boxes/cans are all painted in the "minty green" like the smoke grenades. Can any one confirm this? BTW, this would be c 1982. All for now. Cheers.

Started the weathering process yesterday. Managed to get all three sub assemblies covered in a wash and "filter" (my filters are subtle and not super defined). I will let these dry for a few days and then check the saturation and colour, see what needs to be adjusted and make additions where needed.

Also managed to get some of the stowage cut from the trees, cleaned up, washed and primed. Will give these a base coat tonight assuming that I can find some time. There are still a few other stowage items that will need to be made up soon, such as road wheels and spare track, but these should be easy to do.

All in all it was a productive day and managed to get a lot of things accomplished. I will add photos when I am confident the oils are dry as I do not want to get any prints on it now. My biggest concern is joining all of the subs together without screwing up the work I have done already. I have been working how I will join the upper and lower hulls permanently without getting glue all over the place and ruining the weathering. So far I have not come up with a good plan so if any of you have suggestions, by all means let me know. Cheers for now.

Ok, so here are the first pics of the first stage of the weathering process. This is the general wash, filter and what I am gonna call a limited "pin wash" although I may not be using the terminology correctly.
My over all wash is done with umber, sienna both of each and odorless mineral spirits. I adjust the wash with browns and yellows, depending on where it is on the vehicle and what I am trying to accomplish. The reds are used with the yellow and browns for fuel stains and fuel spills are this with linseed oil added to the wash. I also use the abteilung "engine grease" to add a darker shade when needed and especially around the engine and running gear. My plan is to go back over this with another darker "pin wash" to highlight (no pun intended) bolt heads and recesses that might appear darker. More fuel spills will be added in the next stage too as well as other fuel/grease stains.
Comments, as always, are welcome.














I like the effect of the dust running down the blazer





Trying to get that rain/dust look on the front slope too





Happy with the way the tracks are coming along





Turret right side I will add more rain/dust run here


The business end


Turret top note the dust running down the blazer kit


Turret left


The turret basket soon to be filled


The engine deck looking towards the fuel caps.

All of these were taken with three light set up. Two with diffusion and top light with none. Opinions on the photos are welcome too. Cheers.

Damon, been out of town , missed the progress shots. Looking good, keep at it.
I put the turret that had the covered rack aside, will use it later. I'm going with the same rack you've used, and will cover it with an air ID panel. I've picked up all kinds of cool goodies lately, so will have extra parts and pieces galore. I did buy some AFV Club T142 tracks this week as well, don't know if I'll use them here or stay with the Tamiya tracks.

Ok, update. Have had a little time in the past week to work on things and mostly waiting for the oils to dry. While waiting for the oils to dry out I have been tearing apart my airbrush as it has been having issues. I think I have fixed it but still not quite sure, we'll see.
I did a few more washes centered around the running gear and specifically the systems that would have the most oil/grease staining and also the road wheels and tracks as I wanted to mate up the two hull pieces. Managed to carefully mate the upper and lower hull and glue it together without much issue, although fit was snug, which I guess is good.
I would have been working tonight but the little time I was just out there snapping these pics and getting them on picasa, has numbed my fingers sufficiently, no joke.
So here are the pics. Am hoping that it warms up tomorrow afternoon and I can get some stowage weathered and maybe get a coat of clear flat on the beast. Cheers.