He guys,

Hit a snag with the Achzarit so I started the Academy Magach 6B.
I am not an expert on the Magach but as a model it builds nicely and (as far as I know) looks like a Magach.
It is still the old M-60 model so there are a few openings that need to be filled on the lower hull but other than that it is a great kit to build with very few issues during constructions.

I did not however build it out of the box (like I really ever do that ).

I added texture to the turret and engine deck

Non slip coating made with embossing powder and hairspray

Replaced the triangle handles with scratched build ones (they still move :wink: )

Smoke grenade launchers (legend) from the spare parts box

Eureka XXL tow cables

Turret basket from Legend

Thinned and bent the rear fenders.

Reworked the front fender flaps

Replaced bolts here and there

Correct drive sprocket and housing

Friul tracks

.50 cal from Academy

Remote control for the .50 cal from the spare parts box

MAG’s from Legend

Plus various scratch and other spare parts box items





















Still some small details left to do and one or two fixes and a few questions.

Does anyone have some good clear images of the stretcher brackets on the right ( looking at it from the front) front fender?

And anyone have some good reverence image for the chains that secure the armoured side skirts to the hull?

Cheers,

JW

A great building.You are not an expert in this tank but you have done a good job.Excellent!!

Cheers Luigi

Thank you Luigi.

As long as it looks like a Magach I am happy.

Cheers

And now I am just hoping that Academy will do the Magach 7 as well

Since you apparently have the Legend conversion, (which I have as well) how well does their turret compare with the kit turret?

As you can expect the detail on the resin is a bit finer but overall I feel that they are fairly similar.

The biggest difference is in the building. The Academy kit has better location holes witch makes the construction way easier. Not to mention the fact that you don't have to contend with resin shrinkage and can use regular hobby glue.

So I do have to admit that I prefer the academy kit over the Legend one.

If you take the whole kit and compare it to the legend conversation the Academy one is (in my opinion) the better choice.
No resin shrinkage, no warping, no casting errors, ease of construction and price.

Very nice work. Gotta get one now!

gonna look really nice when done, but how did you deal with the underside rear of the turret scraping against the forward edge of the engine deck, and thereby raising the turret rear, and that the shovel can't be located on the air cleaner which would prevent the turret from rotating? how could academy
have overlooked this . in photos I've seen there's sufficient clearance

To be true I didn't. It would take quite a bit of work to reshape the lower rear of the turret so it will clear the engine deck.

yeah, neither did I

Excellent progress so far.
I haven't started mine yet so I'm curious about the turret/deck interference and how bad it is. I'll be comparing the new and old lower turret parts to see if I can figure out what they did, and also to see if part of the old lower turret half can be grafted in to fix the problem.
Any other points to be aware of?

it's bad enuff to scrape a bit of paint off, and not just the engine deck but the inside forward corners of the air cleaner housings. it won't bee all that noticable, depending on how the turret is oriented. to do any grafting I would think some cutting would be need doing. you could also make a shim like turret ring, but being raised by however much would make the turret height out of scale. still can't fathom how academy didn't catch this

since the upper hull is of an older M80, did the legends turret have the same prob? I got to thinking if not, and if I can find one, I'ld carefully pry off the needed parts and transplant them

Well, I'm all curious now. I just don't want to go poking around too much with it or I'll get wrapped up in it and shelve the two Shermans I'm working on now, and they're both getting pretty close to paint.
These kind of fit issues do make one wonder sometimes. So it's the actual bottom-side of the turret bustle that hits? I can vaguely recall having that issue on another M60A-something kit somewhere, sometime. Can't remember whose though.

ref the clearance issues most suggest a plastic shim around the turret ring.

Heard that, just don't want the turret to be noticeably too high overall, or a visible "collar" at the turret base. I'm just gonna have to dig mine out and see.

@Russel:

There are no real other issues you should keep your eyes open for. You need to fill some holes and gaps but those are the same as with all the Academy M-60 kits.

As for the clearance issue, it is the bottom of the turret that catches. I don't have an issue with it and did not find it necessary to remove material from it to stop the catching. But that is a personal choice.

Back to the model.

I am using Jose Luis Lopez's black and whit pre shading/Lightening technique.
First I primed the model with grey followed by black. Then I airbrushed the white to the areas that catch the light and after that I used heavily thinned Vallejo black and white for the stripes and smears.

The idea is that the base colour that is going to be applied is very this so it will show through. If you get the chance you should check out Jose Luis Lopez's models, they are beautiful and inspirational






Cheers,

JW

JW: Thanks for the reply, that's kind of what I was hoping to hear.
Model's looking very good! I'm getting the itch to dig into mine.

Although I did do some extra work to the model it is a great kit to build out of the box. It is just I have a bit of AMS so I can never leave well enough alone.

He guys,

First layer of colour.
Here is were I differ from Jose Luis Lopez's way. I cover way more then he does. I am still new to this technique so I am still learning how much to cover.

Base colour




next was decals and clear. As you can see the black and white technique is only showing through very faintly




And I gave it the first wash of raw umber. I removed most of the wash after applying it but am going to do more clean up tomorrow after the wash has set more. After this has cured fully I am going to add the pin washes.

Going for a heavy wash as I want to do a fairly heavy weathered finish




So as it looks I might have covered to much and undid a lot of the black and white technique. Will see how it looks after the dull coat.

Cheers,

JW

looks good, I can't wait to see the finished product. I have found that Vallejo Middlestone is a dead nuts match to the IDF colors. Looks like you got a good match there too!

Great job with the Magach! Is the color a Tamiya paint mix?

Hello JW,

firstly, great build there; I have to admit I am considering getting one of these or the Takom Leo C2 Mexas... but anyway.

What was the snag you hit on the Achzarit, please, maybe I could help? I assume you mean the Meng kit, not the Legend one? I've finished mine without trouble, and have both books on it. It truely is great out of the box.

There are some tweeks you can do, but nothing beyond the skills of yourself after looking at this build.

best regards,

Kylie

Beautiful build !

@ Houle and @Aristeidis,
I used Tamiya paints. This mix is one part XF- 20, one part XF- 57, one part XF- 27 and one part XF- 49.

I prefer to mix my own colour as IDF colours differ so much from vehicle to vehicle (even in the same platoon) and are very susceptible to fading and weathering. So I try and match the colour of a reference photo.

@ Kylie,
The Takom Leo C2 Mexas is one I am also thinking about doing. The vehicle looks so futuristic.

As for the snag I hit with the Achzarit it has nothing to do with the kit. The problem I had was during the painting stage. I had used an old Humbrol mix and hit a few problems that forced me to have to strip the kit.

This also means that I have to repair things, replace lost parts and reapply the non-slip.

Cheers,

JW

Very nice work, i myself am about to embark on building this kit, however after going through the instructions, the belly armour plates appear to come in 2 pieces, the sloped frontal bit for the lower glacis and the long rectangular piece that goes below the tank,just wondering if in reality these are 2 separate pieces or is it one single continuous piece that is fixed to the tank via the towing points. Can someone help me here? I've looked on the net but can't seem to find any reference of the area in question.
Thanks in advance

Conrad Choo