While the paint on the Puma is drying, I started work on my next project. This is going to be a Magach 3 ex M48A1 vehicle with Sherman cupola, armored air cleaners, searchlight and stowage.

My basic kit:



The Def conversion set:



I will also use the Eduard photoetch set for the basic kit:



and the Desert Eagle Publishing armored air cleaners, since I used the Def ones on another project



Finally I am planning to add a Def searchlight from their M60 conversion kit plus Slingshot models sprocket wheels.

Work started on the hull, correcting the rear doors and assembling the suspension.





I also assembled the turret basic parts and this where I stopped for today...

Looks like an impressive project, I'll definitely be following this one!

Can you provide a photo of the real tank? I’m unfamiliar with these tanks and am finding your builds quite good.
Thanks, Dan

Thak you both for the comments.

Photos of the real vehicle, as requested:

Thanks-a big gun for that turret.
Dan

I think you are doing a great job ,I will wachk this build .

I’m afraid this is not accessible for non FB users.
Dan

Thanks Yakov, I have seen your build. Really nice, I am planning to do a M48A1 sometime in the future.

Looking forward to this Been eyeing both this kit and the magach 3 version that DML also released.

I have the Magach 3 version of this kit and the last few weeks have been spent bookmarking links to various forum threads on this subject. Your pictures and mentions are being studied my myself.

Thank you for work.

Thank you for the kind words. Unfortunately the Dragon Magach 3 kit is not the best choice for a Magach 3. I will elaborate in my following posts. But in a few words, horrible mantlet, horrible barrel and some accuracy issues detailwise.

I continued work on the hull by adding the return rollers, the wheels and various other bits and pieces. The Slingshot sprockets are superb and fit great. I was thinking of replacing the kit wheels with aftermarket ones, but the Panzer Art wheels I have are not fitting well this kit and are better to be used with Academy or Tamiya kits.







I corrected the gun travel lock. Def does not provide a gun travel lock in their conversion set and the one supplied in the kit is the early M48A3 long travel lock. The IDF changed it during the conversion work on the tank to the shorter version seen on M48A5s and M60s.



I did not use the Def Sherman/M26 cupola because it was about 1mm smaller in diameter and did not look nice on the turret. I used a cupola from HobbyBoss's T29 kit.

I also decided to use the Legend productions stowage set for Magach 3., set no 1355. Unfortunately this created an accuracy issue which I noticed after I had attached the stowage to the turret. Let me explain:

This is part of the Def instructions. Notice photoeth parts 5 and 6 on each side of the rear turret roof.



This is a detail that Dragon missed and so when Legend was creating their masters for the Magach 3 they did not allow space on the stowage, as you can clearly see in the photos above and below.



I always thought that these details were added later, after the Yom Kippur War but photo evidence proves otherwise.





Unfortunately I will have to live with that, or try to modify the photoetch pieces and see if i can fit them to the turret.

Finally, I added the resin Def mantlet and the gun barrel. They are no comparison to the poor DS parts from Dragon.

Those words always make my heart sink. But I will follow along and decide which to correct and I don't mind scratchbuilding some parts. Looks very good. Do you have a photo to show the barrel comparison to the Def Models version?

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Thank you for the kind words. Unfortunately the Dragon Magach 3 kit is not the best choice for a Magach 3. I will elaborate in my following posts. But in a few words, horrible mantlet, horrible barrel and some accuracy issues detailwise.

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Lovely build there.. I have to ask.. are any of the Dragon IDF releases any good?

Dragon supplies a M68 gun (US Version of the L7), not the L7. They also missed the canvas detail forward of the acordeon on the rear of the barrel.

From top to bottom: AFV Club, Aber, Dragon, RB Model, Def

Thank you. The Magach 1&2 kit is pretty nice. The Magach 2 can be built easily and only needs some minor tweaks. The M48A1 is pretty straight forward but the IDf did not use them much.

That's an unusually large number of antennas. Is there an M113 in the background completely obscured by the tank?

Indeed, there is a M113 next to the Magach, check the exhaust over the engine deck at the rear.

Nikos, this is looking great! I'll definitely be following along to see how your build turns out. Quick question: you mentioned possibly replacing the kit wheels. What didn't you like about the originals?
Terry

The detail on the rim of the Dragon wheels is not the best. It is somewhat shallow. I will post a photo comparing the Dragon wheel with the AFV Club and the PanzerArt wheels.

I am currently working on the fenders and here are some notes:

The IDF vehicles did not have the exhaust pipe on the right side of the vehicle, insted there was a fire extinguisher actuator. You will also notice the protective cap on the gunner's scope on the mantlet that is a very nice detail provided by DEF on their resin mantlet.



Dragon in their M48 kits do not provide the interior side fenders at the front of the vehicle. Those can be found in the Slinshot sprocket set or can be scratchbuilt.



You can usually see stowage on the left and right parts of the fenders, Legend supplies some very nice resin pieces, that can be seen in photos of the real vehicle too. I have also seen spare track links on some photos, but they are few and mostly freshly delivered vehicles and not in action.





There are photos of vehicles with the IDF made armored air cleaners, or the late type side loaders.





Also regarding the issue with the photoetch parts on the turret roof mentioned in a previous post, I managed to find photos that do not show this detail on the vehicle

Basic work on the fenders is complete.I will now start adding details to the hull from the Eduard photoetch set and anything else that might come up.

I added some towing hooks from the spares box, since there are none supplied in the kit. The Desert Eagle air cleaners were easy to use despite the relatively large casting block.

Regarding the infantry phone at the back, one has two options for installing it. Atop the fender, but most of the photos I have seen are of vehicles converted from M48A2s to Magach 3s. The other option is the mounting base provided by DEF (or Eduard) which I used. An easy assembly without much to worry about.

Can the idler be adjusted? The track had a small amount of slack in it.
Dan