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Armor/AFV: IDF [Israeli Defense Forces]
Armor and AFVs of the IDF army from 1947-today.
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Merkava Mk. IV Pics
BarIsrael
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New York, United States
Joined: May 14, 2006
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Posted: Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 06:23 AM UTC
here's my Merkava Mk. IV.. hope all is well!















this is the picture I used...



tony55
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England - South West, United Kingdom
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Posted: Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 03:41 PM UTC
That's a really nice looking tank David. I built one recently but it came without the chains unfortunately.
Your colour scheme makes a nice change from the usual sand (which I did)
Thanks for showing.

Cheers
Tony
jcsimonc
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Madrid, Spain / España
Joined: July 28, 2005
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Posted: Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 04:12 PM UTC
You've made a superb job with that IDF Tank!!!

These days I'm working with the Legend resin kit... Is the same that you've built?

Where did you get the numerals from? Are they decals or painting masks?

The kit doesn't come with any of them and I'm desperately looking for a set...

Just another question: What's the base color you've used?

Best regards,

Jose Carlos
PantherF
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Indiana, United States
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Posted: Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 04:48 PM UTC
It looks just like some of the pics we've been seeing on TV the past couple of months! The dirt/mud effect looks really good!


Jeff
BarIsrael
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Posted: Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 04:51 PM UTC
Hi

Thanks for the comments guys! The markings are dry transfers from Verlinden, easy to use and look great when on!! I painted this with Model Master Green Drab and added IDF sand grey to the mixes as I went along, washed it with raw umber. Israeli vehciles are NOT a sand colour so I stayed away from it! Yes this is the Legend kit, I do believe it's the only Mk. IV on the market
DeskJockey
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Virginia, United States
Joined: July 17, 2006
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Posted: Monday, August 28, 2006 - 03:52 AM UTC
Nice looking model. The weathering is great--what did you use? I didn't realize how large the Merkave IV's turret was until I saw your fourth picture. Wow! It's almost the same size as the hull!
bostondave
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Massachusetts, United States
Joined: April 02, 2004
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Posted: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 - 05:30 PM UTC
The tank looks awesome! I'm building mine up slowly

I'm wondering where you got your decals for the kit? Did you just paint them?
bostondave
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Massachusetts, United States
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Posted: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 - 05:31 PM UTC
Nevermind. I just read the replies here. heh
Warsawpact
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Västra Götaland, Sweden
Joined: September 25, 2006
KitMaker: 321 posts
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 12:42 AM UTC
Splendid tank you got there.
Anyhow, i got a question: What are those balls-on-chains- thingys hanging from the back of the turret for?
bulivyf
Vendor
REAL MODEL
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Praha, Czech Republic
Joined: April 03, 2006
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 12:48 AM UTC
Oh, magnificence Merkava, I still no look such.

Miloslav
spongya
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MODELGEEK
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 12:54 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Splendid tank you got there.
Anyhow, i got a question: What are those balls-on-chains- thingys hanging from the back of the turret for?


I wanted to ask that too...
bison126
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Correze, France
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 01:03 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Splendid tank you got there.
Anyhow, i got a question: What are those balls-on-chains- thingys hanging from the back of the turret for?


I wanted to ask that too...


These are designed to defeat AT rockets fired front the rear. The junction between the turret and the hull is known to be a weakness in all MBTs. This a way to increase the tank survivability and the modeler probability of getting mad :-)

Olivier
afv_rob
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England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 01:05 AM UTC
Look like a nice model! Im currently working on mine but finding the tracks to be a pig to work with.
The ball and chains take ages to make and are a real nightmare-approach with caution, they are made worse when you keep getting glue all over the place! :-)
Warsawpact
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Västra Götaland, Sweden
Joined: September 25, 2006
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 01:15 AM UTC

Quoted Text


These are designed to defeat AT rockets fired front the rear. The junction between the turret and the hull is known to be a weakness in all MBTs. This a way to increase the tank survivability and the modeler probability of getting mad :-)

Olivier


Okay, then i understand.
But im quite certain that those chains thingys isnt going to deflect or even slightly "disturb" any modern standard supersonic AT rocket/missile.
But for RPG´s, that´s probably another story.



afv_rob
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 01:24 AM UTC
Chris-They are not designed to stop a round hitting but instead they explode the round on impact. So the rpg round is fired at the turret from behind and these ball and chains detonate the round before it gets to the turrtes weak spot, much like spaced armor, it doesnt stop a round in its tracks, simply detonates the round before it can cause serious damage.
spongya
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MODELGEEK
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Budapest, Hungary
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 01:27 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Chris-They are not designed to stop a round hitting but instead they explode the round on impact. So the rpg round is fired at the turret from behind and these ball and chains detonate the round before it gets to the turrtes weak spot, much like spaced armor, it doesnt stop a round in its tracks, simply detonates the round before it can cause serious damage.


And it also looks ugly...
These engineers do not have any sense of beauty and harmony.
barron
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Virginia, United States
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 02:03 AM UTC
Outstanding job on your tank.
Warsawpact
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Västra Götaland, Sweden
Joined: September 25, 2006
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 03:33 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Chris-They are not designed to stop a round hitting but instead they explode the round on impact. So the rpg round is fired at the turret from behind and these ball and chains detonate the round before it gets to the turrtes weak spot, much like spaced armor, it doesnt stop a round in its tracks, simply detonates the round before it can cause serious damage.


Thanks for clearing that out Rob Harvey .
I naturally thought that bison126 meant by "defeating rpg´s" was to deflecting them away from the hull.
The Swedish Strv 103c had a similar idea but they used heavy iron bar-nets around the tank to absorb and grip the rounds befor they could impact on the hull, quite interessing machine, theStrv 103c ( Trumpeter makes those)
However, i saw a program called The Greatest Tanks Ever on Discovery Civilisation. The program was about witch tanks was the best in the world on a scale from 10-1 and the Merkava was a low 7 i think due to it´s suprisingly extremly low combat speed. Even the old t-72 has much greater speed than the Merkava.
Can anyone else confirm this??

P.S
Has anyone else seen that program?
D.S
spongya
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MODELGEEK
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 04:51 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Even the old t-72 has much greater speed than the Merkava.
Can anyone else confirm this??


Far from being an expert on the subject... but Russian tanks were always famous of their mobility. (Smaller, lighter, faster.) The T-80 is called the "flying tank".
OFF starts
And about that "old"-thing... it depends. The upgraded ones (not to mention the T-90) are not bad tanks at all, and are not to be underestimated. It says it on wikipedia (don't have any other sources on that) after the US aquired some T-72s from the former East Germany, and they found that a properly up-armored T-72 could withstand a direct hit of a DU SABOT round. Don't forget: in '91 Saddam's tanks were old, out-dated export versions manned by peole who didn't really want to fight, in an enviromnet that made picking up tanks from the distance very easy.
OFF ends.
mikeo
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 07:38 AM UTC
However, i saw a program called The Greatest Tanks Ever on Discovery Civilisation. The program was about witch tanks was the best in the world on a scale from 10-1 and the Merkava was a low 7 i think due to it´s suprisingly extremly low combat speed. Even the old t-72 has much greater speed than the Merkava.
Can anyone else confirm this??

P.S
Has anyone else seen that program?
D.S

I haven't seen the program (but I wish I had). I think that the IDF would argue that the Merkava's true effective combat speed is actually as good as or better than other MBT's due to it having a more advanced suspension --- a tank that can do 45mph but whose crew cannot fight the tank if it is going over 20mph is effectively slower than one that has a top speed of 30mph and whose crew can effectively fight the tank at that speed. At least that is my understanding... you would have to ask a real tanker to be sure (I just wish I was one)
Kelley
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Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 10:28 AM UTC

Quoted Text

However, i saw a program called The Greatest Tanks Ever on Discovery Civilisation. The program was about witch tanks was the best in the world on a scale from 10-1 and the Merkava was a low 7 i think due to it´s suprisingly extremly low combat speed.

First of all I put very little stock in these TV programs that rank the best tanks. A tank is only as good as it's crew. I would take a well trained crew in an older model tank over a poorly trained crew in a brand new state of the art tank anyday. There are also other variables that would come into play, for example where the tank is being used.
The Merkava was designed to operate in a very different terrain than some of it's contemporaries, like the M1, Leo, and Challenger, which were designed mainly with the terrain of western Europe in mind. The Merk was built with the rougher terrain of Israel in mind. Because of this it has a lower power to weight ratio than most other modern MBT's. The Merk 4 does have a stronger powerpack than it's predecessors with a power to weight ratio of 23 hp/ton. It is reported that it can do 55-60 kph over rough terrain which isn't to shabby.
Now having said all that, personally if I had to go into battle I would feel comfortable (at least as "comfortable" as one can feel in combat ) in any of the latest MBT's operated by the various countries around the world, ie. Abrams, Leopard, Merkava, etc.

Mike
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