Merkava SPAAG

[seadude]

Interesting concept.  I'm thinking of doing something similar in the future, but with a M1 Abrams chassis and parts from a Takom Gepard. Though the guns will be a bit larger. 

http://www.salt6.com/MyStuff/?page_id=25

But as I said, I plan to use BIGGER guns.        I'm going to use the twin gatling guns (On both arms) from this Gundam robot model kit:

[silverwindblade]

Can't help thinking of where to put the TOW missile launch box. You know, for self defense......

haha, while I like the idea, this time I'm keeping it dead simple. I have a couple of other things coming that will be a lot more complex, so I wanted to keep this one pretty straight-forward.

[Captain Canada]

Very cool, looks right ! Are you going the other way with the leftover bits ?

[silverwindblade]

Very cool, looks right ! Are you going the other way with the leftover bits ?

I hadn't planned on doing anything with the other bits, actually...!

But as I said, I plan to use BIGGER guns.        I'm going to use the twin gatling guns (On both arms) from this Gundam robot model kit:

Aw yiss, Gundam Heavyarms for the win.
I have an idea for using a gatling on another AD vehicle too, with a lot more of an ambitious idea. Have to get this one finished first, and then have a look and see what's feasible..!

[silverwindblade]

Some progress


I have had to go back to brush-painting, as my airbrush has given up the ghost.
Lesson learned: save up for a high-quality one that won't break as easily.
I have got myself some Lifecolour paint in the Israeli Sand-Grey colour, as Israeli armour is a particular shade.
It brushed on okay, but it took several coats. Thankfully, that hasn't obscured the detail.


The colour is lighter than I expected; I was hoping for the more modern darker grey-green colour, however it's still removed from the more 'sand-tan' US/UK/etc colour, and looks suitably 'IDF'.
I have a Merkava to build in my stash, I'll have to get the darker colour for that as a contrast.
Onto painting the fiddly details now, it's starting to look a bit more interesting.

[silverwindblade]

Alas the project is currently stalled - and damn close to being finished, too - as I have lost one of the roadwheels
I'm loathe to buy a whole new kit to replace the missing part, as I'm going end up with the same problem; a tank with a missing wheel. So, I'm a bit stuck at the moment on how to proceed D:

[Captain Canada]

I've got an old Tamiya merk somewhere.....hate to see this thing not get finished !

[The Chaos]

WOW great project, very inspiring. 

[Gondor]

If I remember correctly, the Merkava used the same main wheels as the Centurion so perhaps you could use a pair from an old kit or something of one of them?

Gondor

[philp]

Can you cast one that you have for the spare?

Other option is to clean the bench area.  Tends to find all kinds of things.

[Rick Lowe]

Have you got a Cat/Dog that likes to play with/eat small objects? 

Would it work if you split one of the wheels you have and used the two parts separately - with a suitable 'filler' at the back, of course.
While the inner part probably isn't as detailed, maybe a good coating of mud/snow could hide that?
Or you could cast a copy of the inner part of the wheel with the hub/whatnot detail and fix that inside the repurposed inner wheel?

[silverwindblade]

Can you cast one that you have for the spare?

Other option is to clean the bench area.  Tends to find all kinds of things.

I did clear up extensively before giving up on the thing D: nowhere to be found. Checked the area outdoors where I spray undercoat stuff too, and it was nowhere to be found. It probably did get lost out there or accidentally got chucked. Either way, no chance of finding it since the back garden at our flats looks like downtown Fallujah at the moment, and the bins have long been emptied - plus I don't much fancy going through rubbish to look for it.

Casting it isn't really an option as I have none of the materials to do so. And I'm not sure how much they'd cost etc.
I've been in touch with Tamiya's UK distributor - a new sprue for the roadwheels and the little polycap inside would be £12.50.

I can't split the wheel, as the front and back aren't the same, annoyingly >.>
And they might well be the same as the Centurion, but I don't have a Centurion to steal any wheels from xD

[zenrat]

A bit drastic, but you could shorten the whole thing so it has one less set of road wheels.

[Rick Lowe]

I'm not sure what there is out your way, but here in NZ I got an Alumilite Casting Kit for under NZ$50 - this has a small quantity of RTV rubber and casting Resin (1:1 ratio mix) which should be more than ample for this purpose and a whole lot more. It's a US product, so somewhere like Micro Mark or one of the various auction sites should carry it.

It's relatively foolproof (but not completely - ask this fool!) and sets quickly.

Just a thought, it would be a shame to see this project languish all for the sake of one small wheel.


Maybe you could also post a request for the part/s in the Swap Shop forum?

[kerick]

I'm not sure what there is out your way, but here in NZ I got an Alumilite Casting Kit for under NZ$50 - this has a small quantity of RTV rubber and casting Resin (1:1 ratio mix) which should be more than ample for this purpose and a whole lot more. It's a US product, so somewhere like Micro Mark or one of the various auction sites should carry it.

It's relatively foolproof (but not completely - ask this fool!) and sets quickly.

Just a thought, it would be a shame to see this project languish all for the sake of one small wheel.


Maybe you could also post a request for the part/s in the Swap Shop forum?

I'd go with the parts request first. Someone out there must have some laying around.