opinion of Chap Mei Merkava wanted

Post by **aferguson** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 8:27 am

i just bought a chap mei merkava. It looks pretty nice and with some work i thik it could made into be a nice likeness. It's on the small side though. At 14 inches long and a bit over 7 inches wide it comes out to about 1/20.5 scale.

Still, i figured there is 0.0 chance of seeing one in 1/18, so i went for it. Having second thoughts a bit now...

Any board members have one that care to share their opinion?

For those who don't know what i'm talking about here's a link to a pic. I'm pretty sure this one has been repainted as the one i got is green and i've only ever seen green ones.

http://pub126.ezboard.com/fgettingsavag ... =351.topic

digger · Post by **digger** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 8:34 am

That does look repainted but there is a desert one. I had both a while back and decided to part with them when I started in with XD/bbi a few years ago. I sent them to Warthog I think, so he may have some pics of the other version or some mods. It is a beast even at 1:20 and I regret ditching mine, so I say no regrets on picking one up. Get rid of the missile on the side, the oversized MGs and the childish spotlight, and already you have a decent display piece...

Post by **aferguson** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 8:55 am

thanks digger.

The Merkava is probably my favourite modern tank, both because of its looks and its combat history (alot of drama in that part of the world), so that's why i went for it. I'll just make sure i don't park it beside my 1/16 T-34 (which is bigger)....heheh.

I'm not really super into modern stuff but there are a few vehicles i find irresistable. Like the Merkava, the AAVP7A1 and the T-80.

Anyway, decision has been made, now i await eagerly for its arrival.

steelbonnet · Post by **steelbonnet** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 9:22 am

I don`t have one But i`ve seen customs of them.

Must admit it IS pretty close & with some custom IDF troops would look great in ANY Modern Collection from what I`ve seen of them

ja
Steel Bonnet

dzirhan · Post by **dzirhan** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 9:49 am

Yes, there are two versions, a desert and woodland camo tank, it's pretty nice and I have not seen it reissued by Chap Mei for a while so the mold could be lost or something so best get one while they are still out there.

Morian Miner · Post by **Morian Miner** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 1:00 pm

Hadn't seen one of those before. Pretty cool. I say good buy.

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 8:16 pm

I got my son one at the KB Toy outlet here about 4 years ago. He loves it still. It's the desert one. He took off most of the accessories and uses it with a mix of bbi and 21C modern figures as crew.

Post by **aferguson** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:58 am

my chap mei merkava came today. I was a little disappointed with the fact there is a big cut out in the front right portion of the hull...it's to put a figure in. The hull itself is small, quite underscale and too narrow for it's length. I knew all that however.

The turret is beautiful though. Almost perfect 1/18, captures the lines of the real Merkava turret well....as such it's way out of proportion with the hull though.

Came with lots of nice accessory do-dads, chain, tow cable, machine gun breaches etc.

I bought a paper model of a merkava some time ago. It's a beautiful model but i was a bit intimidated by it, mostly because of the turret, which is somewhat complicated. So i think i will build the hull of the paper model (scaled up to 1/18 of course) and plunk on the chap mei turret. It will look pretty swish and be pretty much true 1/18 scale to boot.

I'll easily find uses for the chap mei hull and all its bits and pieces. Very pleased with my purchase.

Morian Miner · Post by **Morian Miner** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:08 am

Could you take the pattern of the paper model, and cut the pieces out of styrene or brass, and assemble a decent tank body to put the turret on? I've always wondered if paper models would be good for patterns.

Post by **aferguson** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 12:53 pm

yes, in fact there are a lot of model builders that do just that. You'd have to think about it a bit because many of the paper parts are meant to be folded, which is tough to do with plastic.

I saw where one guy took the patterns from a german SIG 150mm field gun kit and then made the kit out of metal. Very impressive.

The paper kits are very accurate, so scaling them up and using them as patterns is a good way to go.

I've built a paper 1/18 KV-2 and am half way through building a paper 1/18 Male Mk IV WWI tank. Paper models can be built up into suprisingly nice replicas all on their own. You can paint them etc just like you would plastic and it's a bit quicker and easier than making everything out of plastic first and then building it, but that's certainly very possible.

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opinion of Chap Mei Merkava wanted

opinion of Chap Mei Merkava wanted

cm merkava