MENG MAGACH 6B 5th Part

MAGACH 6B BUILD

PART 5

The steps here are for the fenders and some minor details on the lower hull.

The first thing the instructions have you do is to drill a number of 1mm holes into each fender. I do not know why, in this modern age why kit manufacturers will still occasionally have the modeler manually drill holes in parts. In this case, it could very well be that those same fenders are used in other kits. As an example, I know that Meng also manufactures and earlier version of this same subject.

At any rate, there are a substantial amount of parts on each fender. Tool boxes , tracks and so forth. One interesting piece, is that on the right fender near the rear, there is a well molded shovel. Usually with tools, especially shovels, the bracket that holds the shovel is molded to the shovel. That is not the case here. The large bracket that holds the shovel is a separately molded plastic piece that fits over the shovel giving the whole assembly a very detailed finish. Other than that, there is nothing particularly remarkable about these fenders. All of the attaching parts and pieces went together with no problems.

The handles on each of the tool box covers are individually molded plastic parts. They have no flash and went on perfectly, except that I wasn't paying attention and actually glued one laying down, but it still looks natural.

After the parts were mounted to the fenders, it was time to mount them to the lower hull. Fortunately, I dry fit them before gluing, and I discover that not all of the slots in the hull that were to received the studs from the fenders were through holes. So I used my xacto knife to open them up which then allowed the fenders to fit better, So I glued them on and used my clamps keep them in position until they dried.

Once the fenders are installed, the next step is to mount a couple of vinyl that fit between the forward part of the fenders and the lower hull to fill up the gaps between the fenders and the hull. Once that was complete, then the ERA block piece was attached to the upper glacis. Following this, the headlights were assembled an mounted (I painted the back sides silver chrome and put a liquid mask on the front to protect the headlights). Then the forward mud flaps and one piece of photo etch on the front left fender.

On the rear of the vehicle there were two curved pieces that were to be mounted to rear of the vehicle near the engine exhaust diffuser doors. However, the instructions were not very clear about how these pieces were to be installed. I was about to have a fit, until I consulted my reference book and then discovered how they were supposed to be installed on the real vehicle.

The instructions also called for the installation of the tow cables to the upper glacis, but I have decided to paint them prior to installation, and after the model has been painted.

In summary, this is a very detailed kit and not too difficult to assemble, although it does require the modeler to pay close attention at times. That being said, she is shaping up nicely and I am excited to get to the final product.

Cheers,

WL