MAGACH 6B
BUILD
PART 6
I
have been busy with work over the last few weeks, and it is slowing
down the progress of my build, but I am seeing the light at the end
of the tunnel on this project.
So
far it has been an interesting build and overall I am pleased with the level
of detail on the model as well as the fit. Except for the tracks. The
tracks are individual links, but they come with a jig assembly and
pins that need to be inserted on both sides which make them workable.
But, I was not successful in this endeavor. Many of the pins did not
slide in like they were supposed to and some of the other broke as I
was trying to remove them from the sprue. After getting frustrated, I
put them aside and ordered Fruilmodel tracks which arrived today. I
will spend some of the upcoming days assembling these for
installation once the remainder of the kit is completed. I do not
understand why vinyl tracks were not included with this kit, it would
have been so much better.
Anyway,
I had assembled both sets of the side skirts and mounted them to the
fenders. The sides skirts come with a forward section of two panels,
each with an outer side and an inner side. The aft section is one
piece. These panels are nicely detailed and are easily mounted to
hangers that are attached to a longer supporting piece that then
mounts to attachment points on the fenders. I did notice that the aft
sections were towed in more than the forward section. This is due to
them not being as thick as the forward panels, thus leaving an odd
looking offset from the forward panels. I pulled them out ever so
slightly with my finger and glue them in place so now the offset
looks more natural.
The
Magach 6B series is based on the M60 Rise. To bring it up to more
modern standards of protection and capability, the IDF added more
armor and ERA to the turret and hull. A new Fire Control system with
optics was added along with Smoke Grenade Launchers that appear to be
the same setup from their version of the Centurion. The “add on”
armor for the turret comes in six sections. Two ERA block sections
for the top of the turret, and then four three piece sections for the
turret sides. I experienced no fit problems in either assembly of any
of these section nor with their installation on the turret.
Each
section had a different ID so I decided to assemble all of them and
kept them separated to eliminate any confusion.
You
can see the Smoke Grenade Launchers in this photo. The assemblies
were easily constructed and mounted to the turret with no issues.
The
Mantlet has a vinyl piece that fits between the Mantlet and the
Turret body. It is nicely molded but it needs to be “encouraged”
to fit properly. This took more time than I expected and I don't
understand why Meng did not provide this piece as a single piece of
plastic since you wouldn't be able to move the Mantlet after it was
installed. It ended up leaving a gap on the bottom, but I have that
filled in and will not be visible once construction is complete.
I
am impressed with the level of detail in this kit and I am getting
more excited as I move closer to having her completed.
Be
safe out there.
Cheers,
WL
No comments:
Post a Comment