Overview of the kit:

The Merkava Mk2 'D' kit from Legends is just the latest in a long line of IDF related releases. The kit is packaged in a stiff cardboard box with main components well wrapped in bubble sheet. Smaller parts are in one ziploc bag and are wrapped in bubble wrap as well.

The kit contains resin parts to complete the upper hull, turret, belly armour and road wheels of a Mark 2D Merkava. The kit includes photo-etch (PE) sheet, a length of chain and a length of beaded chain plus a length of wire. The metal pars will mostly be used for the ball and chain protection under the turret basket and the springs on the side skirts.

The instructions are essentially a series of photos with numbers and arrows pointing to locations on a built up model. I will attempt to clarify certain steps as we proceed with building the vehicle. The kit is an conversion set made for Academy's Mk2 Merkava. Of which you will primarily need the lower hull.

The hull

The instruction sheet method that Legends as well as many other resin AM (after-market) companies use are not quite as good as the exploded drawings that come with plastic kits. This is especially true when it comes to the occasional or new AM kit modeler. Here is the build sequence that I used I hope its helpful to someone. I chose to start with the hull as it is here where conversion kits are most likely to show problems with fit. I started  with step #14 and glued the rear hull to the loer hull as in the instruction book from the Academy kit. I left of smaller parts as they would only be knocked off or broken until the upper and lower hull parts were joined and finnished.Once the parts were glued in place I proceeded to cut out the center section of the rear hull above The split doorsin preparation for the resin part # 75 and  to remove the molded rubber fenders. I used the molded on fender bolt plate as a guide to cut off the molded on rubber flaps and then filed it flat. This will leave you a prepared surface to glue on the PE fender flaps. Take care not to damage the hinges when cutting and sanding as they are partially visible behind the rear storage baskets we will put on later.

Once I'd finished with the rear hull plate it was time to attach the upper and lower hulls. Cut off the pour block at the front of the upper hull and sand off the two outer strengthening strips on the underside. Whilst checking the alignment I noticed the upper hull was short by 2 mm. Realizing I would have to do some sanding and puttying to mate up the two parts I chose to make sure the joint between upper and lower parts would be strong enough to take the vibrations of sanding and grinding. I added plastic to raise the side walls of the lower hull and marked where they would meet the upper hull . Along this line I glued in flat plastic strip to allow me to more easily glue together upper and lower parts. Once done I added kit part # D9 from step #1 in the Academy instructions as the conversion set doesn't include the vaned side exhaust. Next I filled in the motorization slit behind the sprocket gear housing Photo 4.

Once all the above had dried and was sanded to fit I joined the upper and lower halves. I added wire in the track sponsons for strength and adhesion then filled them with resin. This step gives a a much better joint between parts and gives us realistic track sponsons allowing us more options when finishing the model (see photo 5 & photo 6 ). The wire acts like rebar in cement and gives the resin something to grab to as well. While resin is a great material it does not adhere to anything and will easily separate without the wire. You need to make sure you fill the resin slowly and be careful to have sealed all the places the resin may flow out of the sponsons and onto the outside of the model. Once hardened I applied putty where needed and sanded to shape.

A small note here on putty. There are many companies that produce putty, sometimes more than one type. I tend to use squadron green to fill large areas followed by Testor's white and finishing with Tamiya filler. They all have different consistencies and must be allowed to dry for at least 24 hours. Otherwise you risk need to fill a second time.

With the upper and lower sections of the hull joined it was time to start on those Items that would be mounted on the hull. Starting with top deck and step 1 of the Academy instructions, install parts D6 the drivers hatch and C20, you already installed part D9 earlier.In step 2 install parts A9 these are the two lift rings on the rear deck. Now we skip to step 13 and install the spring stops which are misnumbered on the Academy instructions and are all numbered A16 not A11 as noted on the lower drawing.Also installed is part A7 which is the mount on the right side for one of the return rollers as well as partsC7,E6, E7, C7 & C8 which need some bolts added as shown in photo #9.

Here now you must make a choice. If you plan on using the included belly armour set, you must fill the mounting holes for parts A6. Another choice is how you paint your running gear. I paint mine separately off the model then mount it, I know others paint everything  on on the model together. If you wish to mount it install parts A10 and A11 as well as parts A5 and A8 in step 14. This ends work on the running gear.

We already installed the rear hull when assembling the upper and lower halves of the hull above. We now need to add some of the smaller pieces to it. I used Academy kit number 1359 for this build which is the Merkava Mk2 with mine roller attachment, you may also use kit 1351 which is the straight Merkava Mk2. I mention this as the instructions in the 1359 kit for some reason leave out what's called the rear assembly in the 1351 kit. This is step 14 in both instructions and concerns those parts which attach to the rear hull. I've scanned the page from the 1351 for those using the 1359 kit. You can see the larger picture by clicking on the instruction sheet at right. Follow the instructions with the following exceptions. Leave off part D10 as the basket goes in it's location, you'll need to fill its two mounting holes. Part C22 I can find no data to support it being on anything but original Mk1s possibly only the prototype or very early versions, so leave it off. You will also need to shorten and add a back to part C4 this is the rear Telephone box and does not extend all the way to the hull see photo # 8. The rear idler mounts need some bolt heads which comes from the Academy kit on sprue 'B' as well as grease points which were added and made from wire, see photo 9.

This essentially completes the build process on the  lower hull and leaves us just about ready for painting. After reading a thread on the IDF forum I decided to try to make the non slip surface found on the Merkava. This surface is extremely sharp and is made up of very small pebbles rather than a course sand.My method was to use the thicker Tamiya cement and sprinkle my "gravel" on a little at a time. I used a supfine microbrusd to apply the glue which allowed me to leave clear areas not covered by the non-skid surface. you can see the prepaint result in photo #10.  You can find the other method on the forum here at the following  URL    http://idf-armour-group.org/groupforum/index.php?showtopic=267. As for the actual spring mmounts for the road wheels these I put on sticks and will be painted off the model.

The Turret