Israeli Merkava Main Battle Tank

MY FAULT ISN'T WITH THE TANK ITSELF, IT'S WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS THAT COME WITH THE KIT. THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE MAINLY ALL PICTURE, NONE OF THE VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS ARE IN ENGLISH, THEY ARE ALL JAPANESE, AND UNLESS YOU CAN DECIPHER JAPANESE, IT MAKES THIS KIT SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT TO ASSEMBLE. TAMIYA NEEDS TO PRINT THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THEIR KITS ALSO IN ENGLISH. THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE MAKES PAINTING THE MODEL AND PARTS DIFFICULT FOR SOME..

This is a nice older kit, the detail is not up to today's standards. It assembles easily with no major problems. The detail is not as sharp as the newer kits. It is easy enough to assemble that a beginner could handle it easily. I have mine on a shelf with newer kits and it fits right in. The tracks are the rubber band type that most glue won't stick to. You can follow the instructions and melt the posts to join the tracks. I also put a couple of staples across the join. To install the track, leave the drive sprockets off until you are ready to install the track. Place the track over all of the wheels, fit the drive sprocket into the track and press the sprocket into place on it's axle. That way you don't have to stretch the track to get it around all of the wheels and drive sprocket.

This kit is starting to get hard to find. At $21 it's still a great value. No extra parts to jack the cost- solid value for beginners or advanced modelers. Do some research and make the early Mk.1 shown on the box photo. Early Mk.1 has the great lines and show the casting that make the Merkava so unique. Makes a unique basis for kit bashing too. I'm going to make a shortened hull someday...