Hooben Merkeva 4M has arrived
02-05-2022, 07:45 AM
#101
It's a shame, I really like the looks of the Merkava and would buy one if it was a decent runner. Hopefully the HL will be out soon.
Is this level (poor) of quality normal for the brand? I read the T34 isn't bad. What about their 1/10th scale tanks? I have to assume if customer service support is poor for one it is for all...
Is this level (poor) of quality normal for the brand? I read the T34 isn't bad. What about their 1/10th scale tanks? I have to assume if customer service support is poor for one it is for all...
02-05-2022, 10:01 AM
#102
It's a shame, I really like the looks of the Merkava and would buy one if it was a decent runner. Hopefully the HL will be out soon.
Is this level (poor) of quality normal for the brand? I read the T34 isn't bad. What about their 1/10th scale tanks? I have to assume if customer service support is poor for one it is for all...
Is this level (poor) of quality normal for the brand? I read the T34 isn't bad. What about their 1/10th scale tanks? I have to assume if customer service support is poor for one it is for all...
02-08-2022, 08:02 PM
#103
Thread Starter
I have been taking the Merkava out for trials and rode it into battle at LA tank this past weekend.
I think my modifications have worked quite well. I have not thrown track, or broken any more axles off so far.
I completed changing out the front and rear springs to thicker ones that are a bit stiffer. I did have to cut them down to the same height relaxed as the stock springs as they were making the front sit a tad high.
I also had to file grooves into the side skirts so the tracks would stop rubbing and dragging on them. Imagine designing a model where the sideskirts and the front fender corners rub the track so bad it is gouging the side skirts out and causing detracking or track catching (backing up)
So far it has proven to be a pretty fun tank to use. It feels slow though I am driving at 3mph on a full charge 8.4v battery. (GPS clocked) That sort of equates to around a 40mph top speed. Still feels slow though.
Also, shes big, here is a comparison between the Abrams and the M60a3. The Merkava is a big tank.
I think my modifications have worked quite well. I have not thrown track, or broken any more axles off so far.
I completed changing out the front and rear springs to thicker ones that are a bit stiffer. I did have to cut them down to the same height relaxed as the stock springs as they were making the front sit a tad high.
I also had to file grooves into the side skirts so the tracks would stop rubbing and dragging on them. Imagine designing a model where the sideskirts and the front fender corners rub the track so bad it is gouging the side skirts out and causing detracking or track catching (backing up)
So far it has proven to be a pretty fun tank to use. It feels slow though I am driving at 3mph on a full charge 8.4v battery. (GPS clocked) That sort of equates to around a 40mph top speed. Still feels slow though.
Also, shes big, here is a comparison between the Abrams and the M60a3. The Merkava is a big tank.
Last edited by RichJohnson; 02-08-2022 at 10:26 PM.
02-13-2022, 07:30 PM
#104
I just spent a few hours with a former Israeli Army member at a superbowl party a mutual friend was throwing and when I asked about the Merkeva he pointed to a crescent shaped scar on his forehead about as big as a dime and said he got the scar in a Merkeva. He told me nothing inside was padded and you constantly smacked your head around hard surfaces inside those tanks...apparently to the point of needing stitches.
02-14-2022, 07:15 PM
#109
Thread Starter
Yet another Hooben epic fail. The last two weeks have been really hot here. The gap between the turret top and bottom in the back was excessive but now it really bad.
There arent any screws up in that area. The screws are right behind the turret ring basically. And getting the turret halves apart is near impossible because of the gun mantlet overlay flap. Im gonna have to make a bracket on the roof and drill and put screws in from the bottom. SUX
There arent any screws up in that area. The screws are right behind the turret ring basically. And getting the turret halves apart is near impossible because of the gun mantlet overlay flap. Im gonna have to make a bracket on the roof and drill and put screws in from the bottom. SUX
02-15-2022, 04:23 AM
#110
[QUOTE=Crius;12715849]Отличные фото, но я ни слова не понял из того, что сказал мужчина. Хахаха :здорово:[/QUOTE
]
Inside the tank there are no materials that protect against impacts ...
Was sorry for the money....
]
Inside the tank there are no materials that protect against impacts ...
Was sorry for the money....
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Pcomm1.v2 (02-15-2022)
02-15-2022, 04:28 AM
#111
I feel like I should give a big thank you to all the guys that have bought hooben products in the past and then reviewed them here. Because of those reviews I learned what hooben is all about and I know I will never spend my money there. Without you guys breaking Trail on this I probably would have wasted quite a bit of money on hooben, so thank you very much to all the brave souls that showed us what this company is really all about.
02-15-2022, 05:50 AM
#112
I think the hooben merkava has good shape and details, but 3D printed for such a big piece was a fail from hooben, and probably the rest of the new tanks will suffer the same problems, I wouldn't spend money in the merkava, looks expensive just for resting in the shelf. However I insist the T55 is other history, the latest release is good enough to make a good and robust runner, made of strong plastic. I built 3, one more under construction and only the one from 2011 had serious problems, mainly because my inexperience with other than Tamiya.
02-15-2022, 02:03 PM
#113
I would agree that the T55 is a decent tank now. The first gen had a lot more issues. The ZTZ-99A from Hooben is also 3D printed, but without the metal lower. Not quite sure what I will do with it, but it has kinda moved to the bottom of the project list.
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Pavel Pankratov (02-22-2022),
tankme (02-21-2022)
02-27-2022, 01:52 AM
#117
Thank you for saving me over 700$ on this........ thing. Awaiting the heng long which will probably have dklmrc upgrades available.
I have built several 3d models (pla, industrial resin) and it is completely unacceptable to not tell the end user what that entails on their end. These things need special handling methods (how you lift parts, handle them etc), and they have a very finite and defined melting point which should be stated. you can literally reach enough surface temperature to cause warping (as you found out) on a cold day as long as there is enough IR from the sun. Absolutely unacceptable to sell something like this for general use!
Looks like the control arms are done in SLS; they should be done in glass bead MJF which will solve this. But that will rocket the price even more. Metal printing is best avoided. and each provider even if you use the same process will have different size of end product. When you send the parts they will compensate for the shrinkage on their end following the specs for the material and their printer, however that is an estimate and each part depending on size and geometry will have variance from their compensation. If you are trying to match something precise to an already printed part, you are going to have a mighty unpleasant time. You wan to use the same method, same company and same printer to print match after a trial piece. Sending it to another provider will just reset that process.
Anyway, welcome to 3D printing...
I have built several 3d models (pla, industrial resin) and it is completely unacceptable to not tell the end user what that entails on their end. These things need special handling methods (how you lift parts, handle them etc), and they have a very finite and defined melting point which should be stated. you can literally reach enough surface temperature to cause warping (as you found out) on a cold day as long as there is enough IR from the sun. Absolutely unacceptable to sell something like this for general use!
Looks like the control arms are done in SLS; they should be done in glass bead MJF which will solve this. But that will rocket the price even more. Metal printing is best avoided. and each provider even if you use the same process will have different size of end product. When you send the parts they will compensate for the shrinkage on their end following the specs for the material and their printer, however that is an estimate and each part depending on size and geometry will have variance from their compensation. If you are trying to match something precise to an already printed part, you are going to have a mighty unpleasant time. You wan to use the same method, same company and same printer to print match after a trial piece. Sending it to another provider will just reset that process.
Anyway, welcome to 3D printing...
Last edited by cdm; 02-27-2022 at 02:26 AM.
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herrmill (02-27-2022)
03-13-2022, 08:52 PM
#118
Thread Starter
I decided to make something even more cool for the Merkava.
I decided to build a Droid for the tank. For those that dont know, the IDF has this piece of equipment that is an IR jamming device to counter IR and Laser guided munitions.
Google for pictures of the real thing.
I built it as close to the real thing as possible and Im quite happy with how it turned out.
I also built it to be the IR battle apple so its useful as well as cool looking.
I used the top half of the hooben apple mounted over a highly modified Lego DEI IR receiver. Then I changed the 4 blue LEDs to 8 red LEDs.
I decided to build a Droid for the tank. For those that dont know, the IDF has this piece of equipment that is an IR jamming device to counter IR and Laser guided munitions.
Google for pictures of the real thing.
I built it as close to the real thing as possible and Im quite happy with how it turned out.
I also built it to be the IR battle apple so its useful as well as cool looking.
I used the top half of the hooben apple mounted over a highly modified Lego DEI IR receiver. Then I changed the 4 blue LEDs to 8 red LEDs.
03-13-2022, 10:48 PM
#120
Nice Imperial Probe Droid you have there...
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tankme (03-15-2022)
03-15-2022, 03:53 PM
#124
Thread Starter
I was meaning to take some outdoor pics of it at the battle the other day but it was quite shaded and I forgot to get to it so here are some close ups.
I still have not painted the tank yet. Its too grey for me. IDF Siani Grey is a slight khaki color when fresh but that fades to a greenish-grey quickly and then it greys out after that if not repainted. As you can see in the prior picture of a Merk4 non M model that was posted, it appears slightly khaki but that is also exaggerated by the low near horizon level of the sun if you look at the shadow of the droid onto the turret. Low sun will have more of an orange glow effect and then will make colors seem browner or warmer than they are. Ive done alot of testing on it to figure all that out. Im kinda settled on using tamiya khaki and light grey in a 1-1 or 2-1 mixture however I have not been able to get more khaki for a year now, along with OD and a bunch of other tamiya colors. The LHS just cannot get them. Any way I think my mixture is pretty close but I need more paint to mix to paint bigger textured primered samples to view in different light to make myself happy.
Sadly, the various brands that sell an ready to paint IDF Siani grey are no where near the right color based on all the color photos I have of Merkavas from fresh paint to faded.
Any way, all the work I did to make the droid paid off. I wasnt sure I was going to be able to pull off what I saw in my head and cobble it together out of the parts available.
Ya got to wonder if any of the Merkava tankers saw any irony in putting a giant IR Tamiya apple looking thing up above their tank....
Oh I met a Merkava tanker this weekend. He just got back to the US late last year after doing his required 4 years for his citizenship. He was just crazy about the Merkava and wants to get into the hobby and get a HL one when they come out.
I still have not painted the tank yet. Its too grey for me. IDF Siani Grey is a slight khaki color when fresh but that fades to a greenish-grey quickly and then it greys out after that if not repainted. As you can see in the prior picture of a Merk4 non M model that was posted, it appears slightly khaki but that is also exaggerated by the low near horizon level of the sun if you look at the shadow of the droid onto the turret. Low sun will have more of an orange glow effect and then will make colors seem browner or warmer than they are. Ive done alot of testing on it to figure all that out. Im kinda settled on using tamiya khaki and light grey in a 1-1 or 2-1 mixture however I have not been able to get more khaki for a year now, along with OD and a bunch of other tamiya colors. The LHS just cannot get them. Any way I think my mixture is pretty close but I need more paint to mix to paint bigger textured primered samples to view in different light to make myself happy.
Sadly, the various brands that sell an ready to paint IDF Siani grey are no where near the right color based on all the color photos I have of Merkavas from fresh paint to faded.
Any way, all the work I did to make the droid paid off. I wasnt sure I was going to be able to pull off what I saw in my head and cobble it together out of the parts available.
Ya got to wonder if any of the Merkava tankers saw any irony in putting a giant IR Tamiya apple looking thing up above their tank....
Oh I met a Merkava tanker this weekend. He just got back to the US late last year after doing his required 4 years for his citizenship. He was just crazy about the Merkava and wants to get into the hobby and get a HL one when they come out.
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tankme (03-15-2022)
03-15-2022, 04:21 PM
#125
Thread Starter
If you guys are really interested I might tell you how I made it.
So far I have not found a picture of one mounted on a 4M, just plain Merkava4 tanks, that is the turret design without the Trophy APS. So this will be a good project for HL Merkava 4s when they arrive.
But you need an apple like the older HL chrome ones or the blue Taigen ones as long as they have a 4 sided pyramid upside down in them, and I think they do.
So far I have not found a picture of one mounted on a 4M, just plain Merkava4 tanks, that is the turret design without the Trophy APS. So this will be a good project for HL Merkava 4s when they arrive.
But you need an apple like the older HL chrome ones or the blue Taigen ones as long as they have a 4 sided pyramid upside down in them, and I think they do.