History
The development of the Mk. 4M began around 2007 in response to the growing threat of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). Mass production of the Merkava Mk 4M started in 2009. The first complete brigade of Mk 4Ms was declared operational by 2011 or 2012.
The Merkava Mk. 4M with the Trophy Active Protection System (APS) first saw combat success in March 2011 on the Gaza border. The system successfully intercepted a missile fired at a Merkava Mk. 4M by Hamas combatants.
The Trophy APS was later used more extensively and proved highly effective for the Merkava Mk. 4M during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, also in the Gaza Strip
Operation Protective Edge was a military operation launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip from July 8 to August 26, 2014
It was preceded by rising tensions following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas members in June 2014. The subsequent Israeli military offensive, including extensive air raids and a ground invasion, led to heavy fighting that lasted for seven weeks.
Rising tensions: Following the teenagers' abduction and the IDF's Operation Brother's Keeper to arrest militant leaders, Hamas fired rockets into Israel, leading to the conflict.
Israeli objectives: The stated goals of the Israeli military were to stop rocket attacks on Israeli civilian areas from Gaza and to destroy a network of tunnels used by militants. Israel's long-term strategy included deterring Hamas by demonstrating the high price of attacking Israel and weakening the militant group militarily.
Palestinian factions' objectives: Palestinian militant groups like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and others demanded an end to the blockade of Gaza, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and other concessions.
Main phases of the operation
Aerial assault (July 8–17): Israel began with intensive airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, targeting Hamas facilities and rocket launchers.
Ground invasion (July 17–August 4): The IDF sent ground forces into Gaza with the primary mission of finding and destroying Hamas's tunnel network, a capability that Israel considered a major threat.
Continued air raids and ceasefire negotiations (August): After the withdrawal of ground forces, Israel continued air raids while attempting to negotiate a ceasefire. The conflict officially ended with an open-ended, Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on August 26.
The Merkava Mk. 4M is the Israeli main battle tank that integrates the Trophy Active Protection System (APS) to provide enhanced defence against anti-tank threats. The Trophy system uses radar and optical sensors to detect threats, then launches interceptors to destroy or deflect them, improving crew survivability. The Mk. 4M model, featuring modular armour and an advanced digital battlefield management system, is considered a highly survivable and battle-ready tank in modern warfare.
Developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, the Trophy APS (known in Hebrew as Me'il Ruach) or Windbreaker is a "hard kill" system designed to neutralise incoming threats before they can strike the tank.
First Impressions
The artwork on the box itself is eye-catching with two Merkava Mk. 4M driving across the desert with turrets turned sideways (to the left as they are driving forward), sand and dust being flicked up in a cloud of dust as they cross the open space. The box now it does get to me when you have a good third of the companies sending out plastic model kits around the world with schedules to keep and a flimsy thin cardboard box to protect them, it does drive me crazy sometimes when the local courier service turns up and while searching for the box to deliver is throwing other boxes around to find the one to deliver, and crunch as it hits the door or inside wall of the van and there you are later when you have arrived home to find that super brand new delivery with a large dent in the box and open it to find a couple of smashed pieces inside But this is not the case with this little box from Meng even though it is a small kit in a small box, the box itself is pretty tuff to say the least, so there is thier first tick in the box for good solid box that their kit came in I am trying to think who was one of the first model manufactures that used stronger boxes and immediately I think of ICM models there first range of older boxes were quite flimsy and now they are like Fort Knox for boxes. It is not just ICM quite a few companies have upgraded the packaging.
Introduction
Meng Models have produced a considerable range of Merkavas in 1/35th scale, for which I am the proud owner of a number of these kits, which I consider to be one of the best representations of the real Merkava tanks, but can they produce the same amount of detail in the down-scaled 1/72nd scale? Well, let's take a look
Review-in-box
Now that I have got that off my chest, let's get back to the job in hand. So, as mentioned, it is more likely than not that your kit from Meng is likely to reach you in one piece, as the box is pretty solid. So, the artwork I have covered already is also good. On opening the box, we have four off white sprues which contains the parts for the build of this Merkava Mk.4M loose in the bag is the is the top half of the turret and top half of the main body I am genuinely very happy with the detail on the surface of both the top of the turret and also the top half of the main tank So it is looking genuinely very good at this point.
So, going alphabetically with the sprues and of course, starting with A, the bottom half of the hull, I like the way they have tackled the fixing for the wheels of this particular tank. Having a number of Israeli Merkavas in their various Mk’s and guises, but all are 1/35th scale now, looking at this new version of the Merkava Mk. 4M in 1/72nd scale was under the impression that they were not going to be this much detail. Now looking at it, I see I am wrong in my thinking, looking at the fitting at the detail of the running wheels fit, I see genuine intuitive and good looking detail from the fitting points for the suspension detail around the drive is all good. The bottom of the hull itself is clean, but there are two inspection points for the return of the tracks or for repair. The drive system has details, which is good when you consider the size difference. Also, on this sprue is a number of hatches, which all look similar.
Two mounted machine guns, one of which is mounted on the right-hand side of the turret roof 7.62mm machine gun can be aimed and fired by the commander from within the turret under complete armour protection and can be traversed through a full 360º.
So on to Sprue B, the main singular largest piece is the bottom of the turret. I am surprised at the detail present, which includes parts of the trophy system, some grills and inspection points. One full main gun, which for an out-of-the-box build at least has a point of realism with a hole through the gun, albeit solid from a few millimetres from the top, does give some realism in look. The side skirts look exceptionally realistic with the detail for such a small kit. Wire frames with chains with metal balls hanging from them, offering some sort of protection from projectiles.
Sprue C is x2 contains one of the best details I have come across in the Braille scale kit parts, for which I salute you! For this, the main suspension really does look quite amazing and looks identical in shape to the original ones look as on photos from the Merkava Mk. 4M’s suspension, also on this sprue, is the some track length and link plenty of. Some amazing detail on the various wheels for the tank makes it even more realistic. There is so much more about this kit in detail, and it is, in my humble opinion and is why I have decided to do a build video of me doing this.
Final thoughts and Conclusion
When it comes to models and modelling it is like my brain springs into life and reminds me of my passion for building models and making dioramas that look like the actual battle, history is another passion for me and when someone says to me hey will you take a look at my latest model and it's in 1/72nd scale I do from time to time wonder about the detail and can it actually replicate something in the 1/35th scale. Now, when it comes to the Merkava tanks, I have many of these from different model companies and all in 1/35th scale. What have I learnt from this model kit? I am in no doubt about this kit is not inferior in fact for such a small scale (yes, I do know there is the insane scale of 1/144th scale, and it is difficult to judge all three of them together) But I will no longer think or judge that a 1/72nd scale kit would be inferior ever again, unless of course it is not as good as this Meng kit.
What would make this kit even better is a metal barrel, though the plastic one is better than most you see on a 72nd-scale kit. It goes without saying that photo etch does make a difference to any kit, and I am sure there is going to be some available out there for this kit.
Conclusion, let us not forget that this stunning little kit with massive potential is s brand new tooling from Meng. I am in awe of this kit from Meng, and I will be doing a video build in the very near future, not sure if it will be a straight build or possibly a small vignette or maybe the whole hog and a diorama. This kit is well worth the selling price, and a quick search on the internet finds it at some very low prices. RRP is from Creative Models in the UK at £13.99