1/35 Israel Main Battle Tank Merkava Mk.3D Late LIC

This is a plastic model kit, which comes unassembled and unpainted. So glue, model paints and other basic modelling tools are additionally required.

The Kingdom of Israel ruled by the King Solomon was famous for its prosperous economy and powerful military forces. Its unique chariots were the important tool to expand the territory. Three thousand years later, there is a tank named after the King Solomon's chariots and is used to defend the modern Israel on the same land. This is the Merkava main battle tank. The Merkava Mk.3D LIC MBT is a variant of the Merkava Mk.3 MBT. The operational efficiency of armoured forces in urban area has become increasingly important since the 1990s. Thus the Merkava Mk.3D LIC MBT is developed. The tank has a series of improvements for low intensity conflicts in urban area, like: protection has been added for the turret sights; belly armour is added under the hull against the threats of anti-tank mines and improvised explosive devices; front and rear towing horns have been added on its chassis for urban operations. The latest Merkava Mk.3D Late LIC has optimized turret add-on armour for better protection.

The cheap and easy-to-use anti-tank mines have been a powerful weapon by the infantry against tanks for many years. Therefore, armoured forces of every country pay close attention to landmine clearance. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) found in combats that enemy tanks used outstanding Soviet KMT-4 mine rollers. Later, they made a Nochri Degem Gimel mine roller on the basis of the KMT-4. The one used on the Merkava Mk.3D LIC tank is the latest version of the Nochri Degem Dalet heavy mine roller. There are rubber bumpers and electrical equipment on the adaptor, so it doesn't need any tank crew member to manually assemble or disassemble the mine roller. This has helped improve the operational efficiency.