To make use of obsolete Centurion tanks, the Israeli Defense Force replaced the turrets with a casemate covered in reactive armor. The result was a unique, well-protected personnel carrier known as the Nagmachon.
This kit of the early Nagmachon is Tiger’s second kit of the vehicle; it released a late version with the so-called doghouse (kit No. 4616) last year.
Cleanly molded in tan plastic, the kit features detail in the driver and fighting compartments including seats and wall fittings. The kit also includes photo-etched (PE) detail parts, vinyl tires, colored clear parts, and metal wire.
The road wheels comprise plastic wheels and vinyl tires. The tires need to be aligned on the wheels and allow clearance for the track guide horns. Don’t super glue the tires to the wheels as indicated in the instructions. The detailed, individual-link tracks are not workable and need to be cemented together. All of the hatches are separate parts and can be posed open or closed.
The kit provides chain for use with the side armor skirts, but only a single vague diagram shows its installation. Checking photos, it appears the chain wasn’t always used, so I omitted it.
The reactive armor blocks impressed me; not only do they look good, there are several shapes and sizes. Better yet, they installed easily.
The clear parts come in three colors, but only two are used — clear for the headlights and blue for ballistic glass and periscopes.
I painted with GSI Creos Hobby Color acrylics. Decals provide markings for a single vehicle; they went on well with a little decal solution.
My primary reference was
Nagmachon Heavy APC: Centurion Based APC in IDF Service – Part 2 (Desert Eagle, ISBN 978-965-7700-01-3).
I completed Tiger’s Nagmachon in 42 hours. It was an enjoyable build, and I am planning to build the company’s other Nagmachon. Modelers with experience assembling detailed kits will have no problem with this one.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the May 2017 issue.