1:72 Israeli AFVs # 3. 1960s and Six-Day War markings. M48 Magach and AMX-13.

Star Decals 1:72 - Israeli armored vehicles of the 1960s, the M48 Magach and the AMX-13

The third sheet of the Israeli series in 1:72 scale covers markings from the 1960s and from the Six-Day War. It is aimed at the M48 tank in Israeli service, where it carried the name Magach, and at the French AMX-13 light tank.

Two very different tanks

The M48 was an American medium tank with a cast hull and conspicuously rounded shapes; Israeli units used the designation Magach of their own for it and modified the machines step by step. The AMX-13 beside it represents an entirely different school of design: a light French tank with an oscillating turret, in whose upper part sat a gun with automatic loading from drum magazines. Its low weight gave it a mobility that it put to use in open terrain, in exchange for thin armor. On one sheet two entirely different design traditions thus meet.

Laying them down in practice

Desert finishes tend to be light and matte, so a glossy intermediate coat under a design is a necessity, otherwise the drawing will stay framed in milky white. Apply it with a brush only at the place where the decal will go. Once dry, go over the whole model with a matte varnish, so that the difference in gloss is lost. Before that, press the drawing gently with a cotton swab until it stays without rippling.

For which modelers

• for anyone interested in Israeli armored hardware
• for builders of tanks committed in desert terrain
• for modelers of French postwar designs
• for collectors of Israeli hardware in 1:72 scale
• for makers of dioramas from Middle Eastern battlefields