Hey guys, I just picked up the new Hobby Boss Merkava 3D and it's an awesome little kit. Not a lot of parts but it looks amazing. I nearly built and finished it at my club meeting last week.

Anyway, jokingly I told one of my friends that all it's missing is the chain and ball armor on the rear turret basket.
Well now I want to at least add the chain, does anyone know of somewhere to get some chain for it? I see Sprue Brothers has some LZ Models very fine chain, 13 links per cm. Do you think that's fine enough?

Thanks,

Jimmy.

I'll try to post some pics later, it really is a great looking little kit.

Hi Jimmy,
I get my chain for these types of applications from my local Hobby Lobby in the bead section. They offer several types of chain as small as 24 links per inch and some styles com in black. And they're cheap. 16" chains for less than 3 dollars. You can also check the smaller beads for attachment as well. I go online for small scale anchor chain but for armor modeling the jewelry chain works great for me.
Hope this helps
John

Don't have a Hobby Lobby near me, I can try Michael's though.

Thanks,

Jimmy

What a coincidence. One of the modelers in my local group was just asking the same question, and he received lots of replies-- the one I sent him was fortuitous I think. I buy my chain as small as 30 links/inch at my local Michael's in the jewelry supply section. Unfortunately it only comes in a gold plated or chromed variety, so I buy the chrome plated, and heat it in a shallow pan on the stove with some olive oil which changes the color to a deep chocolate brown. You can also buy "Blacken It" from Micro Mark on line and color it that way. For that matter, both Micro Mark and Model Expo carry chain for model ships, in various sizes that's already blackened.
VR, Russ

Thanks Kevlar,

I'll check Michael's tomorrow, I'd like to see it up close and get an idea what the sizes are.

Russ,
Thanks for the tip on darkening the chrome chains. Sure beats cleaning spray paint out of the individual links!
John

John,
You may need to vary the temperature a little to get the right look-- and you can also add some vinegar which will also add a little color difference. I'm not sure what they use to coat the chain to make it silver/chrome in color, but the chain underneath is usually always brass or a brass alloy. It has a tendency to turn black just like silver plate does when exposed to acids and oils, the heat just speeds the process-- and you don't need much heat or oil-- enough to just coat the chain. Just don't walk away from it while it's heating. You can do the same thing with a mini-torch, just drag the chain through the oil solution and suspend it through the flame, but be careful, it can get hot and melt right through the brass, and will smoke. When done, I drop the chain into a container of cold water, then drag it through a paper towel to clean it off, then drop it into a container of laquer thinner for a thourough cleaning. You should end up with a dark chocolate/black color on the chain, you can repeat if necessary. The water and lacquer thinner cleaning is important, as it removes the acids which will continue to "etch" the metal-- if you don't you'll end up with with a greenish "crud" growing on the links.
VR Russ