In recent weeks the Brickshelf has been graced with several intriguing construction, all of them of heavy weight. Let’s begin with the heaviest one, an excellent model of the Israeli main tank Merkava Mk3 by grohl666. The model has all standard features of a tank, that is a remote controlled drive, rotating turret and elevated main gun, but also a most interesting suspension system. The author has ingeniously used standard wheels as tank’s road wheels, each of them suspended independently. Despite a typically Technic design, the model surely doesn’t lack the details - to mention just the opened hatches, a cannonholder, driver’s cockpit and realistic rear clamshell door, a unique feature of the Merkava tank. Follow the links in pictures, and you will find a handful of videos presenting all the functions of this great model.

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The second model will certainly enchant the truck lovers. The wonderfully detailed MAN TGA 28.480 in a rare livery comes courtesy of AAron-Hun. Apart from two steered and two driven axles, it features a remote controlled 2-speed gearbox, outriggers, pneumatic differential locks in two rear axles, a detailed interior, the case with opened sides, and a realistic pneumatic self-loading crane powered by an electric compressor. Those who care about realism will also enjoy the suspension consisting of free floating modules, with no rigid connections to the frame. The pneumatic system comes with an airtank and a pressure-limit switch. When we look at this work, we can hardly imagine the amount of time that was necessary to build it.
 
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The last model is something for the fans of smaller scale. Tatra 815 by rhplus can’t fit advanced mechanics, but has a shapely silhouette, realistic detailwork and a well-considered construction. Note the clever functional outriggers, and the small self loading crane fitted even with dummy pneumatic hoses. The small scale resulted in several interesting solutions that are worthy to know - take a look at e.g. the front air intake.
 
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