Introduction

The M60 series of tanks, or Magach as they are called by the IDF, as so often has happened with IDF equipment, has been modified throughout its service life to meet the needs of the Israeli Defense Force, and the Magach 6B Gal/Batash is no exception. Based on the U.S. manufactured M60A1 RISE, the 6B Gal/Batash has seen extensive modification. One of these was the introduction of a new style of tracks designed to be stronger and more durable.

what's in the Box?

The set comes in a sturdy cardboard box and is shrink-wrapped. Once you open the box you will find the parts secured tightly in a zip-lock bag surrounded with bubble wrap. When I opened the bag up, everything was in good condition with nothing broken. The track parts are link and length and cast in the usual Legends cream colored resin. The set includes:

• 12 long track runs
• 38 individual track links
• Two correct IDF sprocket wheels to use with the tracks
• And a small bonus, 2 IDF style tow pintles.

The tracks

The tracks themselves look excellent. The casting quality is very good. In my set I only found a couple of air bubbles and they will be easy to fix. As for accuracy, they match perfectly to an actual photo I have of the tracks in use on a Magach. The long runs, as you can see from the picture, are attached to their resin molding blocks along one side and an end and are for the top and bottom runs. The individual links are attached to the molding blocks on one end and are used to go around the idler and sprocket wheels. Removing the track pieces from the blocks is a straight forward process and not too difficult. The one long section I removed took me about 5 minutes with a #11 blade and the two individual links just a minute or so each. The fit of the track links I checked is very good and, looking at the rest, I foresee no problems in that area.

Sprockets & Tow Pintles

The sprocket wheels are in two halves and they have detail on the inside and outside which is very nicely rendered. There are lightening holes in the outer half molded in which have a very thin layer of resin covering them. This will be easy to remove with a quick swipe of a sharp #11 blade. Please note, though it may look as if the inner half has lightening holes which are filled with a thick plug of resin, do not try to open these up. The IDF filled these holes and they are supposed to look as they do. The two sprocket halves fit together very nicely and once together the teeth fit in the tracks perfectly. A little care must be taken when gluing the halves together though as there is no alignment mark. Just be sure you have the teeth lined up.

Like I said above, the tow pintles are a nice little bonus. They are well cast with just a small amount of resin flash to clean and no molding seam down the center as you get with styrene ones. They match up very well to photos of the actual items, with some nice bolt head details as well.

Conclusion

When it comes to building tracked AFV’s, some of my modeling friends call me a “track snob”. It’s the one area I rarely cut corners on, as I think aftermarket tracks are an easy upgrade for many kits/conversions. While I’ve never been a fan of link and length tracks, much less resin ones, this set is very nicely done and I’m planning on using them on an upcoming project. I would highly recommend this set to anyone interested in building an IDF subject that uses this type of track.