>>7996211My very first armor model (before that I did a few planes and helis) was Academy's Merkava II. Coincidentally it's pretty much the only early model I have that doesn't need a re painting, as the guy in the store didn't let me pick colors on my own and gave me the correct IDF khaki color in the form of a Model Master Enamel. I painted it with a brush, and even like that it turned out pretty good.
I didn't have the skills to build the mine roller yet though.