Enzo Matrix

Really? cos I rather like the result,

This is going to be good! I will also be building a Gabonese F1AZ using the LF Models set, but I'll be using the Special Hobby kit as a base. You never see a Gabonese aircraft in groupbuilds... and then suddenly two come along at the same time.

Revell 1/72 Mirage IIIE... can I give this one a great big A little bit of context for my point of view. This kit is an old kit, dating from 1976. Back in 1976 as a callow youth, I was on a family holiday to Fleetwood. There was a big model shop that I visited there. There were lots and lots of things I wanted to buy but didn't have the money. I thought that I could save my daily allowance and by the end of the holiday I could afford a nice kit. The kits that caught my eye were the Revell Mirage and the Revell YF-16. Come the end of the holiday, I could afford one or the other, not both. I settled on the Mirage. I entered the model shop only to find that the last Mirage had been sold, but in its place on the shelf was the Matchbox F-4M Phantom. Do you remember the box art for that? What young lad could resist it? So I bought the Phantom. I never did build the Revell Mirage; something I have always regretted. So now I'm going to put that right, albeit vicariously through your build.

No Americans involved there. We messed that one up all by ourselves...

Here are a few I made earlier... Hasegawa Mirage F1C and Kfir C2 built for the Less Than A Tenner GB in 2014 Hasegawa Kfir C2 with a modified nose, built for the Lesser Built Air Forces GB in 2015 Mirage IIIB from the PJ Productions kit, built for the French Fancy GB in 2015.

There's no "ex" about it. Once a plumber, always a plumber!

I'm sure that I do! But we've only got four months...

Were you not tempted to do them all...?

They are both finished. I really should post some photos in the Gallery...

Sadly, these won't now be finished. And it's not "not finished in this GB". It's "not finished at all". These two have fought me all the way. What seemed to be a relatively simple build, turned out to be quite the opposite. Every single part needed some sort of adjustment, whether it fettling to fit (and not minor fettling) or major reconstruction. Add to that the fact that the plastic is quite nasty. It doesn't respond at all to polystyrene cement, so I had to use CA instead. It also doesn't take paint, putty or even primer well. Every time I applied masking, some of the paint and/or primer would lift. Sometimes some of the putty came up with it. The undercarriage legs are made up from five very fragile parts, which when completed do not hold the weight of the model. Last weekend was the final straw. I was handling one model quite gently but still all the paint on the fuselage top flaked off in one giant piece. So... rather than failing to complete a model, I am actively abandoning these two. Something that is underheard of for me. I still want to build the collection and it will be perfectly possible for me to do so as I haven't used the decals at all. I'll just be using the old Airfix kit to do so.

Thanks to all who waded in with advice and pictures about Australian Mirages. I've now decided that I will build one. I just have to choose which one... I've been very torn over this GB. Originally my intention was to build a couple of Mirage F1s. One had to be in the classic French blue scheme and another had to be a two-seater. Then I saw the ex-South African F1AZs in Gabonese service. So the two changed to a French blue F1B and a Gabonese F1AZ. Then I saw the Ecuadorian two greens scheme for the F1E and suddenly there was a third model on my list. I can't just build F1s though: after all the classic Mirage planform is a pure delta. That led to me considering a III, 5 or one of their derivatives. I eventually settled on a Kfir, with my choice being a Sri Lankan one 'cos I've never seen one built as a model. That's four for one GB. It's getting silly... But now I'm thinking that I have never built a Mirage IIIE, so I really should take the opportunity. I was all set on a French IIIE but then I searched through my decal stash (looking for something else) and came across a Novascale sheet for Australian Mirages. I still want to build a French IIIE, but I just can't pass up the opportunity to build an Australian IIIO. So that's five! I usually advise others to spare themselves the agonies of choice and build everything they are considering, but I'm going to have to draw the line somewhere, otherwise I would be building a Belgian Mirage 5, Iranian and Greek F1s and a Djibouti-based IIIC. That way madness lies!

Good point!

Ah yes... modellers' licence.

The GB forum is now open. We'd all better start making final choices for our builds. Bearing that in mind... Australian Mirages - what colours did they use. Were the green, grey and lowersurfaces the same colour as RAF paint, or were they the French colours? Or were they a US equivalent?

Co-hosts: Wez and Enzo Matrix Welcome to the Mirage GB. This a weird mutant GB because it looks like an STGB but it's not. It couldn't be an STGB as there were at least six distinct Mirage airframe designs. III/5/50, F1, 2000, 4000, IV, G8/F2. So, this GB is for any Dassault Mirage aircraft plus anything derived from a Mirage. So that includes Kfirs, Neshers, Fingers, Cheetahs, Panteras... What-ifs are excluded from this GB. There are plenty of options without going down that route. If you want to build a Mirage IIIV, feel free to do so. Just don't put it in squadron markings. The Group build will run from 24 June to 29 October Any scale or modelling medium is eligible Entries must not be more than 25% complete at the start of the GB. If in doubt, please contact one of the GB co-hosts. All builds must have a WIP thread showing progress. If you are building two or more almost identical models, they may be combined in the same thread. No buying, selling or wanted items in the GB area. Finally, most important of all, GB participants must have fun. It's The Law.