basket Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 (edited) Hello everybody , after roughly 20 years away from the hobby , I'm back in the business ! Considerring that I have everything to (re)learn and new technics to discover and apply, I' ve decided to start with a rather basic kit. It will be a french carrier born classic : The Etendard IV M. The model is the very single one available in this scale : the Heller one that I bought 30 years ago ! The general shape is very accurate, but most details are inexistent , to sum up what I'm expecting from this model : it will be no picnic ! Let's start with the "bang seat" a Martin Baker Mk4. Détails in scratch ( copper wire , an old toothpaste tube , platic card ). See you ! Edited March 7, 2020 by basket 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Very nice start on the seat, keep going please. Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesa Jussila Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Very nice start. I need to follow this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 nice start and thanks for posting here! will be watching this one closely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark 64 Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Such a cool plane. Love the seat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Very nice start on the seat, keep going please. Andrew. Very nice start. I need to follow this. nice start and thanks for posting here! will be watching this one closely! Such a cool plane. Love the seat Thank's guys 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Hello ! Before going further with this post, I have to give you one precision about my photographs : they were designed with french text Embedded..... ...... sorry about that ...... But most of the time, it's easy to figure out what I want to express ( .... I hope .... ) red text / information = remove / scrap / destroy a partgreen text / information = add / create a new part 1 - nozzle exhaust : "supprimer" means remove in french ( in red remember ) 2 - Wheel wells ( just the very beginning of the detailling process ) and 30mm guns ( stretched cotton swab ) . Thanks for reading ! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Ah, pink cannon - les canons roses. Très chic! I am not familiar with the original kit, but it doesn't look young (not surprising, given the subject) - bit you are making a lovely job of it? Bravo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 pink canons i.e. q-tips? very nice solution! great progress! interesting engine detail: aour rework looks like the Etendard used clamshell nozzles, as the original Mirage IIIC/ CJ/ CZ on their Atar9. I thought these do clamshells were an early attemöt to do n convergent-divergent nozzle for impoved supersonic airflow in Afterburner!! the Etendard was subsonic without afterburner, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Ah, pink cannon - les canons roses. Très chic! I am not familiar with the original kit, but it doesn't look young (not surprising, given the subject) - bit you are making a lovely job of it? Bravo! Thanks for your com ! The kit is 30 years old, I bought it immediately after its release . A word about the Q-tips : it was the only color available at home .... but I love it ! pink canons i.e. q-tips? very nice solution! great progress! interesting engine detail: aour rework looks like the Etendard used clamshell nozzles, as the original Mirage IIIC/ CJ/ CZ on their Atar9. I thought these do clamshells were an early attemöt to do n convergent-divergent nozzle for impoved supersonic airflow in Afterburner!! the Etendard was subsonic without afterburner, no? Hello exdraken, you're right : the clamshell system ( paupières in french - eyelid in English - nice isn't it ? ) is more or less similar to the one available on the Atar 9 even tough the Etendard is equipped with the Atar 08 B/C/C2 devoid of afterburner. The fact that this aircraft is subsonic without afterburner doesn't mean it might not be equipped with a clamshell nozzle. The aim of the system is to optimize the air flow in connection with the throttle. I hope to be as clear as possible.... don't forget English is not my mother's language. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Your English is excellent, so you needn't worry about that. Looking forward to seeing this one develop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Hello all ! Heller 1/48 kits have the reputation to be accurate ( true ) , to lack of details ( true again ) , to have fitting problems ( true again and again ) , but the one I bought is even worse than expected . Almost every part is somehow twisted, dry fit testing has revealed an awful general fitting . And I don't even talk to you about ejector pins and plastic shrinkage ! Last but not the least : parts have the bad habit to break in 2 pièces when I detach them from the sprues ... One last point : the engineering of the kit is ....... NO COMMENT ! You want some évidences ? Let's go ! We start with the "office" thank's for passing by ! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesa Jussila Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I agree with you about what you said about Heller kits. Lack of details etc. But still lot of interesting kits that are only available from Heller range. And we modellers want see builds like yours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Hello ! After working on the bottom of the cockpit , it's time to take care of the sides and the back of the seat. The assembly is very tricky , due to poor engineering, poor fitting ( Inside AND outside as well ) and to all the parts I added. Dry fit test , sanding , checking ... dry fit test , sanding , checking again and again ..... Thanks for reading and feel free to comment or ask questions . Next post : priming and painting of the office. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 What a transformation. Old kits with poor fit and lack of detail? So what when you have the skill to sort them out, like you do. Great stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 . But still lot of interesting kits that are only available from Heller range. Thanks for your com . You are absolutely right , and when new kits are released (i.e Eduard Mirage IIIC ) they are "sexier" but not as accurate as Heller ones. What a transformation. Old kits with poor fit and lack of detail? So what when you have the skill to sort them out, like you do. Great stuff Thank you again for your kind com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Very nice improvements. I'm sure all your efforts in the cockpit will be even more apparent with painting - I'm looking forward to this. Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Very nice improvements. I'm sure all your efforts in the cockpit will be even more apparent with painting - I'm looking forward to this. Andrew. Thanks and wait and see . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Ok folks let's keep on going ! The idea is to reach this result : a typical french cockpit from the end of the fifties - beginning of the sixties : a "black hole" with analogic black instruments on a black dashboard !!! I modified the stick : I added the big electric wire between the handle and the stick itself ( copper wire ). Heller decals are horrible ( badly printed and not neat at all ), I used them anyway to simulate the dashboard instruments but added several others decals from different sources : ESCI Mirage III and Mirage F1, plus a french roundel from a Revell M5J ( red lights ) and a VF142 logo from a Matchbox F-14 ( yellow lights ) !!!!! All that stuff ( 12 parts ) is sealed altogether with PA matt coat. Everything from the spare box can become useful one day or another !!!! Let's talk about the painting process : - handbrushed black primer ( Prince August polyurethane ) - handbrushed dark grey paint ( 85% black/15% white - PA acrylics ). I generally avoid black color for my models : it's too dark for 1/48 , a dark grey is better to meet the scale effect I expect. - micro painting and dry brushing ( PA silver ) . The throttle is made from a steel wire twisted to the correct angle then inserted into a streched Q-tip ( again ! ) and don't think I painted it red to add some color in the black hole , it's red in the real life ! Again feel free to comment or ask questions. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 turns out great! quite nice cockpit! but you are maybe right, hard to see anything when closed! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 turns out great! quite nice cockpit! but you are maybe right, hard to see anything when closed! Thanks . That's why I'm using dark grey. Hopefully the seat with a red and yellow RBF plus the wires and connections behind the seat and around the HUD will enlighten the cockpit . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 There is always a temptation with French (and British ) jets of this era to just paint everything black, install a decent aftermarket seat and close the canopy. You have resisted that temptation. Bravo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 There is always a temptation with French (and British ) jets of this era to just paint everything black, install a decent aftermarket seat and close the canopy. You have resisted that temptation. Bravo! Thank you John , it's the only temptation that I can resist ! By the way I saw you live in Limousin and you know what ? my mother's family is from Châlus !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Quel petit mode, hein? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 Tu l'as dit ! And good luck for your Mirage 2000 ! ( in my opinion you've chosen a hard way to get an accurate replica ! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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