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1/72 Mirage F1CR & F1CT


Andrew

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I've nearly finished restoring the detail on the underside of the these jets (my choice to remove all the moulded detail so that I could make a really clean job of the lower fuselage seam) and have added the intakes and pieces containing the airbrakes/bays; fit of those bits was generally very good.

 

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The wings have been cleaned up as well, but I've had little success in 'lifting' and sharpening the inboard section of the leading edge from underneath; I think that I'll have to persevere a little longer, or just end up scraping away from the top of the wings. Or possibly even pretend that the leading edge isn't as blunt as it actually is...

 

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The last photo for today shows another aftermarket purchase. A few weeks ago I was looking at which pods were provided in the kit and realised that they didn't include the Presto pod, as carried by the F1CR late in its career. The good folks at L'Arsenal have kindly filled that void with a very nice rendition (kudos to L'Arsenal for their prompt service too; their package arrived within two weeks) - apologies for the ordinary photography:

 

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Moving on, I have trialled the fit of the vertical fins, only to discover that a.) they are a very tight fit, and b.) there is a substantial(ish) gap at the base of the rudder. Cue more work by my good friend Mr Dremel for concern (a.) to thin the width of the fins' locating tabs and some plastic stock has been added to the fin base for concern (b.). The plastic stock will be reduced width-wise to match the base and in profile to yield a minimal gap with the rudder (one of those was taken care of this morning). Fins and wings should follow soon thereafter.

 

Andrew.

 

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Superb job! I wish I could keep it clean like that -seem to always make a mess at least somewhere. Regarding the underside panels between the ventral fins; have you restored them by using putty/ Surfacer or is it plastic?

 

Jay

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Like it. I too had the gap with the fin problem and thought that I had built it wrong as I could not see other builders with the gap. I glued the fin on and then filled with plasticard.

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9 hours ago, Mountain goat said:

Superb job! I wish I could keep it clean like that -seem to always make a mess at least somewhere. Regarding the underside panels between the ventral fins; have you restored them by using putty/ Surfacer or is it plastic?

 

Thanks Jay. They are pieces of plastic (a punched disc in the case of the circular panel and a rectangle with rounded corners for the other panel) glued and then carefully sanded down to scale thickness. I think I've actually over-thinned them, as the edges are a little vague now. I might have a go at masking what's there and paint it with some Surfacer to re-establish the shapes. Next time I'll leave them a little too thick, prime the area then thin a little further - this should help maintain some definition at the edges.

 

7 hours ago, Jabba said:

Like it. I too had the gap with the fin problem and thought that I had built it wrong as I could not see other builders with the gap. I glued the fin on and then filled with plasticard.

 

Thanks Jabba. The fit of the fin overall isn't great - I've added mine and had to fill the gap between tail and fuselage this morning. I think it should clean up okay though.

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Well, it looks like my comment from yesterday disappeared into the www ether....

 

Your progress is great Andrew. These should be finished in no time.

 

I was wondering if you will get back the F-111s when you have finished these?

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16 minutes ago, TrojanThunder said:

Your progress is great Andrew. These should be finished in no time.

 

I was wondering if you will get back the F-111s when you have finished these?

 

Thanks very much Ray. As to the Pigs, so much effort was expended on those that they will definitely be finished, but the priority for their completion has plummeted since that GB finished. I'm having so much fun with these Mirages (and thinking about adding some delta Mirages to this build) that it might be quite a while before work on the Pigs resumes.

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Oh you were building an F-111 as well - forgot about that. I hadn't finished them on time either. These two F1s look to be comfortably ahead of schedule - nice work! Looking forward to variant-specific details like the camera gondola.

 

Jay

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On 22/07/2017 at 5:30 AM, Mountain goat said:

Looking forward to variant-specific details like the camera gondola.

 

Thanks Jay - me too! I've now stuck one on the F1CR, although I dithered for a while as to which I should put on; there's a choice of two and the very late configuration is what I've gone with (rather than the one with the obvious camera window). The F1CT will receive a fairing modified from the same type of late gondola applied to the F1CR. I don't think that what resembles a laser rangefinder in the Special Hobby kit is relevant to the F1CT (evidence that I should have waited for a specific F1CT boxing?), hence the work to provide one from other bits. I'll update the thread with photos when I'm a little more progressed.

 

Andrew.

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Here's where they're at currently (yes, both refuelling probes have now been removed - I got sick of snagging the remaining one and will just have to replace both prior to painting):

 

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F1CR underside:

 

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F1CT underside:

 

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Both noses, with gondolas/fairings in place:

 

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cheers, Andrew.

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5 hours ago, Graeme H said:

... the F1 might make it to the top of the pile

 

You won't regret it if you do; I think that Special Hobby have made a nice kit and it turns into such an attractive little jet.

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Those are looking very nicely Andrew. The Mirages are getting 'in character' more or less, now with the gondolas in place. Great to see all the details on the underside, very noticeable now --also noticeable is how you've done your research before continuing. Great.

 

Jay

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Andrew,

 

You're making great progress (note to self - pull your finger out!).

 

I always thought the kit had the correct style of laser rangefinder in it, I'll have to revisit that.

 

Anyway, good work!

 

Wez

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Thanks to everyone for your kind words.

 

9 hours ago, Wez said:

...I always thought the kit had the correct style of laser rangefinder in it, I'll have to revisit that.

 

I desperately wished that what was provided in the kit was appropriate to the F1CT, but the photos I'm working from just didn't back that up. The kit offering may be suited to an F1AZ perhaps?

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More progress on small but significant aspects of the builds over the course of the week, but apparently little to show for it.

 

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Work included gluing numerous clear parts into place and then smoothing/polishing them, attaching the wingtip missile rails (as well as dropping one of the kits, breaking a bit of one rail off, hunting on hands and knees for broken bit, finding it and then re-attaching piece to rest of rail), making a second set of underwing chaff/flare dispensers and cleaning up the LGBs for the F1CT.

 

I even had the forward portion of the canopy attached early in the week, but soon realised that my work on smoothing/tidying the clear parts was directing sanding dust into the area behind the instrument coaming and directly underneath the canopy. Off came the forward portion of the canopies, to be reattached soon. How we laughed.

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After much stuffing around over the last couple of days, I finally got both kits to the point where they could be primed. Some of the work included attaching (even re-attaching) canopies, making and attaching new refuelling probes and fitting the Master pitots - lovely things that they are.

 

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The priming was going well, right up until the point at which the F1CT dribbled off the old pen body I'd inserted up the jetpipe as a holder (no, it wasn't secured properly) and landed sharpest point down on the desk (damn all that noseweight!), with added somersault and half-pike. The pitot did not appreciate the burden I'd suddenly inflicted on it, and elected to bend as gracefully as it could under the circumstances (when the kit first came to rest it looked to me as though the tip of the pitot had broken off, but apparently they're made of stronger stuff - in this case, brass). Anyway, here's a shot of both jets primed. See if you can pick which jet went for the tumble...

 

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Hmmm, I think some adjustment might be necessary here; oh, the indignity. Break out the hammer (again).

 

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Okay, here are the actual tools used in the Great Pitot Straightening of 2017, and the result...

 

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Seems to match the F1CR pretty well...

 

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The stray bit of starboard missile rail from the F1CT has also been reattached (again), so I'm hoping that's it for hilarity and mirth for now.

 

thanks for looking, and not laughing tooooo loudly.

 

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Well I can hardly believe the coincidence, I did something very similar, when using an exacto knife up the tailpipe and painting merrily away not noticing how I was tilting it and the oh dear moment, made a desperate attempt to catch it, half successfully, but dropped the airbrush and paint went all over my legs (I wear shorts) 

I did mage to save the pitot though, took half an hour of cleaning up my legs with thinners, I wonder how skin friendly that is?

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