Mirage 5F, EC3/13 "Ardennes", Colmar, 1973

[Wez]

Another placeholder.

 

In a moment of weakness I succumbed to the purchase of a PJ Productions 1/72nd Mirage IIIR/RZ/5F, it's the newer tooling with the finer panel lines which will be perfect for the intended NMF. My older HPM version of this kit will end up in a camouflage finish at some time which will hopefully help disguise the heavier panel lines of the earlier version.

 

The kit will be finished as an AdA M5F, one of the supposedly embargoed aircraft intended for Israel but retained by France, this of course was a smokescreen for the real events.

 

I'll be using good old Modeldecal sheet 38 for the markings, I've had them for donkey's ages, I won't bore you with how many times I've biffed up the Heller IIIE/R/5 kit trying to alter the nose to the correct profile. The markings are for EC3/13 "Ardennes" whilst based at Colmar in 1973.

 

As I'm still on my holidays and I only ordered the kit today, I'll post the photos up when I get home - hoping of course the kit has arrived by then.

Edited June 26, 2017 by Wez

[Antoine]

Will you have time for a quick comparison of both kit, just to see if the retool was absolutely necessary?

[Wez]

1 minute ago, Antoine said:

Will you have time for a quick comparison of both kit, just to see if the retool was absolutely necessary?

 

Yes Antoine, I shall certainly do that even if it means I end up with egg on my face!

[Antoine]

Egg on your face?

I know I shoudn't have dodged english lessons...

[Wez]

1 hour ago, Antoine said:

Egg on your face?

I know I shoudn't have dodged english lessons...

 

When I have found to have done something or spent money unwisely....   ...or in this case, bought the new tooling kit when the original one would have done.

 

See here!

Edited June 27, 2017 by Wez
Link added

[Antoine]

Thanks a lot!

Je me coucherais moins con ce soir.

[Wez]

7 minutes ago, Antoine said:

Je me coucherais moins con ce soir.

 

Glad to help, don't want you missing out on your beauty sleep

[Gremlin]

excellent choice 

 

[Wez]

Back in Blighty, damn car battery was flat which was a great welcome home.

 

OK, so here's a start, apologies for the pictures, they're taken on my phone and I'm no photographer.

 

Here's the kit:

 

 

Then here's the instructions with the resin and etched brass ladder, the resin is better quality than that in my older HPM kit, it has less pin-holes for a start.  The resin includes a replacement seat, the big fuel tanks, a replacement fin and a clear recce nose, the plastic noses are in the same darker plastic as the original kit, the rest of the mouldings are in a lighter grey plastic, I'm wondering if the noses have been retooled :

 

 

Here's the decals, I'll be using, the venerable Modeldecal sheet 38, I think this was the second Modeldecal sheet I ever bought, sent off for it with a postal order, I got it for the 8 Sqn Vampire and the Belgian F-84F, the Mirage 5F proved to be a bonus:

 

 

Now I've uploaded the picture I realise it's not as clear as I'd like, I'll re-shoot the the pertinent bits tomorrow.

 

Finally, the references, the Mirage III book is a gem, I know it's for the B/C but there's a lot that applies to the 5, then there's the Lock-on book.  I've never been able to afford the DTU books.

 

 

Modelling will commence at the weekend, I have some jungle garden taming to do.

 

Yes Antoine, I'll do a comparison between the newer and older kit...   ...possibly tomorrow.

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good morning Wez

 I am looking forward to see the beginning of this build ..

I would like to build one of these PJ kits but they are too expensive for my wallet ..

 

Patrice

[Wez]

1 hour ago, TEMPESTMK5 said:

Good morning Wez

 I am looking forward to see the beginning of this build ..

I would like to build one of these PJ kits but they are too expensive for my wallet ..

 

Patrice

 

Patrice,

 

I did buy the kit with some trepidation, we really need a modern kit of these aircraft at a 1/3rd to 1/2 the price of these kits.

 

One thing is it concentrates the mind on not making a hash of the whole thing!

[TEMPESTMK5]

1 hour ago, Wez said:

 

Patrice,

 

I did buy the kit with some trepidation, we really need a modern kit of these aircraft at a 1/3rd to 1/2 the price of these kits.

 

One thing is it concentrates the mind on not making a hash of the whole thing!

Hi Wez

  In fact I was really considering buying one Pj Prod Mirage BUT as they didn't produced my favourite version the " IIIC " and given the high price of these Pj kits I changed my mind and opted for the HobbyBoss KIT .. I must admit that the high prices of these Pj Prod kits is a a problem for me while I would be glad to build several Mirage III C / E / R and I don't understand why these kits are so expensives .. I hope that one day another company will produce Mirage kits at decent prices so that we will be able to build several Mirages ..

 

Best regards

 

Patrice

 

 

[Wez]

9 hours ago, TEMPESTMK5 said:

Hi Wez

  In fact I was really considering buying one Pj Prod Mirage BUT as they didn't produced my favourite version the " IIIC " and given the high price of these Pj kits I changed my mind and opted for the HobbyBoss KIT .. I must admit that the high prices of these Pj Prod kits is a a problem for me while I would be glad to build several Mirage III C / E / R and I don't understand why these kits are so expensives .. I hope that one day another company will produce Mirage kits at decent prices so that we will be able to build several Mirages ..

 

Best regards

 

Patrice

 

 

 

Patrice,

 

Whilst there is some resin in the kits it wouldn't be sufficient to justify the price, I think the bottom line is we have a mainstream kit coming from non-mainstream manufacturers, their overheads may be higher and they need to recoup their costs more quickly.

 

Personally, I'm pleased that they've concentrated on the longer fuselage versions such as the IIIE and 5 derivatives as I find them more interesting and with more colour scheme variations than the IIIC, but it would be a dull old world if we all liked the same thing (don't get me wrong, I like the IIIC but I prefer the IIIE/5).

 

A IIIC would be possible from this kit with a short forward fuselage.

 

I'm with you though, I want dozens of Mirage IIIR/5 variants, I just can't afford them at that price.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Wez
Removal of auto correct added word (profit)

[TEMPESTMK5]

1 hour ago, Wez said:

 

Patrice,

 

Whilst there is some resin in the kits it wouldn't be sufficient to justify the price, I think the bottom line is we have a mainstream kit coming from non-profit mainstream manufacturers, their overheads may be higher and they need to recoup their costs more quickly.

 

Personally, I'm pleased that they've concentrated on the longer fuselage versions such as the IIIE and 5 derivatives as I find them more interesting and with more colour scheme variations than the IIIC, but it would be a dull old world if we all liked the same thing (don't get me wrong, I like the IIIC but I prefer the IIIE/5).

 

A IIIC would be possible from this kit with a short forward fuselage.

 

I'm with you though, I want dozens of Mirage IIIR/5 variants, I just can't afford them at that price.

I don't simply understand them they would sell many more kits if they price was more reasonable and let's not forget that Pj Prod works with HighPlanes for the Exotic versions Dagger Nesher etc ...

 I understand you prefer the III E/5 family and all their attractive colours ... and I agree with you it what a boring world it would be if we all liked the same things ..

 

Happy modelling

 

Patrice

 

 

 

[Wez]

As promised, a better view of the decals, I have to paint the fin pink where the hand/face bits are - I think I can manage that!

 

 

[Jabba]

Another good choice Wez, and good luck with the build. Intrigued with how the PJ kit goes together.

[Wez]

Considering I was only going to do one model for this GB and this wasn't it, it's surprisingly the first one to be started but then the subject's been more than 30 years in the offing so it deserves to go first.

 

So here's what's been done thus far:

 

Rear fuselage joined together

Wings joined

Cockpit and exhaust provisionally painted...

 

 

So far, so good except there's a nasty gap on the underside of the wing, probably entirely of my own making.  The upper wings have the leading edge, where they butt up against the lower wing at the forward edge of the leading edge it pushes the upper wing out, next time I'll take more care in cleaning that edge of the lower wing up, the sprue gate attaches there so it probably needs a bit more fettling to make it fit correctly.

 

Whilst the gap looks like a yawning chasm it's fillable so I'm not too worried. 

 

 

 

Looking at the picture reminds me, I need to open up the holes on the centreline for the bomb rack...

 

...fianlly, here's the fin, you get a resin one with the parabrake housing included or this plastic one, I'll be using the plastic one, I need to remove the RWR bullet fairing from the leading edge as this wasn't present on the subject aircraft at the time.

 

 

You can see from the moulding there's an element of cleaning up required on some of the parts.

 

It's great to be back at the bench!

[Mountain goat]

What a great choice -so much goodness oozing from this sub-type. The 5Fs were very active aircraft and went everywhere. Stumbled onto this interesting pic the other day, a 5F close up in '79 wearing three year old exercise markings plus zaps from 31 Sqn RAFG. Maybe of some use even if not the same era/ colour scheme.

 

http://bdd.deltareflex.com/cns_affiche.php?image=11645

 

Interesting stuff turning up in the build already. Good thing about the PJ kit is that it comes with essential after market stuff already in it, so no need for (much) more. But I agree with what you said above: it's still too expensive. By the way I bought my first PJ Mirage (two seater, thinking that if when a mainstream Mirage comes, it won't be two-seat) this week and I am quite impressed!

 

Jay

[Wez]

@Mountain goat thanks Jay, great photo that too! Close up's like that are good for details like in-service weathering - those scrape marks made by the ladder for instance.

[Wez]

Not much modelling done over the past couple of days as I've been busy with other things, I do have a small update though.

 

I attempted to dry fit the plastic fin to the assembled fuselage, I found there were some scars or imperfections on the tab at the base of the fin which needed reducing/eliminating.  I used some tape on the fin both as a guide to prevent me going too far and to protect the surface detail. 

 

Job done, I removed the tape but it left some residual gum so I grabbed a rag and solvent to remove said gum, unfortunately, I wasn't really concentrating and grabbed some Humbrol enamel thinners rather than the isopropyl alcohol I'd normally use for this job.  Instantly the plastic softened and crazed and I left fingerprints on the surface  instantly I was back to my first models when the 6 year old me would leave glue fingerprints as extra surface detail whether I wanted it or not.

 

I placed the fin carefully out of the way with the hope that it could be recovered, fortunately, the following day it had dried and the plastic had hardened and I was able to restore things using good old Micromesh!  Phew!  Big sighs of relief all around and a note to self to concentrate on what you're doing at the bench!

 

I've also bought some bullets and bombs for my Mirage splashing out on the PJ Productions Mirage III/5 Weapon Set.  You get Matra R-550 missiles and launch pylons; AIM-9B missiles and pylons; CES-3 pylons with adaptors and LAU-32 or LRF-4 rocket pods; CES-3 pylons with either Phimat, Barrax or Barracuda 2 DA pods; a PM3 ventral pylon with either Alkan P65 adaptors or STRIM bombs and finally JL-100 tanks and CRP-18 Pylons.  The latter combination is a combined drop tank/SNEB rocket pod, looks cool but a bit of a dodgy concept if you ask me.

 

As these aircraft were fighter-bombers I'm currently going with the centreline pylon with bombs, the big drop tanks on the main wing pylons and the CES-3 pylons with either the LAU-32 or the LRF-4 rocket pods on the outer wing stations, my question is, which is correct for a French aircraft, the LAU-32 or the LRF-4?  Looking at these photos, it looks like it's the LRF-4's.

 

Modelling will hopefully recommence at the weekend.

Edited July 13, 2017 by Wez
Link added

[Andrew]

Well done to save the fin, Wez. Half the challenge in situations like that is to just set the piece aside and let the plastic harden, allowing the microsmesh to work its magic later - I've learnt this from painful experience.

 

I agree with your assessment of the correct rocket pods; LRF-4 looks right. I think I've seen the other type (LAU-32) on Belgian Mirages, but not French jets.

 

Andrew.

[Wez]

2 hours ago, Andrew said:

I agree with your assessment of the correct rocket pods; LRF-4 looks right. I think I've seen the other type (LAU-32) on Belgian Mirages, but not French jets.

 

Thanks Andrew, I realise pictures would have helped but the more I look, the more I'm convinced that LRF-4 is correct.

[Antoine]

10 hours ago, Wez said:

Job done, I removed the tape but it left some residual gum so I grabbed a rag and solvent to remove said gum, unfortunately, I wasn't really concentrating and grabbed some Humbrol enamel thinners rather than the isopropyl alcohol I'd normally use for this job.

 

For sure, French wine doesn't help to concentrate...

 

Rocket pods are for sissies, you have to fit some RPK-10 fully loaded!

 

Edited July 14, 2017 by Antoine

[Wez]

On 14/07/2017 at 07:04, Antoine said:

For sure, French wine doesn't help to concentrate...

 

No, which is why I don't do any modelling when I've had a beer/glass of wine/G&T, it would lead to some rash and hasty decisions I'd very soon regret!

 

On 14/07/2017 at 07:04, Antoine said:

Rocket pods are for sissies, you have to fit some RPK-10 fully loaded!

 

Awesome war load, wonder what the range was like toting all that around?  I did look at some RPK-10's, PJ Productions do them but in the end, the other weapon set was better value (cheapskate I know)!  Great picture thanks for posting it.

[Antoine]

To be honest, I was quite surprised to find that easily so many pics of AdA 5F with those RPKs, as I've always thought for one reason or another that this was mostly made for export.