Mirage F1.C exhaust - AML Resin 1/48

[pigsty]

Mirage F1.C exhaust – AML Resin, 1/48

Esci’s (now Italeri’s) 1/48 Mirage F1 is a decent old kit but it doesn’t have a very convincing rear end. (As mentioned elsewhere, it’s a little lacking at the pointy end too). The engine exhaust suffers from a number of faults: the jetpipe is too short, the afterburner is too coarse and nothing like the real thing, and the variable nozzle has barely-defined petals and a square lip.

Here are both parts. This is, alas, typical of Esci’s 1/48 jets. There are two traditional ways round it if you don’t feel up to scratch-building: photo-etched brass, and resin. I’ve used Eduard brass to gussy up a MiG exhaust in the past and it works very well. The only slight problem was having to fold two flat sheets of brass into circles and fit one inside the other. It can be done, but it doesn’t repay close scrutiny, shall we say. So when I learned that a resin exhaust was available for the Mirage, I went straight for it.

The set (AMLA 48 033) comes from AML, a small firm in the Czech Republic that produces short-run kits, resin and brass accessories, and decals. They range widely over European and Soviet subjects.

Instead of two rudimentary bits of plastic, you get six resin parts, one etched part, and a length of wire. Reading from the top row they comprise:

• jetpipe
  
• fuselage frame
  
• turbine bullet
  
• turbine section
  
• nozzle outer section
  
• nozzle inner section
  
• afterburner rings
  

. I’ve not shown the wire – hopefully you know what that looks like.

This a slightly closer view of the nozzle parts. The resin is so thin as to be translucent, with each petal depicted separately and the structure faithfully reproduced. The parts are crisply moulded all through, although it has to be said that the nozzle sections are so thin that they’re easy to distort, and you may find that they need coaxing back to true before they’ll fit one inside the other.

Assembly is straightforward: put the turbine inside the turbine section; fold the single etched part over on itself and attach it just downstream of the turbine; attach the jetpipe; slip the inner nozzle inside the outer and attach it. The tricky bit comes at that last stage. You can just make out the nobbles on the inner nozzle (it’s the one on the right). Each of these is a mount for a rod that connects an inner petal to the matching one on the outer nozzle (also with nobbles, though they’re hard to make out). You have to fabricate the rods from the wire, which will cause two problems. One, the wire is curled up, so it may not straighten out very happily. And two, there’s not much of it. You’ll need to cut very carefully to ensure that you have enough, and the instructions don’t help because they don’t tell you how long each section ought to be. Still, fine wire is cheap and plentiful if you run out. Having done all this, you then insert the fuselage frame and slip the assembled exhaust into it once it’s set. The result is a full-depth jetpipe with layers of detail down to the rear of the engine.

Fit is tricky to evaluate because of the quite large pouring blocks, but the indications are good. The fuselage frame fits snugly, being keyed to the little strakes that lie behind the tailplane attachment points, and the engine section fits comfortably into that with no play. And the inner nozzle slips into the outer one with the right clearance.

You’ll want to be careful over assembly. You need to remove the pouring blocks precisely – if they’re a little off, the various bits of pipe won’t line up. And you have to measure very carefully when inserting the fuselage frame, since its position is essential to having the nozzle sit snugly at the rear of the fuselage. With the engine section being tapered, there’s only one correct way for it to go into the frame, so you get no leeway to help you there.

Overall, this is an excellent package. It will be a great enhancement to what’s otherwise a decent kit. It’s a little pricy – Hannants has it for £16.20 - but you can order direct from AML (including postage) for around £12 depending on the exchange rate. Delivery from them is very quick and well-packaged. One small note of caution about it, though: mine came opened, because my address was on the inside.

Score: 9.5 out of 10

[Antoine]

Thanks, Sean.

[GForceSS]

I am working on this kit at the moment. I already have a Cobra Co. cockpit for it, but the jet pipes are something I could really use. Thanks! Now if someone would address those hideous main gear and those tires with ejector holes on their back side, that would be great....

[jenshb]

For wheels - look no further than Art Model. As for main gears, I believe the FM detailing set is the best option. SAC seem to be quite happy just copying kit gear legs (ejector pin marks and all), so you won't find any better gear there - only stronger because they're white metal. The remaining problem with the Italeri/Esci kit is now the windshield and the nose. The windshield is far too wide and the nose is too chunky to capture the sleek look we all love of the F.1...unless Squadron or Falcon does a canopy for the kit?

Jens

[exdraken]

that is how the one for the Mirage III (more or less the same, apart from specific detail and parts) looks like when build (by me...)