Avgas Posted July 5, 2017 Author Share Posted July 5, 2017 Cheers Wez. About the signature - it took me an age to find the right menu to insert it and I've just tried looking for it again without success. I do remember it's well hidden somewhere. I'll have another go later but in the meantime, feel free to save mine and use it if you figure it out before I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted July 5, 2017 Author Share Posted July 5, 2017 @Wez Figured it out - Click on the drop down menu next to your name at the top of the screen above the forum header. Select 'account settings' and on the following screen, on the left hand side, is a signature option. Then of course it's a matter of pasting the link of your hosted image. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 36 minutes ago, Avgas said: @Wez Figured it out - Click on the drop down menu next to your name at the top of the screen above the forum header. Select 'account settings' and on the following screen, on the left hand side, is a signature option. Then of course it's a matter of pasting the link of your hosted image. Thanks for that, I've done it in the past but that was before the forum upgrade, just of to find a banner... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Most impressive work in the cockpit, very commendable, Glynn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Nice work on repainting the photo etch, especially the yellow/black stripes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 (edited) I thought I'd better come out of hiding and post something.. Truth is my mojo vanished after attending RIAT as I became more interested in the photography side of aviation. It's back now, thanks to the realisation that this is a cheaper hobby. First job was to attach the fore and aft sections of the fuselage. I inserted some tabs to make alignment easier when the time comes to join left and right. The wheel bays were inserted and the locating hold drilled out. I think part of the problem this kits stance looks wrong (ie too level, not slightly nose up as it should be), is the fact that the gear legs are at an incorrect angle. Drilling the semi circular hole out will allow me to rotate the legs to a more correct angle. That's the theory anyway. The legs themselves are slightly too long but that's a problem I'm not brave enough to correct. The following is an example of the clean up required on pretty much every part of this kit. It's a young kit, so the excuse that the moulds are old doesn't fly. Seems like KH took the cheap otion when producing it. The plastic itself is horrible, soft and crumbly, it has to be said. Removing parts from the sprues (with a proper Xuron cutter) must be done with utmost care to prevent chunks being taken out at the attachment point. Parts prepped for metallics. I used a mix of Tamiya X-1 and Klear, which toughens the X-1 in the absence of Primer (no sanding smooth required this way). Sparayed and sealed, ready for a wash. The paint used is Mr MetalColour Aluminium. Thanks for popping by - More to follow soonish. Edited August 23, 2017 by Avgas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 I wondered where you'd got to, welcome back and good to see some progress! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 (edited) Got some more done in between kids running around (6 weeks holiday is too long ) . First up, got the fuselage together. Not a perfect fit, but as close as I could get it. The elastics tell the story of a bit of a struggle toward the rear. Next up, it was onto the wings. This was the starting point: Wings that a Harrier would be proud of. The wing joint on this kit takes a fair amount to get more or less right. Both the angle and height (ie left untouched it would create a fairly hefty step) needed attention. The locating holes needed to be enlarged to allow some wiggle room and strategic shims on 3 of the 4 tabs. The result was satisfactory. You'll have to take my word for it at this time because I have not put glue to plastic yet. Assembling the wings themselves came first. KH would have you assemble the slats extended but I didn't fancy that, so some clipping, gouging, scraping and sanding was needed. Then it was on with the PE spoilers and some flappy things. Both needed shimming due to gaps. The inboard flappy things will be attached once the wings are attached permanently. Some filler was needed on holes intended for placement of later life modifications. I also reshaped the wingtip pylons to resemble what I have in reference pics. Good enough for me. More soon. Edited August 31, 2017 by Avgas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Looks good! Imterestong wing drop.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted September 1, 2017 Author Share Posted September 1, 2017 A little bit more done. Having observed a similar build on another forum in which the builder shortened the main landing gear, I decided to brave it. My hope is it helps corrects the stance of the jet. Credit to said modeller who pops in here from time to time I took a few mm out of the centre, pinned both parts and stuck them together. Pretty happy with that I managed to keep them straight! End result, prior to glue. Next was attaching the wings, which I've been dreading.. On went the glue and into the state of the art jig the whole lot went. Came out ok. Looking more like a Mirage now. Much better, but they're not 100% - about 1mm out which is good enough for me. I hope to get the lumps, bumps and canopy on before priming it by the end of the weekend. More soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme H Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 Nice work, coming along well must say that is the first time I've seen Salt and Pepper shakers used in Modelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted September 2, 2017 Author Share Posted September 2, 2017 Yea, thanks. Not sure it's going to catch on though.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted September 2, 2017 Share Posted September 2, 2017 Good work with the U/C and I like the jig that you used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted September 4, 2017 Author Share Posted September 4, 2017 Thanks Jabba. Took another step with this build. Glass on. I'm going to be building it with open canopies so they were not glued in. Some fairing in required with both glued parts. Kind of got there. Priming has revealed one or two spots that need attention. A tiny bit of filing was necessary but the fit was quite good and on the whole I'm happy. Primer on Painting next, right? Wrong.. Beside the usual touch ups required, my fears about the panel lines have materialised. Some areas are ok, but half, if not more, are just too shallow and never stood a chance. I considered not priming for this reason but decided I'd better. Looks like I'm going to have to go over it with a scriber. Happy days! I'm going to delay that job as long as I can and get on with other bits I think..! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Great work on the wings! Looks quite like a F1 now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted September 7, 2017 Author Share Posted September 7, 2017 Update: I decided to put a bit more effort into this and went around the airframe, fixing what I could. I've had another go at fairing in the windscreen and decided the wing to fuselage join needed more attention. Some sanding and filling later, I had a much neater join. I rescribed and re-rivetted both wings as this detail had been lost and/or was too shallow to begin with. It's hard to see in this picture, but it's the best my camera could muster in low light. I'll try to get a pic during daylight hours some time. It's onto the painting now - my favourite part of any build I got a start this evening with some preshading/modulation of the underside. It's heavily thinned Tamiya XF-2 over the Halfords grey primer. Mr.Hobby Aqueous H311 (FS 36622) will go over the top, which I'll hopefully get around to doing tomorrow. That's the state of play at the moment. More soon! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted September 8, 2017 Author Share Posted September 8, 2017 Another small update as I won't be doing any more modelling for the day. Got the first colour on (FS36622). Thought I'd use some of the fabled Mr.Colour Levelling Thinner for the first time and was not disappointed. A bit smelly, but lovely stuff! Got the wheels out and thought they looked a bit balloon like. I compared them to the wheels from the Esci kit and somebody definitely has the wrong size wheels. Yes you, Kittyhawk. I'm willing to bet it's you. The plan is to hook them up to my Dremel and grind them down to a more reasonable size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Well, it's easy to know : it's written on it : main wheel has a diameter of 605 mm which gives 12,65 mm for 1/48 scale... http://data3.primeportal.net/hangar/luc_colin3/mirage_f-1m_c.14/images/mirage_f-1m_c.14_56_of_74.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted September 8, 2017 Author Share Posted September 8, 2017 Thanks. That makes KH's wheels roughly 10% too large. Esci's are too small by about the same amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 More preshade/modulation on the top side done (Tamiya white over Halfords primer). This is a slightly experimental paint technique for me as I don't usually paint quite like this. The plan is to add the top colours as a highly thinned filter over the black/white. Hopefully I'll be able to adjust the underlying tones with successive passes of colour. If it all goes south then I can overcoat the whole lot and start again. Hopefully I'll be able to update later with the results. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchem Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 3 hours ago, Avgas said: .....If it all goes south then I can overcoat the whole lot and start again...... I'm loving the thought process. My mantra would be "if it all goes south, then I can put it in a box in the loft with all of the other models that have gone south !" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share Posted September 10, 2017 Nothing wrong with your mantra @mitchem. Mine is usually similar, along with a sulk and maybe a kicked cat (not really) somewhere in there. It's just being a GB, I feel a bit of an obligation to finish this one How's your Cheetah coming along? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchem Posted September 10, 2017 Share Posted September 10, 2017 My Cheetah build ? Let's just say that I'm doing my very best to destroy the Cheetah's reputation as the fastest land mammal in the world. Too much time spent on BM looking at everyone else's builds I'm afraid - far easier. mike 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted September 11, 2017 Author Share Posted September 11, 2017 Main Camo done. Not quite what I wanted but that's the problem when you build as infrequently as I do - I forget what works and what doesn't! A good place to start with some post shading though, which is the route I'll now be taking. My Hate-Hate relationship with PE is still as strong as ever A few touch ups to the paint needed along with reattaching the PE before painting the nose and metalwork at the rear. Thanks for stopping by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted September 13, 2017 Author Share Posted September 13, 2017 Some post shading done with diluted base colours and Tamiya Smoke. It should get knocked back a bit with the matte coat. Having said that, I do plan to go to town with pastels. I like them dirty. Next is the metal bit at the nozzle end which I wish I'd done earlier, a clear coat, then decals. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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