Lightningboy2000 Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 The story starts at the Peterborough model show with this one. Ah, what memories, those were the days when we had real model shows to visit! I'm sure those times will return! I was rummaging through a box of old Matchbox kits & was spotted by a venerable member of the Mirage SIG handling the Mirage IIIB. The decision was made there & then, especially when the Mirage SIG leader is there next to me! So a random peice of artwork was chosen from his French Air Force bible full of profiles, "i'll build that one!" This is a Matchbox kit in 1/72. Rescibed a few but not all panel lines, some existing panel lines were OK. No cockpit present, so boxed up something with side consoles. The underside rear fairing was non existent so I used one of the kit options from the Heller kit & added an arrestor hook. The Heller kit thankfully has plenty of options which allowed me to build both this & the 5BA. Also thanks to Special Hobby for providing multiple options in their F1 kit. For the instrument displays employed artistic licence & scavenged some consoles from Special Hobby Mirage F1 kits along with the Mk.IV ejection seats. The tanks were from the Heller kit I used for the Belgian black anniversary 5BA kit. I think they're strengthening rods that appear under the cockpit, I added them with brass tube. As a couple of pitot tubes extend from the both of them I flattened the tubing & added wire to them to represent the pitot's. Also added blade aerials from plastic sheet & some old left over PE aerials from old kits. I added some extra scrap plastic to the undercarriage legs to represent a bit more detail & some extra details to the undercarriage bay doors. Paints; Ammo Mig - upper colours & Vallejo Metal Colour Aluminium undersides. All the decals were taken from the Model Art sheet 72-067 & used some color reference photos from the Osprey Aerospace book "Mirage! Dassault's Mach 2 Warriors". Squadron marking references I worked from, were EC 1/13 at Colmar under the assumption that the roundels & upper wing markings would be similar, & the decal sheet had everything I needed. Looking at the photos in the book, the paint on the fuel tanks had peeled off great deal & there was a fair bit of weathering. Really look forward to a new tool 1/72 Mirage IIIB which I believe is on the way, so I can use the rest of the decals from the sheet. Markings are for Dassault Mirage IIIB No.217 2-FT EC 02/02 at Côte-d'Or Dijon-Longvic Air Force Base 1983 So some of the older Matchbox kits are worth a go, especially if they are the only option. In hindsight I could have found a correct length & shaped nose cone from somewhere as the kit profile does look a little too short. A note of warning to anyone planning to build this kit, the jet intakes are way too thick & don't taper in at the front, so they had to be sanded & shaped so that the intake lips are nice & thin. Thanks for looking & have fun with the older kits! Martin 40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Really like your model. The Mirage IIIB is such an elegant airplane. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulfman Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Marvellous Mirage, great work ! Wulfman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Nice job on restoring an elderly kit! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolphin38 Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Nice work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binbrook87 Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Wow that's nice. You can't beat an old Matchbox kit with a little bit of TLC they scrub up really nice (most of the time!) This particular one you've done proud 😁 Great work my friend. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Lovely work, that's a great build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinism Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Fantastic model of a beautiful aircraft and your photography is first class too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangor Lad Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Can't but agree with you about Matchbox kits. Most usually respond well to a bit of tlc. Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Nice job with this older kit Martin. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Martin, Cracking job with this old kit, very well done! I don't think it's any secret that I love Mirages and you've done the type proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 A great attempt, Martin, at a less-than-perfect kit. Well for sticking at it and producing a great model. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatFlyHalf Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 A tidy bit of modelling. The French had (and still have) some seriously good looking aircraft in their inventory. You've done this one proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightningboy2000 Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 23 hours ago, SAT69 said: Really like your model. The Mirage IIIB is such an elegant airplane. 23 hours ago, Wulfman said: Marvellous Mirage, great work ! Wulfman 22 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said: Nice job on restoring an elderly kit! 22 hours ago, dolphin38 said: Nice work 20 hours ago, binbrook87 said: Wow that's nice. You can't beat an old Matchbox kit with a little bit of TLC they scrub up really nice (most of the time!) This particular one you've done proud 😁 Great work my friend. 5 hours ago, F-32 said: Lovely work, that's a great build 5 hours ago, Darwinism said: Fantastic model of a beautiful aircraft and your photography is first class too! 3 hours ago, Bangor Lad said: Can't but agree with you about Matchbox kits. Most usually respond well to a bit of tlc. Great work! Cheers everyone, much appreciated! 😊 All the best Martin 3 hours ago, Courageous said: Nice job with this older kit Martin. Stuart Cheers Stuart old pal! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightningboy2000 Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 2 hours ago, Wez said: Martin, Cracking job with this old kit, very well done! I don't think it's any secret that I love Mirages and you've done the type proud. Thanks Wez! 😊 Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightningboy2000 Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 2 hours ago, RidgeRunner said: A great attempt, Martin, at a less-than-perfect kit. Well for sticking at it and producing a great model. Martin 2 hours ago, FatFlyHalf said: A tidy bit of modelling. The French had (and still have) some seriously good looking aircraft in their inventory. You've done this one proud. Cheers guys, yep they are attractive aircraft I think. I can see a few more of varying versions being completed. Especially with some new tools on the horizon from Modelsvit & Special Hobby. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinChipmunkfan Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Congratulations, that model has been transformed and looks first class- love the paint job 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 That's a cracking build Martin,hat's off to you for transforming Matchbox's kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme H Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Well done, not everyday we someone keen to take on the challenge of an old Matchbox kit, you have turned it into a silk purse 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim d Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Excellent work on an old kit. So nice to see someone getting such good results when working with non-state of the art (and expensive) kits. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis95 Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 She looks stunning mate! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightningboy2000 Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share Posted June 13, 2020 10 hours ago, tim d said: Excellent work on an old kit. So nice to see someone getting such good results when working with non-state of the art (and expensive) kits. Cheers! I would normally go for a newer tool kit, but it meant spending at least forty odd on a PJ kit, if I could find one! 9 hours ago, Lewis95 said: She looks stunning mate! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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