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Berna Mirage IIIB decals - reliable?


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I've never either built a Mirage or used Berna sheet - or indeed built a model of a French air force aircraft at all - so would welcome experienced views. I am minded to pick up a Berna sheet for the 1/48 Mirage IIIB. However since the decal sheet is going to cost 50% more than I paid for the kit (Heller) I would like to be reasonably sure they are not going to be problematic or wildly at variance with reality. I am not at all a Mirage expert but do like the look of a shiny natural metal one. 

Am hoping to pull off a rendition of this aircraft, which is represented on the sheet

 

21_46_b1.png

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Looking at the Berna Decals in front of me for the Alpha Jet and Mirage 2000, they're beautifully printed, glossy and in register with minimal carrier film.  I can't vouch for their stickiness or user friendliness as I've yet to use any on a subject yet but I've got plenty I would be very happy to use, they're very reminiscent of Modeldecal and Model Art which I don't see as a bad thing.

 

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I purchased a set of the Berna Mirage IIIB decals recently and tbh they seem awful! Super thick, matt and the carrier film has a strange textured appearance. I don't think they would look good on camo let alone a NMF, really disappointed. Maybe I got a bad print though. Here is a pic to show what I mean of the IIIB sheet,

 

L1200328

 

 

It's a shame because I wanted to do a Mirage IIIB also using the Heller kit (the kit decals in mine are well past their best) and I can't find any other IIIB decals out there.

 

David

Edited by mirageiv
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9 hours ago, exdraken said:

Why not use the  kit decals?

If you are not a Mirage enthusiast, I guess it would not matter a lot  anyways!

Berna is for sure ok.. though!

Because they are 40 years old (this is the original 1979 release of the kit), badly printed even by 1970s standards, and horribly out of register

Edited by Work In Progress
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2 hours ago, mirageiv said:

I purchased a set of the Berna Mirage IIIB decals recently and tbh they seem awful! Super thick, matt and the carrier film has a strange textured appearance. I don't think they would look good on camo let alone a NMF, really disappointed. Maybe I got a bad print though. Here is a pic to show what I mean of the IIIB sheet,

 

Interesting... looks like you tested one?

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3 hours ago, exdraken said:

I could check if I have some spares from either Eduard, Hobbyboss or another, newer Heller kit.

 

I highly doubt this exact scheme though!

The Eduard and Hobby Boss kits certainly have good decals and most natural metal Mirage IIIc and IIIb schemes use many of the same markings... let me know if you find anything you would like to part with!

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Hi Work In Progress,

 

I have used the IIIB decal set twice with no problems whatsoever.  I made 13-PN too with the Heller kit.  I was pleased with the resulting model.  It often gets displayed at UK model shows (although not this year) on the French Air Forces SIG displays.  I also used the set to make a camo EC 02/02 Cote D'Or aircraft, 207 2-FJ.  I can't share any images as my models as the photos went down the drain when PhotoBucket pulled their stunt a few years back.

 

I have seen IIIB models at French model shows which have used the Berna set.   In all cases, these models model were better finished than mine.

 

I would take a shot at your planned project if you can purchase a decent sheet.

 

 

Hope this helps

 

Zhizhou

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On 7/1/2020 at 9:10 AM, Work In Progress said:

Interesting... looks like you tested one?

 

Yep, the texture on the decal was very apparent on a painted aluminium surface, also the very matt clear film, probably the worst decal I have seen to be completely honest for a NMF. I've done a little more digging and I have a recent reprint of the sheet which is important. Earlier print runs look to have much better quality from the images I've seen, probably the reason for the positive replies by other people. I also have an earlier Berna 1/72 Mirage IV sheet which is very nicely done, nothing like the Mirage IIIB sheet I have now. I've seen some other recent reprints of the IIIB sheet after inquiring on ebay and they look exactly like mine with the texture and thickness so I'm personally concluding the most recent print run wasn't the best quality, not that Berna is poor quality in general. 

 

edit..If you do  end up getting one I'd be keen to know the quality of sheet you have. 

Edited by mirageiv
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