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Dassault Mirage IVP (Heller 1/48) decal option questions


Filler

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Could anyone shed some light on the decal options for this kit? I am hoping to finish it in a late 80's scheme. It looks like my options are either the UpNorth set which think is perhaps best and the Model Art set which I can't find a high enough res image of the instructions to see what years the schemes are for. The advantage of the Model Art set is that it's available from Hannants and I can combine it with an order for another set of decals I want. The UpNorth set is available with a hefty £5.40 shipping charge. You might think it's not worth worrying about, but I really wanted to build something pretty inexpensive for once and the kit cost just £24 delivered, so I'm a bit reluctant to spend £13 on decals. Are the Heller kit decals really as terrible as everyone says? They are also markings for a 1995 aircraft which is later than I'd like, but perhaps they hadn't changed since 1988ish?

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There are/ were also some nice special schemes from Syhart decals.

 

The up-north also includes a scribing template I think.

 

 

I have a pretty new release of this kit, those decals look nice

 

Some decals and more stuff you might need:

https://the48ers.com/advancedsearch/result/?q=Mirage+iv

Or here an alternative set $$

https://www.gdkits.com/en/smds-smds48004d-1-48-dassault-mirage-iv-p-18223.html

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The Syhart decals do look good Werner, but I'm not a massive fan of special schemes and they're also mid-nineties retirement schemes. The UpNorth decals and the describe set are separate items. Combined they cost more than the kit and I really was hoping for a cheap simple build. But who am I kidding? I'll probably end up buying some extras. The SMDS ones look pretty good and like the UpNorth set, they cover the whole life of the type.

 

The trickiest thing is this period I restrict myself to, the late eighties, was the transitional period of the IVA to IVP. And photographic references are almost impossible to find - presumably owing to the French not wanting to much attention paid to their nuclear deterant.

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probably I did not see your 80ies timeframe.... sorry! :D

 

 

did you find these?

https://www.modartdec.com/mads-148.html

 

and I guess you need at least those....

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/aml-amla48045-mirage-iv-exhaust-nozzles--317020

sorry ;)

 

that is what my kit decals look like, do you have the same ones?

Uz1gtUh.jpg

 

 

 

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Cheers Werner, I couldn't seem to find their site. 99% sure that's the boxing I've ordered - it's due to arrive tomorrow. I bought it after visiting the Yorkshire Air Museum on Friday and seeing their gorgeous Mirage IV.

 

I'm leaning towards the UpNorth decals and their rescribe set now and by some weird coincidence, I've just had an email from Hannants telling me the resin exhausts on my watchlist are back in stock. The other great addition would be the Neomega cockpit, but I think I'll skip them and shut the lids on it.

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19 hours ago, Filler said:

The trickiest thing is this period I restrict myself to, the late eighties, was the transitional period of the IVA to IVP. And photographic references are almost impossible to find - presumably owing to the French not wanting to much attention paid to their nuclear deterant.

 

Have you tried searching out some back issues of French language magazines such as Le Fana de l'Aviation , Air Action , Air Fan or RAIDS Aviation for example?

 

There are also a couple of French language books on the subject that might help.

 

Without a lot of digging out and searching I could not be sure of the split between IVA/P coverage in them but in English I recall some articles in past issues of Air International , Aviation News in its current form from KEY , Air Forces Monthly as well as World Air Power Journal & the later International Air Power Review.

 

The French were not quite as shy as the UK was about showing off their nuclear potential  possibly because of an attitude expressed by De Gaulle when he was attributed with saying that he preferred the idea of fear inducing aircraft rather than fighter aircraft.      Conversely the UK was more discreet about such matters and even substituted  'strike' as a euphemism for 'nuclear' capability and was reluctant to portray any nuclear weaponry except perhaps Blue Steel which could hardly be hidden in photographs whereas somewhere among my own pile of the above French titles I have at least one which has images from an annual photoshoot showing various operational ADLA and Aeronaval aircraft loaded with the appropriate shapes. 

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Hello filler,

 I am building one as we speak, and I can say that the register of the kit decals is spotty at best. I’m using a Berna decal sheet for the early aircraft. There seems to be another on Hannants site, but I know very little about that sheet.

I have not found a photo of a camouflaged Mirage IV with the red upper surface air brakes as per my kit.

 It’s good to see Heller has given a decal for the Antilope radar. The kit panel lines in this area are ludicrous, IMHO.
I’m engraving all major panel lines, as I’m building a NMF model. That’s good for a month of work at my pace. 😊

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Thanks @Des. I'll start researching a bit more now and see if I can track down some of the titles you've mentioned. The kit arrived today and although it is the IVP boxing, it has all the A parts still (which is actually just the free-fall bomb - the P parts are just a blanking plate for the bomb recess, a pylon and the ASMP) but only 1995 P decals. However, I do have the UpNorth deca;s coming and they include A and P markings. So I'm now leaning towards an A model circa 1987 carrying an inert AN-22

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Hi @Tony Whittingham,

 

So my concerns about the decals are confirmed then. That's a pity, but I'd already decided I'd need aftermarket decals and ordered the UpNorth set.

 

Rescribing is my most feared modelling task, so I don't know yet if I can be as brave as you.

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Hello, 

 

You may want to vist a dedicated to Mirage IV group on Facebook. It is of course a french langage group, but it has a lot of pics, documents and is mostly staffed with former pilots and tech personnels. beside they are very friendly.

Of course they're not modellers, but thay'll be able to help with your questions about the real McCoy

linky LE MIRAGE IV

 

HTH,

 

Best

 

Stef (#6)

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On 10/22/2020 at 2:21 PM, Des said:

There are also a couple of French language books on the subject that might help.

 

After posting my comment with the above a couple of days ago I checked on Amazon to see if there was anything new available and came across this title for the first time although it has been around since 2005  Mirage IV - La fin d'un règne by Alexander Paringaux which is in French although heavily illustrated.

 

Although it does in part cover the development of the Mirage IV and there are a few images of nuclear armed Mirage IVA included the bulk of the magnificent photographic coverage is on the IVP and even then mainly the final years with ERS1/91 'Gascoigne' in the reconnaissance role which suits me as I have had the Heller kit and various resin including the recce pod set aside for years but might be an expensive outlay solely for IVA information.

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Depending on how detailed you want to go on your model, it can get expensive.

I will be converting mine to one of the Strategic Reconnaissance versions, and have collected the following kit & aftermarket:

 

Heller 1/48 AMD Mirage IVA (596)

 

AML Exhaust Nozzles (AMLA48045)
L'Arsenal CT-52 Recce Pod (AC4875)
L'Arsenal BOZ-103 Chaff Pod (AC4863)
L'Arsenal Barracuda ECM Pod (AC4809)
Neomega resin cockpit (C64)
Royale Resin weighted wheels (R082)
Model Design Construction scribing template set (SCR48001)
Model Art decals (48/010)

 

Some of the magazines that mention the Mirage IV are Air Fan 2000-04 (Issue 257), Sky Model No.31 (2006-10~11) & Replic No.127 (2002-03).

The Replic magazine has their famous "Photoscope" section, with LOTS of detailed photos.

 

Larry

Edited by ReccePhreak
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Thanks @Stéphane, that's a great link and I'll see if I can join the group.

 

That looks a great book @Des, and I have bought a German language book on the CH-53 before, so not put off by not being able to read it. I have found some good documentaries on YouTube (again in French) and they have provided a lot of good close up views of the aircraft.

 

@ReccePhreak, that is so often the dilemma with builds isn't it? I often think that once you start with aftermarket beyond decals, you kind of need to go a bit all or nothing and all can be very pricey. That's a very impressive collection of AM you have there though. I've got the AML exhausts on order and I've got the UpNorth decals and rescribe set (but I'm still terrified of recsribing) and a metal fueling probe is also on order. I've decided to give the Neomega cockpit a miss as it's another £24 and I tend to prefer the lids shut anyway. The weighted wheels are tempting and ResKit do some great looking ones, but I might have reached the limit of my spending on this build. I might just wait and see how good a job I do up to that point.

 

Despite having the latest IVP boxing, I am going to do a IVA build, probably 27 AZ carrying an inert AN22 as in July 1988 on the occasion of EB 2/94 Marne's disbanding ceremony. As  guess you're going to be building an IVP version Larry, I have noticed that the perhaps most notable difference between the A and P versions is the addition of radar warning receivers, forward on the wings and rear facing on the back of the small intakes mounted by the exhausts. They are not in the kit and aren't included in any aftermarket that I've seen, but they look fairly easy to scratch.

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