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Mirage F1AZ SAAF - Italeri/ Scaleworx 1/48 -take off!


exdraken

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African GB, so many options, such an interesting, bit also large geograhical area!

 

Originally I wanted to do a Cheetah based on the Heller Mirage III and Scaleworx conversion, or alternatively a Gripen D. 🇿🇦

I just build a Heller Mirage IIIB in the Heller GB.... but ok, but then surprisingly after 6 months in transit from South Africa, my F1AZ conversion arrived early February! :) :) :)

 

so I face a double F1 build now, together with a Quatari  EDA in the Gulf War GB ... :wall:

 

so here we have my Africa GB contribution, hope you approve! ;)

 

Mirage F1AZ SAAF - Italeri/ Scaleworx 1/48

 

QSZ3xc8.jpg

q1g40qV.jpg

 

you get a crisp resin front fuselage incl vacu canopy (that should correct Italeri's cross section) some PE, decals, a resin wheels, chaff/ flare dispenser fins, a adequate seat, resin nozzle etc... the full palette

 

YiWortk.jpg

 

cheers, 

Werner

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5 hours ago, Anthony Kesterton said:

That resin looks really good.  Is the Italeri kit using the old ESCI moulds, with some new parts?  I have the Esci Mirage F1 kit hidden away for a future build.

Yes, it is the Esci moulds

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8 hours ago, Anthony Kesterton said:

That resin looks really good.  Is the Italeri kit using the old ESCI moulds, with some new parts?  I have the Esci Mirage F1 kit hidden away for a future build.

exactly, as stated above it is the old ESCI kit, that was upgraded many year ago for this CR/ CT boxing with a load out representative of missions flown over the former Yugoslavia. You get some jamming pods, new pylons and twin bomb carriers for MAtra 250kgh bombs. quite a nice package actually. Still horrible Matra Magics, cockpit, wheels and nozzles though.

 

I think it still is the better F1 kit out there shape wise, although bested by far detail wise by the Kitty hawk kit. let's hope for a uptlimate Kinetic one :) 

 

the crucial cut was done 

yBiTQ47.jpg,

 

fit is good (at least at one side .. ;) ) the design of this conversion definitely looks very reasonable!

 

YB7OPTI.jpg

 

one thing that ESCI also got wrong is the air intake shock cones (or les sourris / mice! ) . they should be replaced by e.g. Pavla corrected ones :)  ESCIy moulded the double shock cones only found on the AZ and AD! so for this build no replacement is necessary!

hxC3btn.jpg

see the difference?

 

fit is also good here:

CIb3xsB.jpg 

IJkO4zp.jpg

 

 

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On 3/14/2021 at 1:36 PM, Anthony Kesterton said:

the old ESCI moulds, with some new parts?

just a quick photo of the additional sprue found in the CT / CR boxing. quite nice actuall!

cOPZL2E.jpg

 

the blue seat is from the scalewory conversion, the cream ones I actually have no idea any longer, but one of them will be the one!

WrCkUC3.jpg

th right one may be a MKIV and the others MKVI?s

 

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Great subject choice Werner, even if it'll take some work to get all the various disparate parts together, the result is going to look great :speak_cool:

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what kind of big a.. bombs are those?

3h3fjl6tz2v11.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&a

https://preview.redd.it/3h3fjl6tz2v11.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=2431c19695949423dd88fe3113bcbec0efaef6f8

 

 

got to mate fuselages :)

tdZ2GpV.jpg

JjstiJN.jpg

kD9xn6O.jpg

BTzvdlm.jpg

some more filler needed, but manly my fault overcorrectnig the first cut.. will be dealt with when adding the intakes :)

 

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Thats coming along nicely Werner. I did this conversion and finished it last year and it was a trouble free build. You will have to decide on which period the AZ dates from  as there are parts included which only became avialable late or at the end of the Border War. 

Using the MaV decals ? 

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Coming together nicely Werner :speak_cool:

 

I've no idea what those Big A.. Bombs are (ex-RAF 1,000lbs maybe?) but they do look cool!

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With regard to the bombs I had a dig around and the only thing I came up with is 250kg but those look too big to fit the bill.  Maybe the H2 ?

I would link a reference into the old IPMS ZA site but I couldn't find it. There were extenisve articles about the F1Az.  Anyhow I made up an ordance layout map based on info I git off it there 

 

bomb.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=boun

 

 

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thanks everybody regarding the bomb load!

 

https://www.isradecal.com/product-page/iaf-vintage-500kg-gp-bombs-1-48

ddb4b4_f9788364df4e44229ad7700334132ae5~

 

those supposedly 500kg perfectly fit the bill, no? 

tail unit again looks strange..

 

those 400 kg bombs are French Matra bombs, I think they look slightly different

http://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/weapons/25/400-kg-bomb

display_photo.jpg

 

the 1000lb bomb fits better.. is this a british bomb?

http://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/weapons/29/1000-lb-bomb

display_photo.jpg

 

strange strange strange... ;) 

 

 

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Hi Werner,

 

Good going on the F-1AZ, and glad you are enjoying the build so far :)

The bombs appear to be 460kg bombs, jokingly called a "Varkie" (that is Afrikaans for piggy) by the armorers.

 

gHs11yX.jpg

 

My boy always enjoyed playing on one at the Ysterplaat Air Force Base Museum.

 

aqkdFDy.jpg

 

Cheers,

John

Edited by Bladerunner
Typo
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On 4/10/2021 at 5:53 PM, Boman said:

Looks like M117's? 

You might be right, the bomb on the outboard pylon looks like an M117.

Interesting to see a mixed load out like this...

Edited by Bladerunner
Missing text
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/11/2021 at 7:22 PM, Bladerunner said:

You might be right, the bomb on the outboard pylon looks like an M117.

Interesting to see a mixed load out like this...

would those be used operationally like this?

 

https://www.eduard.com/Eduard/M-117-bomb-early-1-48.html?listtype=search&searchparam=M 117

648188_1.png

 

very close to th eabove museum one indeed!

 

some crude pre-shading , the lower one is the one that counts, just in case :D

lqXKBZy.jpg

 

nsziUWr.jpg 

Rg3vcET.jpg

vacu canopy work!

 

th emost interesting thing is that it is different in saze and shape to the Italeri plastic one....

maybe I will not open it up, but use as one piece / closed instead..

 

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If the canopy is so clear as to display the cockpit detail closed it'll help showcase that and the nice lines of the Mirage F.1 at the same time :) 

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On 4/19/2021 at 11:14 PM, exdraken said:

th emost interesting thing is that it is different in saze and shape to the Italeri plastic one....

If I remember correctly, the Esci/Italeri windscreen is too wide so perhaps Scaleworx addressed this? 

 

Looking good so far! 

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13 hours ago, Avgas said:

If I remember correctly, the Esci/Italeri windscreen is too wide so perhaps Scaleworx addressed this? 

Quite right, the original ESCI main canopy (too short) and windshield (too long and too much outward taper in the front) proportions are way out. This is also the reason why the forward fuselage has to be replaced with the resin one, to accommodate the correct canopy, as well as the cockpit tub that was too shallow.  🙂

 

Cheers, 

John 

Edited by Bladerunner
Correction
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4 minutes ago, Bladerunner said:

Quite right, Greg. The original ESCI main canopy (too short) and windshield (too long and too much outward taper in the front) proportions are way out. This is also the reason why the forward fuselage has to be replaced with the resin one, to accommodate the correct canopy, as well as the cockpit tub that was too shallow.  🙂

 

Cheers, 

John 

Excellent. 

 

Now I'm sure that Greg is a fine and upstanding fellow, but I am not he 😉

 

 

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