Parrahs Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 I thought I'd join in here. The kit of choice being Special Hobby's recent Mirage F.1CZ, picked partially to get to build a non-US or USSR jet, partially to get another roundel into the display cabinet, and partially because I basically just stumbled on the Namibian war of independence one day on wikipedia and found it peculiar that I had no memory of it at all beyond possibly some faint echoes of "UNITA" having been heard at some point in my childhood. Now the kit hardly seem like, say, a Tamiya one, but judging by this shouldn't be all too much problem. (Wez's tips noted.) Especially compared to, say, the Marivox Sk.60 I made for the Nordic GB. Anyway, as I tend to do I started with the ordnance so they'll be nice and largely done when I get into the final stretch towards the end. The missiles were rather approximately round, sanding off the mould line and step didn't really help there but at least they're now a bit more discreet about it. A quick bit of paint for the tank and umpteen coats of white for the missiles. And now they'll get to rets at this stage for a while as I'll decal and panel line them along with the aircraft itself. Cockpit work follows as customary. The manual leaves the chair for much later but I did not. Not the most positive connection between coaming&instrument panel and the tub, but it seems to have ended up about where it should be. That should look good enough through the canopy. Decals seem reasonably well behaved. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 Welcome to the GB and good luck, it'll be interesting to see this this in the South African scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 Nice! I’ll be interested so that I’m fully prepared when building my Gabonese machine - one day! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrahs Posted August 14, 2021 Author Share Posted August 14, 2021 Given the amount of filler and sanding needed overall assembly has been a very gradual affair. So first the fuselage itself glued up and fixed, then adding the nose, and so on. test fitting before the fuselage was joined up made me decide to follow the manual and join the nose halves separate form the fuselage since fitting the cone afterwards seemed a bit easier than making sure the halves were on straight on the fuselage halves. It also made it a bit easier to cram the nose full of airgun pellets and epoxy glue. Now the nose-body joint did end up as the by far worst fit of the kit, but whoever engineered it appears to have been preparing for that by not making the joint along any panel line. So just fill and sand it all away, without having to re-scribe that specific bit afterwards. Though some nearby panel lines needed a meeting with Mr PE saw afterwards instead. Quite some sprue gates at times. Now the exhaust there goes onto the afterburner can also seen there, and then you attach that to a bulkhead which has the engine end face on it. Making an assembly which... ...I should apparently have stuck into the fuselage before gluing it together. Luckily that bulkhead-like thing didn't serve a terrible lot of purpose, so a bit of enthusiastic chopping later the whole thing can just be slid into the assembled fuselage. So let's just pretend this was all intentional to allow me to paint it separately. That done the rest of the assembly was quite smooth sailing, though carving a chunk out of the fin to insert a resin piece didn't feel entirely safe. Starting to look like an aircraft. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted August 14, 2021 Share Posted August 14, 2021 7 minutes ago, Parrahs said: Starting to look like an aircraft. A very striking one at that. Looking great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 She’s looking good, mate @Parrahs. My fingers are itching and those voices in my head are returning . Last night I look a tour around the SH kit and it looks nice but I must resist! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 39 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said: She’s looking good, mate @Parrahs. Agreed. 39 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said: My fingers are itching and those voices in my head are returning . It's not just the voices in your head. 40 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said: Last night I look a tour around the SH kit and it looks nice but I must resist! Do it, do it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 I’d love to, mate, but I have the Vanneau not started and a bench with other builds needing my time and attention :(. I will certainly get to it but probably in the WIP section . I have the kit, the LF decal sheet (not the best and I might get a new set printed by Mika) and a plethora of resin all waiting for me to start Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 I am so fickle Wez @Wez! I have ideas, see something else and change tack! I’m out of control! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 10 hours ago, RidgeRunner said: I am so fickle Wez @Wez! I have ideas, see something else and change tack! I’m out of control! Glad its not just me then! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrahs Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 I tend to go into "just get the bloody thing done" mode if something new and shinier starts pulling my attention away. Which has its advantages for me, especially since I don't get it while out driving, but it has also proven to be to be a good thing for IKEA. Anyway, while waiting for canopy masks to turn up (the bit back by the hinge... nope) I started looking into what spare weaponry the kit had provided me with. There's a pair of Matra Super 530F off to the side that were easy enough to identify (nifty looking things, if anyone's planning a trip back in time please get South Africa to use them in the Namibian war while you're at it so I can use them here). That leaves us with... As far as I can tell this would be a Matra R.550 Magic currently in white (what the instructions tell me to use for my chosen paint scheme, staring at the manual I also just noticed they need a touch of grey as well) and then right to left V3B Kukri (any visual difference to the V3A?), a different Matra Magic and a bomb. (More details about the last one would be welcome.) I'm guessing it's the Magic 1 I'm going with here and Magic 2 that's left on the sprue? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 Great progress! Magic 1 and 2 should look exactly the same but the notched rear fins and a different seeker head ... not sure why they are not the same here.... The LGB looks like a GBU-12 to me, maybe a Paveway IV or GBU-49 because of the small GPS domes in front.. The missiles on the right look like some V3, correct! V3A, V3B, Aim-9B : https://www.saairforce.co.za/seed/public/files/weapon_images/66/461e52f91a9b0_large.jpg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrahs Posted August 19, 2021 Author Share Posted August 19, 2021 On 18/08/2021 at 00:12, exdraken said: Magic 1 and 2 should look exactly the same but the notched rear fins and a different seeker head ... not sure why they are not the same here.... The only difference here is that those left on the sprue have notched fins, so that checks out. GBU-49 seems plausible for the bombs, I thought I'd check the manuals for the other boxings to find a clue only to discover that they aren't meant for any of the multitude of boxings Special Hobby has released so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 Magic 1/2 to me the rear band looks different as well, not sure about the seeker section. Maroco might use those laser guided bombs on its upgraded F1s .. there is a GPS dome on the guidance section.. Strange indeed! The French F1s were GBU-12/22: capable, the Spanish used the GBU-16 and probably -10/ 24 on the centerline. If J remember correctly! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrahs Posted August 27, 2021 Author Share Posted August 27, 2021 The canopy mask finally showed up yesterday, so some quick work before I'll be stolen away by another group build here for a day or two. Priming showed a few spots along the spine that weren't what I hoped, so another quick pass with Mr Surfacer 500 there. With this and re-priming there's still a clear line along the seam, but the difference is less geometry and more texture by the looks of it, the filler seems to react a bit differently to sanding and priming than the plastic. As it turns out one of my rolls of masking tape was exactly the right width here. The internal bits got a bit of an acrylic wash, the exhaust is left without as it'll get its share along with the aircraft in general. The current state of affairs. Missiles have gotten their share of grey, landing gear painted up alongside the gear bays and inside of the doors, posterior gas emission parts have been glued together into an insertable whole. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 This is coming along nicely. I've only got an Airfix F.1 to do a South African bird, watching this is giving me "I need one of these too" feelings. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 On 8/14/2021 at 10:42 PM, Parrahs said: Luckily that bulkhead-like thing didn't serve a terrible lot of purpose, so a bit of enthusiastic chopping later the whole thing can just be slid into the assembled fuselage. So let's just pretend this was all intentional to allow me to paint it separately. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 (edited) If it's not too late : SH includes Magic and Kukri, the South African version of Magic, due to embargo. Magic are in light grey, never white. About GBU, they indeed look like GBU-49, however AFAIK, none of any version of Mirage F1 is able to launch GBU-49, except they are used with laser guidance like GBU-12... Edited August 28, 2021 by eclipse 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Progressing well. Looks pretty good in black! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrahs Posted August 28, 2021 Author Share Posted August 28, 2021 1 hour ago, eclipse said: Magic are in light grey, never white. Would that be a very light grey? In photos like https://www.globalsecurity.org/jhtml/jframe.html#https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/images/magic2-1.jpg||| and https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Galleries/Weapons/AAMs/Matra/Matra+Magic+II+on+an+overwing+pylon+of+a+Jaguar.jpg.html they look like they at leats could be white. But if not, well, a quick overspray with thinned down white to tint the two a bit would be easy enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Info comes from French Air Force ammunition specialist ("petaf" in French 😁). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrahs Posted August 28, 2021 Author Share Posted August 28, 2021 I guess I'll get the grey ready then, seems a bit unnecessary for the South Africans to repaint their missiles. And, hey, the white and grey did end up a bit strong in contrast as it was, so now I get to tone that down to a more reasonable level. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrahs Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 (edited) So after all the attention my entry into the blitzbuild got over the weekend my Mirage ha started to turn green with envy. Initial symptoms. And full progression. Now I'm confident that I can halt this and even push it back a bit, but to a large degree it's going to be chronic. It's also struck me that it would probably have been slightly easier to paint the nose and mask that first instead of the other way around, but at that point I was almost done with the mottling stage and didn't exactly feel like switching paints back and forth. At least I noticed the anti-glare black in time to pause the mottling, touch up the primer a bit with a hairy stick, mask and continue. Edited August 31, 2021 by Parrahs Fixed faulty image. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrahs Posted September 4, 2021 Author Share Posted September 4, 2021 Bandaging and touching up the black base for the next camo colour. Camo and belly done (took quite a bit of touchup work, for some reason despite spraying a lot more green than necessary I still ended up black borders between the green and tan in a lot of places), exhaust plug inserted. And paintjob done. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Camo looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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