Jim Barr Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 The model is based on the High Planes 1/72 Mir IIIE / 5 / 50 kit #7249. While High Planes kits require a lot of work to get everything to fit, they are generally considered the most accurate 1/72 Mir IIIE / 5 / 50 series kits out there. They are well molded (once you clean up all the flash and trim the huge sprue gates) with fine recessed panel lines and very clear Vac-U-Form canopies. In recent years they started issuing the kits with resin cast intakes, a nice PE set for the antennas and such, a second canopy, and sometimes a resin nose for the appropriate variant. Modifications to the kit included replacing the kit resin nose with a scratch built one that was more accurate along with a scratch built pitot tube, adding the additional ‘bullet ‘ antennas on the vertical tail that the Egyptian 5E-2s have and the MS2 attack avionics system pod under the nose, Also replaced the kit exhaust nozzle. The ejection seat had a bit of detail added along with the ‘plumbing’ on the glare shield. Some side wall detail was added to the cockpit but after the pilot was added not much could be seen. Armament: Ever since I saw the unique Mirage drop tank / bombs combination at an air show long ago I have wanted to use them on a model; at first I was going to use drop tanks from the old Revell Mirage kit as it has the tanks / bombs combo but after doing further research and with help from the www modeling community (special thanks to Amaru) I came to the conclusion that the tanks were not the right length (too short) so after looking at various options I found the supersonic tanks that come in the Heller Mirage IIIE / R / 5BA kit work great needing only to reshape the profile of the nose and round off of the rear. Now that I had the tanks it was just the very tedious matter of scratch building 8 ejector mechanisms and adding 16 sway braces and getting everything all aligned up and in their proper place. Also wanted some A /A armament so a couple of R550s from a Hasegawa Mir F1 kit were used but they did need all the fins thinned down and I added clear seeker heads. The missile pylon and rails came from an AML Mir IIIC kit and the pylon was modified to fit the HP kit. Painting / Decals: Through the years I have ended up with 4 decal sheets that have Egyptian Mirage markings; MicroScale, Carpena, FCM, and the HP kit decals, and while the patterns themselves are close they all list different colors so I went with the TLAR system and came up with Model Masters FS34079, FS34127, and a modified FS20400 (added a touch of 36118) for the top and modified Russian Topside Blue (added white) for the bottom. Decals are mainly from the new FCM 7234 sheet with others from the above mentioned sheets. Regards Jim Barr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
soybetio Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Very nice model! I love the way you are displaying it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bad edd Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Superb Mirage!!! Glad to see other High Planes kits done . They are indeed rewarding once built. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rjwood_uk Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 wow that is nice Jim. lovely job overall. great paint job! That nose looks great! Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dragan_mig31 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 fantastic job on this mirage... :worship: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MoFo Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Super nice, super clean build. Looking at your built model, you'd never know what the kit's like to build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aigore Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Very good looking kit!! Wonderful desert scheme as wel as a nice finish! B) A very odd combo with bombs on the drop tanks....weird but maybe practical, what do I know Great build anyways :( Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Absolutely marvellous! Fantastic build. And in-flight, too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcin_S Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Excellent job Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sv51macross Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Really cool Mirage, great job on the paint! The fuel-tank/MER is a really neat idea, haven't seen that before unless one may count the F-15E Again, nice jo, especially on the camo and I am so glad to see someone pose a jet in a dynamic flight pose! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jack-Swiss Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Great job!!!!I love the camo and the way you displayed it it's absolutely fantastic!!! Cheers <_< Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JackMan Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 TLAR system = That Looks About Right system? Well done Jim! Another superb job. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Barr Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 TLAR system = That Looks About Right system? That is correct; at the time, after going over everything I had, that was the best I could do. Regards Jim Barr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Likoyan Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Hi Jim, I liked very much yuor mirage, you did a splendid job on the Hiplanes kit Saludos Abraham Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenshb Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Very good build, but the way you displayed it really brings it up a notch or two... Jens Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cr7driver Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Very well done! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Laurent Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Just as marvelous as your MiG-23 ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Impatient Pete Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Jim, I gotta say it here too- Stunning! You must share your photography technique! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jochemp Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Great job mate, cheers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 (edited) I've always enjoyed seeing your builds Jim and this one is no exception. I've never seen that wing fuel tank with bomb stores on the side of it. Very unique. In flight and clean finish are a huge :lol: Edited June 10, 2008 by Raptor Supporter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fuji Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Jim, that looks awesome, I love the Mirage and wish someone would do us a favor and do this aircraft in 1/48! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlackWidow421st Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Nice looking Mirage. Excellent paint job. Keep up the good work. Happy modeing, Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cpoud117 Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Amazing work, I love it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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