Ménage.. Whoops, Mirage à Trois

[Marlin]

Hi all.

I'm a wee bit premature with this thread.

I've got three more hour to 2011 here in Sweden.

But I would like to show what I'm going to work with in this GB.

The Recce Noses from AML and the new release from Eduard of the Mirage III CJ are in transit from my Hobby Shop.

Link to the goodies at my hobbyshop: http://www.alfahobby.se/shop.zul#ITEM%3AEDU-8102

I'm going to build three Mirage III CJ's using the Hobby Boss kit, The orignal Eduard release and the just re-released version of the same.

But before we start to build I would like to show you the parts.

First out.

Hobby Boss Mirage III CJ.

Overall I think that this will be an easy build.

The panel lines are crisp, the rivets are a wee bit overdone. But after a few coats of paint that will not be a problem.

On to the Eduard version.

Happy New Year

/Bosse

Edited January 1, 2011 by Marlin

[Marlin]

And now the Eduard original release of the Mirage III CJ.

This has got to be one of the best box-arts ever.

I'm going to use the ATAR-9C exhaust from PJ Prdoductions on this kit.

JUst two pieces of resin, but very nicely done.

Eduard and Hobby Bosses' kit are almost identical.

What differs most is that in the Eduard version you get soo much more.

You get papermask, PE and a noseweight.

Eduards version has a better rendition of the airintakes than Hobby Boss and the panellines are a wee bit better on the Eduard.

But other wise they are almost the same.

I'll post pictures of the AML resin conversions sets when they arrive from the shop.

And in a few hours I'll start building and painting.

Let the building start.

To be continued.....

/Bosse

[yardbird78]

Those kits look like they will build up into very nice models. I love the detail. I seriously doubt that anyone will care if you start a couple of hours early, so as far as I am concerned, "you are cleared for launch". Please keep us posted on your progress.

Darwin

[Marlin]

Those kits look like they will build up into very nice models. I love the detail. I seriously doubt that anyone will care if you start a couple of hours early, so as far as I am concerned, "you are cleared for launch". Please keep us posted on your progress.

Darwin

Thanks Darwin.

Taxiing for the runway.

Lift Off.

/Bosse

[AndrewS]

Fascinating subjects for this GB, Bosse.

I wasn't aware of any of the recce nose configurations you'll be using and clearly have a lot to learn about the Israelis' use of early Mirages for this mission. Thanks for choosing such an interesting topic. I'm looking forward to your builds and hope that the conversions arrive quickly for you.

Cheers,

Andrew.

[Julien (UK)]

Hi,

yes early is OK,

those kits look good. In fact is strange how alike the HB and eduard kits are :)

Julien

[Marlin]

Fascinating subjects for this GB, Bosse.

I wasn't aware of any of the recce nose configurations you'll be using and clearly have a lot to learn about the Israelis' use of early Mirages for this mission. Thanks for choosing such an interesting topic. I'm looking forward to your builds and hope that the conversions arrive quickly for you.

Cheers,

Andrew.

Hi,

yes early is OK,

those kits look good. In fact is strange how alike the HB and eduard kits are :)

Julien

Thanks Guys,

Yes, The HobbyBoss and eduard are very much the same kits.

As for the recce role. The IDF/AF acutally hade five variants for the Mirage III.

The three I'm building, and the Tzunit and the original Mirage III CR.

IDF/AF bought two of the "R" version and the "Tzunit" camera was also used on the Kfir.

I've painted the cockpits black already.

And now I'm about to do the seats.

Pics will follow.

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi Gang,

I've done about half of the cockpit of the first Mirage.

And I've started on the MLGs

The HB kit has some rather huge sprue attachement points.

It took some sanding to get rid of them.

I hade to be careful not to damage the leading edge of the wing.

I'll see if I can't get that cockpit finished tonight.

To be continued.

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi,

I'm off from work this week and what better things to do than work on my models.

The first Mirage is well on its way.

I've glued the main landinggear bays and the wing together.

And the cockpit is almost done.

The ejectorseat in the HB kit is really bare. There are no seatbelts, not even a decal.

So I took some PE belts for an F-16 from my sparebox and added thoose.

I'm satisfied with the result.

Now I'll have to add the nosegear bay to the cockpit parts, and the I'll start to work on the fuselage.

Stay tuned for more.....

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Evening,

I'm done with the cockpit and the ATAR-9B engine on the HB kit.

The HB kit has some internal bracing for the engine assembly. That feature is missing on the Eduard kit.

It was no problem at all to fit the engine.

I've done the MLG's for the Eduard kit.

And I've cut the wing from the sprue.

The wing is better on the Eduard kit. The leading edge is on the top parts only.

So for this session the score is 1-1.

And one of the landinggear bays is now glued in.

I've started on the Eduard cockpit and it's no different from the HB one.

That's it from me today, but there will be more tomorrow.

/Bosse

[texgal45]

I don't know much about foreign airplanes. Is that Mirage built in France or Germany? Apparently the Israeli Air Force used them against their Arab neighbors in one the wars over in that area.

Grandma L

[Marlin]

I don't know much about foreign airplanes. Is that Mirage built in France or Germany? Apparently the Israeli Air Force used them against their Arab neighbors in one the wars over in that area.

Grandma L

Hi Grandma L.

The Mirage are from France.

And Yes, the Israelis used them alot from 1960 to the begining of the eighties.

They saw extensive combat use in both the Six-days war in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi,

Today I've been trying to close the fuselage of the HB kit.

I've glued the sides together.

And a testfit of the wing.

Not exactly the best fit.

I think the biggest problem is with the main landinggear bays.

This is going to take some fiddling, sanding and a lot of testfitting before I glue the wing on.

Otherwise I'm quite happy with the HB kit.

To be continued.

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi again,

It's time for a mid-day update.

I think i've solved the wing problem on the HB Mirage.

I sanded down the inside of the fuselage section and the top of the MLG's.

There is still a small edge that'll have to be delt with later.

I've also done the cockpit for the Eduard Mirage.

I had to add the gunsight at this stage due to the construction of the IP.

And here it's glued to the airframe.

I'll now try and close the rest of the airframe today so that I can add the resin exhaust for the ATAR-9C engine.

To be continued.

/Bosse

[yardbird78]

Looking good. I am glad to see that you solved the fit problem with the HB kit.

Darwin

[Marlin]

Looking good. I am glad to see that you solved the fit problem with the HB kit.

Darwin

Thanks Darwin,

Once I realised that it was the top of the landinggearbays that was in the way it wasn't that much of a problem.

Hopefully the Eduard version will be better.

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Good Evening,

Since I'm still on vaccation I'm logging quite a few hours on my builds.

Earlier today I glued the fuselage of the Eduard Mirage together.

I've gotten a slight gap under the fin. I got the same last time I built the Eduard kit.

But it's easy to fix.

And the intake.

It isn't a real intake, but it's better than seeing straight trough as one does in the HB kit.

When the fuselage was drying I worked on the resin exhaust.

I had no problem cutting the end piece from the pour plug.

And the fit of the two pieces is very good.

Add some paint and it looks fine.

And late this evening the fuselage had set so I could take the razorsaw to the fuselage and cut away the ATAR-9B exhaust and replace it with the ATAR-9C.

The resin exhaust is slightly underdimensioned, could have shrunk.

I'll sand the aft of the fuselage to conform with that later.

That's it for tonight, but there will be more tomorrow.

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi,

Today I started with the Eduard kit.

I wanted to get rid of the edges around the new exhaust.

First I sanded the aft fuselage to form and then added a small amount of Tamiya putty.

Let it to set and sand again, and repeat that again.

And after polishing the plastic it looks OK. (It still needs a bit more polishing)

When the putty was drying I started on the intakes on HB kit.

First I had to glue the underside to the nosewheelbay.

And sand out any uneven surface before adding the intakes.

This turned out quite nice.

Hopefully I'll not have to sand this very much.

Now I've got the wingroot to fix though.

Hopefully I'll get them good.

This one is going to be done in the bare metal finish so I would like to keep the sanding down to a minimum.

To be continued.

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi,

I did manage to get rid of the bad wingroot seams.

But I did have to use some small amount of putty on the intakes.

Now I've polished the whole aircraft so that I can spray some primer on it.

Unfortunally I don't have any primer at home, so this build will now be on slowburner until next week.

There is always some small bits like tanks and such to work on.

Nasty punchout marks on the fins.

But I've still got the Eduard kit to work on.

I've installed the "fake" intake

But what is this

You can almost put a finger through that gap.

So out with some sprue and put some spacers in the fuselage.

Hopefully I'll sort this mess out tomorrow.

That's all for now,

/Bosse

[yardbird78]

That really IS a nasty gap at the wing root. I like your solution. I would probably just tried to fill it with putty or sheet stock.

Darwin

[Marlin]

That really IS a nasty gap at the wing root. I like your solution. I would probably just tried to fill it with putty or sheet stock.

Darwin

Yes, isn't it.

I try to avoid to use filling as much as possible.

It's easier to get an even coat of paint if there isn't so much putty on the surface.

And I forgot to add in my earlier post.

I'll of course install the cameranose before I'll spray the primer.

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi,

Heres a quick update from yesterday.

The fuselage is done, but as I suspected there is quite a lot of seams to sand.

I do it with a coarse sandpaper first and before I start using finer and finer sandpaper I dose every seam with Tenax.

I find that the seams are easier to get good this way, and I don't have to use so much filler.

I've also done a fueltank from one of Isra´s Kfir sets.

I'm going to use this one on the Eduard Mirage.

I found a pic on the net with the Mirage carrying three droptanks and this tank looks like its the same.

To be continued.

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi,

I'm finished with all the sanding I can do at the moment.

And the elevators are in place.

I've sawn off the missile rails frpn the kits pylons.

The kit comes with rails that looks more like the Shafrir rails than an Sidewinder rail.

I've got a leftover pair from an old resin set that will come in handy for this.

Unfortunally I've gotten word from my hobbyshop that my AML resin camera noses are delayed.

I should not be expecting them before feb 15th.

So I guess that my builds will be on hold until the resin arrieves.

I still got some small bits I can do on these two.

And I can always resurrect my stalled F-4E(S) Phantom II (Shablool) build from this summer.

Unfortunally I've built too much on it to enter it here.

But I got a thread on it somewere in the WIP-section.

To be continued.

/Bosse

[mikestomcat]

Hi,

I'm finished with all the sanding I can do at the moment.

Hi, you're coming along nicely . I haven't even started my RF-4EJ yet, hopefully today I'll get it moving.

Mike.

Edited March 10, 2011 by Julien (UK)
image quoting

[Marlin]

Hi, you're coming along nicely :blink: . I haven't even started my RF-4EJ yet, hopefully today I'll get it moving.

Mike.

Thanks Mike.

Good luck with your RF-4EJ.

/Bosse