1/32 Italeri Mirage IIIC

[ALF18]

Hello fellow modellers. This thread is mostly to allow my cousin to follow along (as a lurker, or member, whichever he chooses) to see how I do the bare metal finish with household aluminum.

This will be entirely OOB, using kit decals. If this kit is anything like their superb 1/32 F-104, it should be fun to build.

ALF

[ALF18]

I briefly considered using Quinta Studios or Red Fox 3D decals for the cockpit, but:

1. I can't afford them for all my builds, and

2. I didn't want to wait for delivery.

So, I built the cockpit as-is, and painted it with Tamiya acrylics. I'm only going to use some silver dry-brushing on it, and maybe a few red and yellow highlights.

 

[ALF18]

The cockpit detail is nice. One thing I found with this kit is there are several parts that don't click together with little holes and nubs, so I had to glue things in place and wait until they set before proceeding. This was true in putting together the nose gear well (shown here behind the cockpit) and some other cockpit wall parts.

 

[ALF18]

For colours, the call-outs have letters. These use Italeri's own scheme, so I had to constantly refer to the front pages of the instructions. I finally chopped that page out and taped it to the shelf above my bench. What a pain to constantly refer to it by turning the pages! Of course, that page has some important stuff on the back (how to assemble the PE for the seat), so I will have to flip it over when I finish up the seat later on. For now, the seat is simply painted, ready for the PE.

ALF

[ALF18]

I've put together a lot so far, taking the time to let stuff set. Patience is a virtue, my parents always said... too bad I refused to listen.

It looks like the upper fuselage to lower fuselage join might be a bit rough, given all the parts that it includes. More on that later. 

I also built up the engine. Reading ahead in the instructions (who does that?!), I found that there's an option to leave the engine out and put it on a little cart. If the engine is left out, it doesn't appear that the empty fuselage can be made to look normal, so I think I'll put the engine in the fuselage. I've never liked to display engines separately anyway. As far as I'm concerned, my models will be complete and ready to fly. I'm also concerned about the balance. The instructions call for weight in the nose cone, so with the engine I'm sure it'll be even more of a tail-sitter... more weight it is!

ALF

[karl h]

nice project! i built one into an argentinian from the falklands war

just building the F-104, i took your idea for the colour callouts and printed the page from the instructions pdf on scalemates...

[ALF18]

6 hours ago, karl h said:

nice project! i built one into an argentinian from the falklands war

just building the F-104, i took your idea for the colour callouts and printed the page from the instructions pdf on scalemates...

Duh! I didn't think of doing that. Great tip. Two questions about the 104:

1. Are you going to post a WIP?

2. What scheme are you doing?

I have two single-seat 104s in 1/32 from Italeri to build, and one dual. Those might be next... or maybe a 1/32 T-33 from Special Hobby. I'm starting to plan a lot of natural metal jets. 🙂

ALF

[lgl007]

Nice work so far Alf.  Looking forward to see it develop.  Should be a nice model when complete 🙂

 

-Greg

[ALF18]

Thanks Greg. Not as nice as yours... but that's a very high standard for anyone to aspire to!

ALF

[karl h]

actually yes: https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/98678-pussycat-zipper/#comment-1433781

i am doing a vietnam area bird, but have just started

[ALF18]

12 hours ago, karl h said:

actually yes: https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/98678-pussycat-zipper/#comment-1433781

i am doing a vietnam area bird, but have just started

Thanks for the link Karl. I’ll follow that build. My 104s will all be Canadian. My Dad flew them in Germany back when I was a teenager. The sound they made and the black smoke were unmistakable.

ALF

[ALF18]

More progress. I glued the aft fuselage together, and attached the vertical tail. The front fuselage, with the cockpit, is not a great fit, but better than I expected for such a large kit with an odd assembly. I managed to knock off the left cockpit upper sidewall while dry fitting - that will go in after the fuselage is buttoned up.

 

I tested out the PE (gold) part with the engine. Fits easily over it, not tightly, so not a concern. I later did some dry fitting with the tail cone, and found that there was a small gap between the fuselage under the tail and the tail cone, without the PE part. I saw no benefit to having the PE, so I didn't install it.

 

Underside has some small gaps, that will easily be filled with putty. The important thing is the wing to fuselage joins on top - they are nice and tight. 

Yes, it's a tail sitter. The instructions have a little 'weight' icon that must not be ignored.

[ALF18]

Prep has started for the aluminum foil skin. I dug out my supplies, including the glue. I find that the little bottle from the Bare Metal Foil company works best, but I've also used the larger bottle. Lots of little wooden toothpicks, with wide ends for burnishing, and pointy ends to do small panel lines. Of course, some cheap aluminum foil from Dollarama.

 

I'm working on the elevons. Study of other builds, etc, has shown that the outer two elevons on each side droop slightly (about 6 degrees) when parked. The kit comes with actuators that are posable in multiple positions, so that's going to be easy. I think I'll start foiling the elevons before installation, to avoid snapping them off. More later - thanks for stopping by.

ALF

[ALF18]

Starting to prepare the aluminum foil. First, I use a new cutting board to ensure there's no dust or plastic bits that will stick to it or mar the surface. I put the foil on the board, in preparation for application of the white glue. Note that the piece on the right is glossy side up. Applying glue on this side will mean that the foil applied will have a less glossy surface. The sheet on the left is the opposite.

I used some tape to hold it in place while I brushed the glue on. Here, the glue is showing some thicker streaks. It's important when brushing glue on that you don't leave any ridges of glue. Pass over it multiple times to ensure it has an even coat with no streaks. I used a stiff brush for this, which allows me to press hard and make a very thin coat of glue.

[ALF18]

Next, I made some strips that will be more of a burnt metal surface. These can be used for exhaust nozzles, or for parts that are exposed to extreme heat near exhausts. In this case, I'll be making them with a light staining, for the parts of the Mirage III that are more of an almost gunmetal shade.

I ensure I have a very sharp knife. In this case, I snapped off the blade to use a fresh part. Cutting the strips to make them fit into my tiny pot, I used very little pressure, and allowed the sharp blade to do the work.

I then took some egg shells and put them in water in a little pot. I bought this for modelling use - my wife won't allow me to use our cooking pots for this, although there's no logical reason not to. After all, it's only eggshells and aluminum foil... but I digress.

I brought the water with eggshells to a boil, then added the strips of foil. I pressed them down into the water with a fork, then kept boiling for several minutes. 

[ALF18]

Here's the result. Various shades of heat stress on the metal. The longer it boils with the eggshells, the darker it gets. I also like that's it's uneven, just like real metal.

[ALF18]

Here I've allowed the glue to dry on the large sheet on the right. Closeup view. The glue becomes transparent, and is now ready to be burnished onto the model. The texture you see here is due to the texture on my cutting board. It should disappear after burnishing onto the smooth model surface.

ALF

[ALF18]

I'll start with a small bit. This is an elevon. Notice how the glue stops before the edge of the metal foil. This is so I don't gum up the surface of my cutting board with overflow glue. Foil is cheap, but glue is a bit more costly, so I'd rather waste some foil than have excess glue to clean up and mar my working surface.

I put the part onto the foil to know the size. Then, I cut enough to wrap around the sides and the top of the part.

I trimmed off the glue-less foil, then cut slits so I could wrap around the part easily.

[ALF18]

Here I've wrapped around. I like to put any overlap on the bottom of the model if possible, like around wings and horizontal stabilizer surfaces. If there's a natural panel line, I'l sometimes make the seam there (like halfway along this part). Since this is going on the bottom, I didn't care this time. I've taken a toothpick and burnished the part down along the edge, including the little notches at right. The rivets are starting to show a bit under the foil.

More slits, and folded over the sides toward the bottom of the elevon (which is the top in this picture, since the elevon is lying on its top side).

I flipped over the elevon, and with my finger I worked the foil around the end and over toward the top. I always make sure to press it in the middle, then work toward the sides, to avoid getting fold marks.

 

[ALF18]

Now I take a toothpick and burnish. I use the large round end for this. Toothpicks are good, because they are soft and won't tear the foil easily. As I burnish things down, the panel lines start to show a tiny bit. More pressure, especially along the panel lines, and they stand out nicely.

I carefully trim away the excess around the part, then finish burnishing.

Here is the finished elevon, beside one that it still normal plastic. I've done these separately, because they are glued on and might snap off if I apply too much pressure while burnishing. I also want to do the actuator covers separately. Those complex curves complicate things.

The key with foiling is to be patient, and do small bits at a time. Taking too large a piece can lead to unwanted wrinkles and other problems.

Now I will be working on foiling for a l---o----n-----g time. 

Thanks for stopping by.

ALF

 

[Thadeus]

Nice work with the foil. I did try this once and was quite displeased. Mostly with my skill and handling the glue and foil.

[AD-4N]

Foiling a 1/32 jet fighter is a job for He-Man.  Good luck.  

[ALF18]

On 12/27/2023 at 9:54 AM, Thadeus said:

Nice work with the foil. I did try this once and was quite displeased. Mostly with my skill and handling the glue and foil.

That's normal. I've made some models with foil that have really disappointed me - it's something that I've also struggled with. This particular kit is my way of getting back the skills that have atrophied over the last couple years. After this one, I want to attack a 1/32 T-33, and a couple 1/32 CF-104s.  I care a lot more about those types, so I want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I start them.

ALF

[ALF18]

On 12/27/2023 at 3:41 PM, AD-4N said:

Foiling a 1/32 jet fighter is a job for He-Man.  Good luck.  

LOL!

Either a He-Man or a fool... 🙂

Whichever, I hope this turns out ok. One thing about me - I don't care much if my models aren't perfect. I just like having them.

ALF

[ALF18]

Now it was time for some crack filling. I use putty in a tube, and nail polish remover. I'm not much for filling, sanding, and rescribing. During the build process, I took care to have the worst joins on the bottom of the aircraft. Nobody is allowed to look at the bottom of my models, unless she's wearing a low-cut blouse... oops! I've been told that it's no ok to make those jokes any more. So, nobody, period, can look at the mess underneath mine.

I put in the putty, then wet a Q-Tip with nail polish remover to smooth it in and wipe off the excess putty. Q-Tips are cheap, so I use several as required.

ALF