thegoodsgt Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 It's no surprise that some projects just don't go your way. That's what happened with this one, a Hasegawa 1/72 Mirage F1. The project started off fine. I rescribed all of the panel lines using a collection of shabby line drawings that I found online and among a few books I have. Of course when I was done I found better drawings on a Russian site. No big deal, the experience was useful nonetheless, and I found that scribing panels lines really isn't as difficult as I'd expected, just time-consuming and tedious. But isn't that what modeling is all about? In addition to scribing the panel lines, I used Rosie the Riveter (for the first time) to add some rivets. Again, a pretty straightforward process, and I quickly learned how to get good results from it. (TIP: If you're scribing and riveting, scribe the panel lines first, clean them up, and then proceed to add the rivets. The latter are very delicate and are quickly obliterated with sanding.) I didn't add much detail to the model, which was fortunate given how things would unfold. As I was cleaning up the main landing gear, one of them broke, just above the "lug" where the wheel/tire attaches. I was able to repair it, but those of you familiar with the Mirage's landing gear know just how complex its geometry is. When all was said and done, my landing gear look absolutely terrible, which you can best see from my photo of the underside of the model. Getting everything properly aligned on a Mirage when things AREN'T broken is challenging enough. Getting it right when pieces are repaired is a another ball of wax (er, glue). I painted the model using custom mixes of Tamiya acrylics. I don't think I got the camoflage pattern quite correct on the upper surface of the fuselage and wings, but somehow I'll find a way to put it behind me and find a little bit of happiness in my life elsewhere. Decals came from Carpena's awesome Mirage sheet. Thanks to some prior discussions here on ARC, I was prepared for some adhesion challenges. Luckily, they laid down with very few problems, only the small ones that went around curved surfaces presenting some reluctance to lay down and stay that way. I didn't like the R530 missle in the kit, so I scratchbuilt a new one. Inspired by some photos I found online, I also scratchbuilt an ELT-555 ECM pod. So that's that. Not a contest winner, but I learned a lot, which is always a good thing. Enjoy! For future reference, for the dilengent modelers who take advantage of ARC's search capabilities, here are links that may be helpful: http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthrea...5353&page=6 http://www.irandefence.net/showthread.php?t=3579 http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=52570 If Photobucket's bandwidth is exceeded, use this link: http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w101/thegoodsgt/Aircraft/ Finally, the inspiration photo for the project. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Wow, that's awesome! Very nice to see Mirage F.1s, especially if that well done! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
musangpulut Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Great F.1!!!!! keep it up bro! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cpoud117 Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Amazing paintjob! You should buy another mirage kit (revell reboxing ?) just for the landing gear. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
model_madness Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Lovely build. What's the missile on the underwinf pylon with the capped tip? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewS Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Oh yes, this is awesome. I agree with Moritz; great to see Mirages, even better when they're this good. Thanks for the pics and resources and sharing your experience with the kit, ordnance and decals. Any plans for a centreline bag? I'm looking forward to making progress with mine, a process bound to expedited by Diego's forthcoming sheets...... and by looking in the decal stash for what I already have (not much), but not by crying and moaning over what I don't have (Albatros' Dark Mirage sheet and scaled-down Eagle Strike sheets). Oh the pain, the pain... Thanks again for sharing your efforts. Just marvellous. Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ivan T. Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 The mirage looks superb in those colors!! I have one in stash, and I already know what markings will it have... :) Ivan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dragan_mig31 Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 wowwwwwwwwwwwwww great mirage :) i like it a lot Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stephen Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Very nice build! Stephen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 What's the missile on the underwinf pylon with the capped tip? That's not a missile, but an ECM pod called ELT/555 manufactured in Italy. The "capped tip" is actually a ram-air turbine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Karl Sander Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Nice work! Love your choice of subject (not sure when I've last seen a Moroccan air force subject, if ever), and I dig the weathering on the bottom. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bad edd Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Excellent work!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr B Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 nice work on an estoric subject........ lovely all round rgds mr b Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thegoodsgt Posted December 14, 2007 Author Share Posted December 14, 2007 Thanks guys. I appreciate your feedback. Andrew, I had planned to put the R530 on the centerline (based on a photo in WAPJ), but I wasn't sure if there'd be enough clearance. I went the "safe" route by putting it on one of the underwing pylons. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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