GB-44 1/48 Mirage IIIC - Military A/C of post-war time

[Airframes]

Dassault Mirage IIIC, Escadron de Chasse 2/5 "Ile de France", Armee de L'Air, 1970.


Username Airframes.
Name Terry
Category Judge, non-competing.
Model Mirage IIIC.
Kit Hobby Boss Mirage IIIC ( since replaced by the Eduard 'Weekend Edition kit, due to failed paint finish ).
Scale 1/48th.
Accessories Decals from 'Carpena', vac-formed canopy (kit part broken), brass pitot, resin seat, probably some scratch-building.

This should be a straightforward build (apart from maybe the bare metal finish ! ) using the very nice Hobby Boss kit. I obtained this some time ago from e-bay, but as the main canopy section was damaged in transit (broke down the center), this will be replaced by a vac-formed item.
There are some areas that can be improved, and I'll either scratch-build the ejection seat around the basis of the kit parts, or perhaps use a spare seat from the spares box.

Pic below showing the kit box art, and more details to follow in the next post.

 

[Airframes]

The Dassault Mirage has been one of the most successful jet fighters ever produced, and is still in service, in various forms, today.
I've been wanting to add a Mirage to my 'bare metal' collection for some time, and wanted to do a French example, in the original bare metal with red intakes, ever since I first saw one at RAF Acklington, back in the mid 1960's ( I have another to do in Argentine colours, from the Falklands war).

When researching the subject some time ago, I originally intended to use decals available from the spares box, in conjunction with the kit decals, but as the vendor had misplaced the kit decals, I had to purchase a suitable sheet (which includes the Argentine subject), and was then fortunate enough to find a photo of the actual subject on the decal sheet, along with other (colour) pics of the unit's aircraft, m ost of these being from the 'Histoire & Collections' book on the Mirage III, which is the source of the profile below.
The pics show my subject, when based at Orange - Caritat in 1970, together with a profile of a similar aircraft from the unit, and the 'Carpena' decal sheet.
I hope to make a start on this soon, once I've planned the Andover build.

 

[fubar57]

Prolific GB this is turning out to be. Looking forward to this one as I have never seen a Mirage being built

 

[Wurger]

 

[rochie]

Nice Terry

 

[Crimea_River]

Looking forward to seeing this come together.

 

[Wayne Little]

Good choice Terry, was originally going to do an Israeli Mirage and Nesher and changed course, so good to see a Mirage being done.

 

[T Bolt]

I have never seen a Mirage being built

Me either. Will be interesting to watch it come together

 

[Airframes]

Thanks all.
I'm planning to make a start on it within the next couple of days. Just want to get the Andover underway first.

 

[Airframes]

Having checked the kit parts, I've decided to replace a couple with aftermarket items, and have edited the header details accordingly.
The pitot tube, although reasonably accurate, is bound to be prone to breakage, being on the nose, and also, the sprue attachments could prove difficult to remove fully, without damage to the part.
The ejection seat (described below) is a basic representation of the later version of the Martin Baker Mk4, as fitted to later Mirage III models With some modifications and 'enhancements', it would be more suitable for use with the Italeri kit (ex ESCI), which will be built as an Argentinian aircraft from the Falklands war. As the Italeri seat is very basic, and nothing like a Mirage seat, it will be ditched, this seat used in its place, and a resin seat used for this build.

Pic 1. The kit pitot tube, to be replaced with a brass item from 'Master'.
Pics 2 to 4. If the kit instructions are followed, then the top sections of the seat will not align. The tabs on the side pieces are designed to fit into slots on the seat back, as shown in pic 3, which would result in their being far too low (pic 4), preventing the top cover with the face blind handles from fitting together, the gap being around 2 to 3 mm.
Pics 5 and 6. The tabs were removed, and the side pieces cemented directly to the seat back, aligning with the top cover. The parachute pack, and seat base / back pad were then fitted and cemented in place. The parachute pack (upper kit part) suffered from poor locating tabs contact, possibly due to being moved into the correct location, and needed to be carefully positioned and then cemented in stages.
Pic 7. What the MB Mk4 seat should look like for a Mirage IIIC from this period.

The assembled seat will be put aside for use with the Italeri kit, and will be enhanced at that time. Meanwhile, I'm looking at the various options for the resin seats, and will order the best representation, along with the brass pitot tube.

 

[Crimea_River]

Good stuff. Curious to see how the resin one looks.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Andy.
I've ordered the Aires seat for the Mirage IIIC, as shown below.
No doubt, once the harness is added, and the single loop face blind firing handle (scratch built ) used at that period, and all painted, it should pass muster.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

The resin seat and brass pitot tube should be with me tomorrow, so I'll make a start on the cockpit area, with a little scratch-building, after checking fit of the new seat.
I've established that the kit seat is a fair representation, in shape at least, of the Martin Baker Mk.6SRM seat, a development of the Mk.4, with the 'rigid' parachute container and rocket assistance, and is the type fitted later to the Mirage III series. With scratch-built details and harness, it will be ideal for the Italeri kit.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Wayne Little]

Bring it on Terry......

 

[Airframes]

Waiting for the "anti warping treatment" to finish on the Andover, so started prepping the kit parts, to check fit of the cockpit, resin seat and scratch-building requirements.
I seem to be plagued with sprue attachment irritations just recently, as this kit has its fair share. There are six attachment points per side on the fuselage halves, and not only are they fairly heavy, needing care to separate without damaging the parts, they also 'wrap around' and protrude over the edge of the fuselage and fin, onto the inner surface !
It took over an hour to very carefully cut and file them off, until the joining surfaces were smooth and flat, with test fitting showing the joint should be OK.
Also started on the cockpit, with a little work on the instrument panel.

Pics 1 to 3. Some examples of those sprue attachment stubs, and ejector pin marks, on both fuselage halves, which need to be removed, as they would be very visible in the cockpit.
Pic 4. Two instrument panels are provided in the kit, although there is no information as to which one should be used for which version. The one on the left will be used, with the panel enhanced and the instruments hand-painted, A decal is provided, but as mentioned earlier, the decal sheet was missing from the kit. No problem though, as I think the decal was for the later version, and also, the colours are wrong for the French national markings, and the fin flash has the colours in the wrong order !
Pic 5. The shroud for the radar screen has been added, made from a sliver of plastic tube which was first reamed to open it out, and thin down the side walls. A couple of other small details are yet to be made and added.

Back soon with another up-date.

 

[Wurger]

 

[rochie]

yikes

 

[Airframes]

Yep, I was quite surprised, as none of the build reviews I've seen mentioned this, with most praising the general fit, give or take the odd area.
That said, one particular build, by a very well known modeller / reviewer, thought the decals were fine (most reviews criticise the decals) but hadn't seemed to notice that the French fin stripes were not only the wrong colours (South African), but in the wrong order !!