Mirage F1c 1/72, SAAF

[VanceCrozier]

I haven't built many modern jets until recently, but Dassault & Co. got the lines right on this one, a very good-looking a/c in my opinion.

1/72 Airfix kit, built mostly OOB, including the decals. (Decals were mostly saved by Microscale liquid decal film). Control surfaces were deflected. (I've left the canopy loose so I can peek inside from time to time - the canopy glass is, uhh, Airfix-thick!) Wire loop ejection handle & masking tape belts added to the cockpit. I added a laser-printed cardboard disc inside the tail to provide some engine detail. Painted with Tamiya acrylics (topside green) and Humbrol enamels (everything else). Some panel lines have been highlighted with a pencil.

Everything went together well except (no big surprise) the main landing gear. They had a pretty large flat mating surface to mount them against the inside of the gear bay - so I glued them in place expecting a good alignment, then added the wheels after. Big mistake, as can be seen in some of the pics. Doing it again I'd dry-fit the gear into the gear bays while the wheels were being glued to the gear to try & get them square to the ground. [bnghead]

Overall very enjoyable, apart from my decal challenge & the landing gear. Comments, critiques & questions always welcome!




And with my wrong-period, wrong-country assistant Fuji to show scale.

 

[PANZERMAN]

VanceCrozier, terrific looking jet! Nice clean build, sharp looking paint scheme, and fine tuned details....
you nailed them all! Tip: those foggy canopies can be cleared up some by the application of FUTURE
floor wax.....aka Pledge with Future in the U.S. If not available, try some other acrylic floor polish-
wax. Paint it straight from the bottle.

 

[VanceCrozier]

VanceCrozier, terrific looking jet! Nice clean build, sharp looking paint scheme, and fine tuned details....
you nailed them all! Tip: those foggy canopies can be cleared up some by the application of FUTURE
floor wax.....aka Pledge with Future in the U.S. If not available, try some other acrylic floor polish-
wax. Paint it straight from the bottle.

Thanks Panzerman! Yes, I'm already good friends with Future. (The upper camo colours were actually flat paints, overcoated w/ Future.) The canopy did get some Future - unfortunately the clear parts were very thick, causing some distortion. (That's actually why I decided to leave the canopy un-attached) Considering how well-detailed the rest of the kit was, the "glass" was kind of a letdown.

 

[Myke]

I like how you explained the canopy thickness.. haha, it's the PERFECT description in that I knew exactly what you were saying.
This is a beautiful looking build VC. 100% awesome!