Eduard 1/48 Mirage IIIC, Djibouti - Work in progress

I purchased this kit just a couple days ago, and expect it wll arrive before the weekend. 

Your magnificent build gives me inspiration and will serve as handy guide when I start assembling my Mirage IIIc.  Although I can assure you, my build won't be close to your quality.  Thanks so much.

Cheers,   Mark

Hi gents,

A few steps down the line in experimenting with my Complementary Pre-Shading method:

First couple of very thin passes of Vallejo Middlestone over the purple and white pre-shading scheme.

The paint withdrew from the panel lines in some spots (maybe it has something to do with it being very thin) but no worries, since more layers are coming along with panel line washes.

The color varies in the photos due to my bad phone camera and different lighting conditions. I tried to get it as best as I could.

I like it so far. We'll see.

You be the judges. Comments are very welcome.

Thanks for looking!

Best,

Nikola

Hi gents,

A little progress:

- Vallejo German Dark Yellow primer applied.

- White highlights applied to simulate directional light later on.

- Sticking with my Complementary Pre-shading method and experimenting further, I pre-shaded with purple as it is in the complementary color range to the base color (Vallejo Middlestone) and also to the dark yellow primer.

Apologies for awful photos. My phone camera is not very talented. :)

Thanks for looking!

Best,

Nikola  

Chemteacher

The Mirage is looking great. Surprised how big it is in 1/48.  Keavdog, nice job on the Kfir. I built that kit years ago and I remember it being a tough one. 

 

Thanks Chemteacher! Glad you like it so far.

Definitely not a shake and bake kit. Good for practice though. :)

We'll see how it turns out.

Best, 

Nikola

keavdog

Maybe it's a Dassault issue lol

Hahaha, Dassault Aviation Filler Co. :) 

That's a crackin' camo scheme on the Kfir. Looks great!

I was thinking of using Vallejo Middlestone and Green Brown for the camo, and Sky Blue or USAAF Light Gray for the underside. Any better suggestions? 

Best, 

Nikola

The Mirage is looking great. Surprised how big it is in 1/48.  Keavdog, nice job on the Kfir. I built that kit years ago and I remember it being a tough one. 

BTW I did the ESCI KFIR as an aggressor - almost went in the trash or 3 times, proabably my biggest nightmare of a kit.  Maybe it's a Dassault issue lol

keavdog

Nice work so far.  Those big step gaps are the worst.  I find they take the most time and are the most dificult to conceal but it looks like you're working the issues.  Comming along nicely.

 

Thanks Keavdog!

Yep, it was a pain in the butt. Had to fill it twice or three times. We'll see what the primer says, haha.

Best, 

Nikola

Nice work so far.  Those big step gaps are the worst.  I find they take the most time and are the most dificult to conceal but it looks like you're working the issues.  Comming along nicely.

Tosh

Very nicely done!  Great craftsmanship.

Your friend's, Toshi & Ezra

 

Thank you very much Toshi and Ezra. Glad you like it so far.

We'll see how it turns out in the end. 

Best,

Nikola

Very nicely done!  Great craftsmanship.

Your friend's, Toshi & Ezra

Hi gents,

OK, definitely not a kit for someone with little free time like moi. 

The fit is not tragic, but also not very good. Needs filling, sanding, rescribing and all that jazz which I would rather not be doing that much right now. I should probably have chosen a nice Tamiya kit...  ...and should probably stick with Tamiya kits until the kids are a bit older and I have more time to waste on fixing fit issues.  

Anyway, pushing through... Almost ready for the primer.

It is a practice build anyway.

Thanks for looking guys!

Best,

Nikola

Hutch6390

That's a nice-looking cockpit, Nikola.  

 

 

Thanks Hutch! Glad you like it.

It's OOB so not too interesting but I am giving it a shot to make it slightly better.

Still got to add red to the handle attachment point. Forgot that completely. :) 

Best,

Nikola

That's a nice-looking cockpit, Nikola.  

I shouldn't have thinned down the yellow that much for brush painting since now I have it in a slightly thicker layer than I intended.

Lesson learned.

A couple of closer (bad) shots:

Hi gents,

The cockpit is in. 

Since I will have the canopy open due to some misalignment of the canopy and the fuselage top (could be my own doing) I thought to add some interest by painting the ejection pull handles as they should be.

The handle is wrong as it should be a "D" handle, but I just didn't have enough patience and will to change it this time. It is what it is.

I masked the darn thing which was very touchy, nevertheless interesting, so the scale of the spiral is probably off.

I could have just painted it without masking but hey, why do it easy when you can complicate things. 

Thanks for looking!

Best,

Nikola

Hi gents,

Just a little update, nothing special.

Cockpit completed. Needs a few touch-ups but that's that. 

Primed with Vallejo black primer, filtered with Vallejo Intermediate Blue and washed with a black wash. Slight wear drybrushed with aluminium.

The seat was painted with Tamiya Olive Drab and filtered with Tamiya yellow followed by a brown wash. Then the seatbelt decal was applied with some more brown wash. 

As I said, nothing special.

I didn't plan on putting too much time into the cockpit and investing in interior details as the canopy will be closed anyway. This will be a simple weekend edition OOB, more of a practice and painting experimentation model. 

Thanks for looking!

Best,

Nikola