Leo Wayne Kerr

Brilliant job. The weathering/detailing is suberb; not too little, not too much. MD

A little while ago I completed a Mirage IIIO and faced a similar problem. After a bit of research I ended up using Tamiya gloss for Gloss and Hobbycolor Matt to mix with the Tamiya Gloss to achieve a satin finish. Both were thinned with Tamiya thinners (both acrylics.) Both worked really well. The cautionary note with Tamiya Gloss is that it's reputed to take a little longer to dry and harden up. I airbrushed mine during summer and gave it 48hrs, but it was apparent on a couple of test pieces that hardening did take some time. You've also got to commit to the air brush and lay down a firm (but not excessive) coat otherwise it ends up looking frosty. A few practice passes helped work this part out. The Mirage is somewhere in these forums. The leading edges were pure gloss, the rest a satin mix. MD

Who me? Anyone'd think I was starting a rumour! I just noticed it was pink ... honest!

Operation 'Daphne' maybe?

Sounds interesting. I've got a few months to run on an SR-71, then I'll be kicking off a IIID. I'll keep an eye out for your updates as I'll be chasing some intakes by then. MD

I toyed around with building the A-12 but stuck with the SR-71 simply because I couldn't find the resin conversion, (or any reference material). I see you've got both covered pretty well. I've taken on your tip for insulating the clear panels from SupaGlu vapor too.

Nice work. I'm half way through the SR-71 kit myself and fully appreciate the effort needed to bring the model up to this standard; especially natural metal finish.

The tail flash was from Flying High Decals. It goes on as a white decal, then the red and black flashing over the top. The rest were from the Revell kit. The Revell moulding might be sub-par, but the decals are really good, especially if they're tidied up with a scalpel. They're also quite comprehensive in terms of stencil coverage. Every stencil I could idenitify from various photo references was there in the decal sheet. MD

Thanks to all for the feedback. Whitey: The combination of satin clear coat and bounce flash give the photos a slightly greener tint than it looks in my cabinet. The camouflage scheme is the correct spec for the times though - early 1970's. Green is BS298 R.N Olive Drab (Xtracolor Enamel), grey is BS640 Extra Dark Sea Grey (Hobby Color Acrylic) and underside FS26440 Light Gull Grey (Hobby Color Acrylic). Towards the 1980's some Mirage greens seemed vary towards both darker greens and bottle greens so there's a few options available. For anyone who's interested,as far as I'm aware, the Xtracolor enamel is the only BS298 out there. Spraying enamel over the acrylic (and vica versa) had me worried, but if you give it a week or so in hot dry weather there's no adhesion problems. It won't pull off with Tamiya tape or blue tack which is all that matters. (It really counts after you toss it across a shed.) MD

Out2gtcha, Thanks. The M-C kit is pretty smick. I tossed the corrugated brass and used corrugated scrapbooking cardboard, but other than that, it adds suberb detail to the tail end. MD

LSP_Kevin, thanks. I'm new to the concept of image posting - missed a crucial click on Flickr. No worries re publishing. Regards MD

Standby; this is doing my head in. MD

Thought I’d post my first serious modelling attempt, Revell’s infamous 1/32 Mirage III. The model portrayed is A3-40, a Mirage IIIO of 76 Squadron, RAAF with an Atar9C engine on a change out trolley. For those in the know, 76 Squadron’s aircraft were camouflaged late in 76 Squadron’s life and carried a clean, satin finish; hence the absence of heavy weathering. The kit was supplemented with the following aftermarket bits and pieces: - Fisher cockpit and Mk4 ejection seat; Eric Galliers’ R530; Revell, Flying High and AeroDecal Decals SAC landing gear. The following items were scratch built: - Vertical stabiliser (the kit tail is incorrect and shows up with tail flashes applied); Pitot tube and air data sensors; Wheel wells and well covers; Various air scoops, vents, IFF antenna, cannon suppression rings, ground mapping radar and air brakes; AIM-9B sidewinders and rails; Engine tailpipe and afterburner flame bars; Landing lights; Access ladder. The Atar 9C turbojet is built from the following components (both modified to match the correct dimensions): - Matterhorn Circle (M-C) Afterburner and tail pipe; Compressor and turbine section from the kit engine (heavily cut and shut). The engine stand is 100% scratch built using Evergreen strips and aluminium tube. It took about two years to complete. After completing the decals, I took it out to the shed for the final satin clear coat and went to make some adjustments to the bench position. For reasons beyond me, I reefed the work bench up, tossed the Mirage across the shed and inflicted serious damage to the nose, canopy and wings. Four weeks and a shed full of expletives later it was safely tucked away behind glass. Regards MD