Saso Knez

And the other one. Good enough for me. Merry Christmass everybody!

Checking the geometry. Plane is leveled.

right one

Thanks for the comments. Wings are on. Here is looking at the left joint:

This will be worth watching!!! Looking forward to it! Have fun Saso

And here is the wing test fitted to the fuselage. Not many gaps left. I guess that the fuselage is ready for the wing. Now I have to work some more on the wings and then everything comes together. I didn't realise that the panel lines of the wing and the fuselage are aligned untill I put the wings and fuselage together. Brought a smile to my face.

It just occured to me that half of you (out of those who care) don't even know what are the blasted wing cradles I keep going on and on about. Well, basically they are just the fuselage sides, where the wings will go on. they are thickened, and profiled, so that they are a match for the undersurface of the wing. Here is a shot of the starboard one.

Very quick update. Sorted out the intake geometry and basic lines, measured up the whole thing and started to scribe in some panel lines in places, where I wouldn't be able to do them when the wing goes on.

But the killer comparission would be that for a third of that cash you get the Echelon E.E. Lightning and the Flightpath detail set. Neil do you have your camera ready? I need some wheelbay/cockpit/reheat pics!! It is all a matter of personal decision. For me it is definitly a no on the CED set. Especially in this era, where I get to pick subjects and there are plenty more that I want to do as much, but for a lot less cash. Have fun. Saso P.S. Matt at CMR - ya know jets in the sixties and seventies looked way better then the wonders of today. Just a random thought.

Very, very delicate painting! I love it! Any special tehniques? Have fun Saso

Hi Radu! Very nice work! Did you use bezels for the rings around the holes? Have fun Saso

Guys, thanks for the positive comments, it really means a lot. So next up is finishing the intakes, then I will draw these lines back across the wing cradle and then start to do some scribing. After that the wings go on and the plane gets its spine. Or it might be some other way around. I actually didn't plan on doing the intakes so soon, but when I started doing the wing cradles, I realised that the top of the cradle - near the wing joint - should be more round. I had also been working from the tailplanes for geometry and aligment, and due to the distances it was becoming difficult. So I made a few cardboard templates and I fitted in the cockpit bulkhead, which provided me with an excellent reference frame for further work. I am glad I've done it this way and not the other way around. Have fun Saso

On the above image you can see why I covered the wheelbays with Tamiya tape. Anyway after some sanding I got myself an approximate shape of the intake. It is still rough and I will sort out the geometry later. Lines are not straight and I am off by a mm or two in some areas, but the basic shape is there.

Now it is time to sand. Don't waste your time being fine fingered. I used 80 grit sanding paper (yes 80 not 800).

With the inner side of the intake lip made I built up the outer side. Didn't do it as elegantly as with the port intake.

Plastic strip was glued so it levels with the outside of the duct.

The splitter plate then went on and was sanded smoth with the existing duct.

First I made the supports and splitters for the splitter plate.

First I made the port then I went on to the starboard one. For bonus points I took step-by-step images. This is what I started with. Intake duct into the fuselage. The aim is to fair everything together correctly.

More progress: Aft cockpit bulkhead is fitted and intakes are made.

Those are aussie Mirages. E models. A generation forward to the C(J) model. The leading element has large bidons, while the element nearest to the camera has ''supersonic'' tanks, So that is the illusion maybe. As for converting the E to an CJ it involves some extensive surgery. Especially around the back. Have fun Saso

Very, very nice. Can't wait to see the rest! Have fun Saso

Ooh this is nice! Can't wait to see it finished. I played with some image taking this weekend. Absolutely no results. As Eminem says ''Back to the lab agaain - yo". I will e-mail you when I will have some good results. Have fun Saso

And here you can see the bottom. Part of the nose wheelbay is visibile. Note I made the bleed air vents before installing the intake trunking. Now I will make the cradle for the wings to be level. Then some scribing, the wings will go on and I will start building the spine on this thing. Should be fun. Can't wait to build some airplane and not just some obscure details. Thanks for all your comments: Chris - just look at your work! EPinniger - I am an ardent fan of anything that makes my life easier as long as it is any good. On my next project (a Greek 1974 F-5A) I will use the Hasegawa kit, Belcher Bits conversion, Black Box cockpit, CED AIM-9Bs, missile marking decals and Hobbydecal F-5 drytransfers. I hope I will be able to finish it within a year. Have fun Saso

Another angle