brahman104 Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Jesus Eric! I can't even keep up reading your posts let alone the rate at which you build your models. The mirage is looking stunning mate, well done! Craig Piprm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 16, 2016 Author Share Posted January 16, 2016 Jesus Eric! I can't even keep up reading your posts let alone the rate at which you build your models. The mirage is looking stunning mate, well done! Craig But wait, there's more! Upon cutting the canopy from the sprue it was immediately apparent that some of the frames were too skinny and would need to be fixed. The rear most from was the worst, and it the model wouldn't be making an appearance in my display cabinet looking like that. Here is the canopy, as Italeri would have it. I sanded off the rear frame using a variety of sanding sticks. It is most important at this stage that you do not get any deep scratches in the plastic, otherwise its game over.\ I buffed it with a sanding sponge to remove any sanding marks Followed by a polish with another buffer to remove the fine swirls left by the sponge. I stuck a blob of blue-tak on the inside of the canopy for a grip and support and then polished the plastic with a cloth wheel mounted in my cordless dremel (a must have if you are going to do this job). Tamiya polishing pastes make short work of this step.\ Here is the canopy, minus the rear outer frame. The thin inner frame is still visible, but that will be a story for later. I then masked the canopy with a fatter rear frame, plus a very small addition to the two side frames. Spray it with a few coats of Black Mr Surfacer to build it up. Here is the result. A better proportioned frame ready for masking. geedubelyer, Youngtiger1, Piprm and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 It looks inceredibly good And the canopy work is awsome ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 That's really excellent work on that canopy, mate. But why unmask it at all? Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaninaustria Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Just brilliant work mate! Man she looks great!! A Mirage looks fast just sitting there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 16, 2016 Author Share Posted January 16, 2016 Hi Kev, I unmasked it now so that I could check that the work that I have done was perfect. I would rather fix it now than later, even if it means re-masking it..... Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROM Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 very nice work!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 Eric Amamzing work .. and what an eye for detail. Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 Some more work on the canopy. I thought that since the canopy of this model is going to be open and `in your face' that it needed a bit more work done to it. I beefed up the inner frames by super glueing thin strips of plastic card and then sanding to shape. I will mask the inside of the canopy and spray them black as well before re-masking the outside and spraying that the cam colour. It will lookk far better than the kit offering. I have also started the wash on the model using AK Interactive panel line washes. AceofClubs, geedubelyer, jgrease and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alain11 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Hi that turns very nice , beautiful paint work too , free hand done ??? ......If you allow me to push you , don't forget the canopy knife inside the ......canopy , eyes are always attracted by tiny details , and I like tiny details Alain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 Hi Alain, All the cam work was done free hand. The bush war Mirages definately had a soft edge to cam. I did the canopy knife on my Revell Mirage and I will do the same for this one. Harold, alain11 and geedubelyer 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Beautifull work Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Neat work Eric. The beefed up canopy rails will also help to make the glazing seem thinner. Good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 I began to fit the nose gear to check for alignment before painting and realized that there was going to be an issue. Something you may want to have a look out for on your own build. Something seemed odd about the position of the nose gear leg and the small door that is attached to it. The leg was too far back, and the lower door was too low. Here is the lower door. It is just too low down the leg and the attachment point of the lower edge is a bit too bulky for my tastes. I modified the nose gear leg to better fit closer to the front. Here it can be seen in a much better position. Notice how the lower door is still too low? Here is a different angle. From references, it was going to require modification. I shifted the door higher up the leg Notice how everything looks much better aligned now. The actuator was too short due to shifting the nose gear forward. I made up a new rod from some brass to fix the issue. jgrease, Kagemusha, rafju and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Brilliant mod Eric - hadn't noticed before - but looks a lot better! Iain Harold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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