32nd Cheetah E (ScaleWorx resin conversion set)

[Mistral]

Some plumbing added to the main wheel bays. I only focused on the larger pipes. This area will look a bit busier once the door retraction piston is installed. I very seldom pick up my models to look at the undercarriage 

 

IMG_6074 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

[Mistral]

Some more work on the cockpit, this time the side panels and the instrument panel. ScaleWorx provide the resin IP for the Cheetah E. I used the Italeri instrument panel decal and punched out individual instruments. The artificial horizon is from an Airscale 32nd cockpit instrument sheet. Data placards were added, again using decals from Airscale 32nd scale cockpit placards. These Airscale cockpit decals are great and add much to the interest level of the cockpit, especially in 32nd scale. I also added the two levers either side of the IP. I think one is the drag chute release handle and the other hand brake ? Nick / Sean to correct me please... :

 

IMG_6035 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

IMG_6038 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

IMG_6055 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

IMG_6056 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

IMG_6058 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

[alain11]

hi

excellent job so far !!!!! I like this thread !!! ... if you allow , dont forget the levers on each side on top of the " side wall " 

can't wait how you will improve the front gear bay , maybe the less detailed area of this kit  

Alain

[Mistral]

Hi Alain. Thanks.

 

Yes, about the levers. The holes are already drilled for them but they will only put those in once the model has been painted.

[Renegade]

Wow, Malcom!

Your work is very neat, well executed and thoroughly researched.
The scribing of those few additional panel lines and small strips of plastic card makes a big difference.

 

Cheers

[Mistral]

Thanks John. Your resin set has given me motivation. Can't wait to get the cards on which really makes it a Cheetah !!

 

Started to put top and bottom of fuselage together. This is going to take time because of the really junk fit around the forward fuselage. I spent about 30 minutes fetling with a sharp knife removing various sections on plastic to get a half decent fit. I then glued one side of forward fuselage, strapped it up and waited 2 hours before tackling the other side of the forward fuselage. I do not know why the model companies seem to battle with the forward part of the Mirage III 

 

IMG_6088 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

[Mistral]

Whilst waiting for the glue on the first half of the forward fuselage to dry, I tackled the plumbing on the undercarriage legs. I used 0.15 fisherman's lead wire which is super easy to work with. I replicated the main lines using photos of 842 as a reference. Legs then primed with Tamiya grey primer and finally sprayed on a white base coat using Tamiya X2 white.

 

The bare legs :

 

IMG_6077 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

Wires added :

 

IMG_6079 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

Nose gear - the loose wire is for the landing lights which will only be fitted later - these were painted black on the Cheetah E (using 842 as reference) :

 

IMG_6083 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

White legs :

 

IMG_6086 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Edited August 24, 2020 by Mistral
Text change

[Mistral]

Mission successful. Wing to fuselage joints - no filler needed at all (the white along the rear port side is light reflection...).  Now to make it a Cheetah E - canards and nose to come 

 

IMG_6091 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

[Mistral]

Some more work in progress. The gap at the rear wing root must be filled - this is visible as the inboard elevon (actually the SAS moving surface) is drooped when the aircraft is at rest :

 

IMG_6094 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

IMG_6095 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

[Mistral]

I thought I'd try something different to glue the nose onto the aircraft. I don't trust the strength of a super-glue join. So I glued a very thin piece of plastic card to the rear of the resin nose using 2 part epoxy. This will allow the nose to be glued to the fuselage using Tamiya extra thin liquid glue to create a strong bong :

 

IMG_6099 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

Plastic card trimmed :

 

IMG_6112 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

[Mistral]

And now for some views of the ScaleWorx resin bits being added :

 

vertical stab with the various RWR and EW antennae :

 

IMG_6100 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

Cheetah E had an asymmetric dorsal intake arrangement. One original Mirage III style intake and one modified larger intake. Note also ScaleWorx provide little resin oval pieces which I assume are some local reinforcing to do with the Kfir wing to Mirage fuselage join - it's location is in line with the fuselage main structural frame :

 

IMG_6103 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

Refuelling probe fairing :

 

IMG_6104 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

Ventral chaff / flare dispenser and an small intake and vent specific to the Cheetah E :

 

IMG_6105 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

Forward ventral fairing in place of Mirage IIIE doppler antenna - the azimuth antenna for the RWR must still be glued in place to this fairing :

 

IMG_6106 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

Canards, refuelling probe and nose temporarily in place using Prestik / tape - sorry, nose is skew - my fault - will be glued on straight, promise !!

 

IMG_6109 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

IMG_6110 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

 

IMG_6111 - 800 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

[Mistral]

So then, some thoughts and observations regarding the ScaleWorx resin set and the assembly of these to the kit. John is a stickler for detail and has researched the Cheetah E well. I am using photos of Cheetah E 842 as a reference when gluing on the resin parts - John is still busy with the installation instructions. Referring to photos of 842 gives me the ability to compare the resin parts to the full size aircraft components and I can happily report that the accuracy is excellent.

 

The resin John uses has good consistency and is easy to work with. There are no apparent surface bubbles or defects. My vertical stabilizer had a slight warp in the top part but this was sorted out by dipping the part into hot water. The surface detail (panel lines and shapes) is good. A few areas of riveting are a little vague but a quick twist with a sharp knife tip sorts that out.

 

I hollowed out the two vents in the nose. Around 5 minutes of work with a sharp blade. These could not be cast hollow due to mould limitations. Some of the resin parts come with quite substantial casting blocks but a razor saw takes care of those. The parts that tested me a little were the canards - removing the casting blocks is a long process as the canard must match the curved intakes and at the correct angle - so careful trimming and test fitting is required until the proper "sit" is achieved.

 

The vertical stabiliser slotted very snugly into the fuselage recess. I glued this in place using 2 part epoxy for strength. Another area which must be approached with care are the intakes. I think it's virtually impossible to get a 100% fit with the resin parts simply because, depending on sequence of assembly of the airframe, the kit intakes may be distorted. This area of the kit is really badly designed and requires a lot of clamping and filling. This may be due to my own fault as I focussed on getting a good wing / fuselage joint.

 

So in summary, the resin parts are easy to work with, the kit not so much, especially the forward fuselage. As a fan of the Cheetah (and anything SAAF for that matter) I am really happy that ScaleWorx have given us this resin conversion set. If you like canard deltas, this resin set is for you. And then we have the Cheetah D set on its way....good times

 

 

 

[scvrobeson]

It looks like the fit of the conversion parts is pretty good, but I'm sure it needs some tweaking like anything else.

 

 

 

Matt 

[alain11]

hi

this " long nose " Mirage will turn very nice , indeed , the resin parts as much as we can see look nice , and .. "smooth" , can't wait the following step ... good job  

Alain

[Mistral]

22 hours ago, scvrobeson said:

It looks like the fit of the conversion parts is pretty good, but I'm sure it needs some tweaking like anything else.

 

 

 

Matt 

 

Hi Matt. You're correct. No resin fit is going to be 100%. You can see where I've used Perfect Plastic Putty to sort out the interfaces between resin and kit plastic. but the resin parts provide a very good base for the conversion. Perfect Plastic Putty comes to the fore in instances like this. Easy to apply and excess can be removed with a wet earbud. No sanding required.