Cheetah11 2,026 Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 (edited) Back at work with a bang so much less time for modeling. I did a few touch ups on the cockpit after seeing them on the posted photos. The last piece of the cockpit puzzle and one forgotten by KH. The Throttle. (Or thrust lever if you fly airliners ) Another small milestone. The fuselage closed. All my tinkering on the fuselage distorted it slightly so some filling, sanding and scribing needed in the next week. Finally I taped all the large components together to see if there are more surprises with the fit. Cheers Nick Edited January 4 by Cheetah11 Kagemusha, Derek B, Scale_artisan and 8 others 11 Link to post Share on other sites
alain11 2,529 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Hi Nick good to see some updates !!! that looks like a mirage now .. doesn't it ??!! .. If I am right , it seems that you forgot the two clear parts just behind the cockpit ( GP 12 /13 ) , the protective glasses of the canopy release handle or maybe you chose another way !!?? I don't want to be an adviser ,............from my seat ...... it seems that your throttle looks like the 2000 - 5 one , the C throttle looks like a "simple L shape ...stuff Alain Marcel111, Derek B, F`s are my favs and 2 others 5 Link to post Share on other sites
Cheetah11 2,026 Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 I spent most of the modeling time today priming the fuselage joints and sanding it down . I will still need to do some filling on the wings later. The louvres at the bottom was a hassle to get the joint filled in the center of the louvres, so in the end I cut them off and replaced it with plastic card. 18 hours ago, alain11 said: Hi Nick good to see some updates !!! that looks like a mirage now .. doesn't it ??!! .. If I am right , it seems that you forgot the two clear parts just behind the cockpit ( GP 12 /13 ) , the protective glasses of the canopy release handle or maybe you chose another way !!?? I don't want to be an adviser ,............from my seat ...... it seems that your throttle looks like the 2000 - 5 one , the C throttle looks like a "simple L shape ...stuff Alain Hi Alain. Thanks for the compliments. I glued the plastic covers on the canopy release from the outside with superglue and when set sanded and polished it similar to the inspection light. This gives a seamless finish. These are the dimensions I used for the throttle, which I found on a gaming website !!! The throttle is L shaped but still quite complex. Here is a photo from a different angle. I hope it shows the shape a bit better. Unfortunately I do not have a lens for a better view. Cheers Nick Out2gtcha, johncrow, Marcel111 and 10 others 13 Link to post Share on other sites
seiran01 4,693 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 This is looking superb!!!! Out2gtcha and Cheetah11 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Out2gtcha 35,861 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 29 minutes ago, seiran01 said: This is looking superb!!!! +1! Really looking great, such a beautiful airframe Cheetah11 and Derek B 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 2,540 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Beautiful work Nick! Of course I do wonder if that throttle is 150mm or 149.5mm in height in 1:1 scale :-) Cheers, Marcel Cheetah11 and Derek B 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
alain11 2,529 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 (edited) in this case , nothing to say more , your picture talks by itself , good job on the throttle !!!!! it would have been surprising that you did such mistake ....no , confusion is a better word Alain Edited January 4 by alain11 Cheetah11 and Derek B 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Cheetah11 2,026 Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 Not too much to show for the last two weeks. I spent most of the time on the sanding, filling and smoothing the model. At last I started painting some of the airframe and engine . Alain showed the tip of using toothpicks to paint the streaks in the afterburner section. I would never be able to get them that symmetrical fixing the toothpicks with soft wire, so I 3D printed a section with the 12 cylinders. The printing turned out to be not so successful as the rods were too flexible and moved as they became longer, distorting the print. It was still usable. Finished. The kit instructions do not call for weight in the nose, but I added a piece of copper covered lead inside the radome with 2min epoxy just in case. Weight was 10 grams (155grain for those who use grains ) Cheers Nick johncrow, LSP_Kevin, alain11 and 1 other 4 Link to post Share on other sites
alain11 2,529 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 hi Nick someone added a weight of 20 grams in the cone , do you think that 10 grams are enough? one question : which color did you paint the gear bays ? some says light grey , but I rather be tempted for semi mat aluminium , if I refer to pictures Alain Link to post Share on other sites
Cheetah11 2,026 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 On 1/14/2021 at 2:17 PM, alain11 said: hi Nick someone added a weight of 20 grams in the cone , do you think that 10 grams are enough? one question : which color did you paint the gear bays ? some says light grey , but I rather be tempted for semi mat aluminium , if I refer to pictures Alain Hi Alain Thanks for the heads up. I taped all the major parts together and pivoted it around where the wheels should be. The nose dropped down but only just. I think with the missiles and pylons 10 gram would maybe not be enough. I added 10 grams more just in case. Looking at photos of the undercarriage bays I see the later Mirage 2000 variants (maybe -5 and later) have them in light grey. The photos I have of around 1990 of the 2000C shows the standard silver used on Mir III and F1 as well. The 1300 liter belly tank around 1990 was also in natural aluminum and the later tanks were in the aircraft color. I am using silver for mine. BTW I see you have had a bit of a cold spell. Cheers Nick alain11, HerculesPA_2, Landrotten Highlander and 2 others 5 Link to post Share on other sites
alain11 2,529 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 very nice metal effects Nick !!! it will bring an original touch , well done !!!!!!!! a cold spell !!!??? we are in winter in Europe .I agree this winter is a bit " harder " than the preceding ones, with snow , and low temperatures , ( things you don't know in the south hemisphere ) but ... I don't complain , , here , where i live , we have 10 to 15 ° in the afternoon Alain Link to post Share on other sites
Cheetah11 2,026 Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 On 1/16/2021 at 12:19 PM, alain11 said: a cold spell !!!??? we are in winter in Europe .I agree this winter is a bit " harder " than the preceding ones, with snow , and low temperatures , ( things you don't know in the south hemisphere ) but ... I don't complain , , here , where i live , we have 10 to 15 ° in the afternoon Alain Hi Alain We do get snow, not as often and as much as Europe but even our wildlife have the perfect cammo for snow On to more serious things As can be seen on this photo there is a small gap between the rudder and fuselage which is not present in the kit. I sanded a small amount from the bottom of the rudder. The other addition was to fill the recess of the slime lights as they are too deep. I will still decide if I will use the kit decals or paint the slime lights. Cheers Nick Paul in Napier, Rockie Yarwood, johncrow and 6 others 9 Link to post Share on other sites
alain11 2,529 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 (edited) Nick , you always point out tiny details to enhance the kit , great job . it seems that you are closed to the paint job now one question : do you have any pictures to support the unpainted belly tank ???? Alain two zebras in the snow !!?? This is not the first idea I have of the SA landscape Edited January 18 by alain11 Derek B 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Cheetah11 2,026 Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 Hi Alain Thanks for the compliments. You are right I am almost ready to paint but since I need to do a bit of mixing I have difficulty in getting the right color. I do not have color chips and all the forums have been of little help since there are many interpretation and opinions. Most of the paint mixes called for are not available to me. I found and old bottle of Testors Vodoo Gray to which I added 3 drops of black and this seems to be the closest I can get to the light grey color. Of course it is open to interpretation as the quality of photos, lighting and scale effect all play a role. I tested my mix on the undercarriage door. I had a look at the paint on the tanks and I can see the reason for your concern. I could only find four photos of French Mirage 2000 aircraft with an unpainted belly tank, so it is not typical. (On Pg 43 of the Dijon Superbase book the second aircraft seems to have an unpainted tank) The Greek and Indian tanks are virtually all unpainted. I will have to paint the tank in my model. So much for the metal effect. Cheers Nick Derek B 1 Link to post Share on other sites
alain11 2,529 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Hi Nick The unpainted tank is rarely seen , but it's possible .If I was you , ( but I am not) I will leave it bare metal , just because it's original some guys use Aka paint ref :RC 235 ( FS 35164) and RC 252 ( FS 36375 ) , or Mr hobby color ( gunse )H308 and H 366 . Maybe not the 100% perfect color , but as you said , it depends of light , photos , ...etc.............. Alain picture from K Duretz used to illustrate the post Derek B 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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