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32nd Mirage IIID2Z (with ScaleWorx conversion set)


Mistral

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Hi Malcolm

 

The Mirage is looking great. :clap2::clap2:

 

Just a small but interesting fact on the colors. The Mirage III D2Z and R2Z aircraft were painted in gloss colors in France before delivery. French equivalent colors were used which created a small variation on these aircraft compared to the rest of the SAAF Mirages. 

Cheers

Nick

 

  

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2 hours ago, Mistral said:

Thanks Nick. Do you have colour references ?

 

Ha Ha Malcolm now you are asking the impossible.

 

The original cammo on the Saaf Mirage III CZ conformed to the well published BS Standard colors with light grey undersurface. Also the cammo Sabres)

 

The Mirage III EZ aircraft were painted locally in gloss finish and were close to the D2 also with light blue undersurfaces.

 

The change to satin/mat without national markings darkened the Green and lightened the Buff when the aircraft were parked next to each other but by how much?

 

The best advise is to look at Mirage 857 which was delivered in the original gloss(maybe NATO Green ) and then with the fin and other parts repainted in later colors.

(I think the museum have repainted it since):BANGHEAD2:

 

Here you can see the difference in green between two panels (Panel left of photo) Also good study of the different 09K-50 intakes.

 

DSCN2921.jpg

 

 

Difference in greens and buffs

DSCN2896.jpg

 

I would mix what looks right to your eye. I know photos are not always good references but look at as many photos and go with that.

 

BTW I think the U/C bays might have been silver but I am not sure about that.

 

Cheers

Nick

 

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Thanks Nick. I'm gonna use my CZ colour formulation and add a touch of orange to the buff and possibly lighten the green. Photos are difficult to go by because of all the variables. However I'm of the school of thought that says if it looks right it is right. Not very scientific I know. I think what is important is how the two colours work together.

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4 hours ago, cch4530 said:

I looked at ScaleWerx's website but there isn't a way to order them from there. 

Mind sharing the prices for the rocket tanks and the conversion kit?

And how to order these?

Hi, placing orders for Scaleworx can only be done via email to scaleworx@yahoo.com, as noted on the website. The price list will be updated on the website soon. :)

 

Cheers, John

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On 4/6/2021 at 7:22 PM, Cheetah11 said:

 

Ha Ha Malcolm now you are asking the impossible.

 

The original cammo on the Saaf Mirage III CZ conformed to the well published BS Standard colors with light grey undersurface. Also the cammo Sabres)

 

The Mirage III EZ aircraft were painted locally in gloss finish and were close to the D2 also with light blue undersurfaces.

 

The change to satin/mat without national markings darkened the Green and lightened the Buff when the aircraft were parked next to each other but by how much?

 

The best advise is to look at Mirage 857 which was delivered in the original gloss(maybe NATO Green ) and then with the fin and other parts repainted in later colors.

(I think the museum have repainted it since):BANGHEAD2:

 

Here you can see the difference in green between two panels (Panel left of photo) Also good study of the different 09K-50 intakes.

 

DSCN2921.jpg

 

 

Difference in greens and buffs

DSCN2896.jpg

 

I would mix what looks right to your eye. I know photos are not always good references but look at as many photos and go with that.

 

BTW I think the U/C bays might have been silver but I am not sure about that.

 

Cheers

Nick

 

Hi Nick, 

Quite right, 857 is probably the only remnant of that scheme. The colours on the R2Z and D2Z do appear more vibrant than the other locally applied schemes. If my memory serves me correctly, 857 had some gloss protective coat applied to it. The starboard elevons has a totally different green with feathered edge camo on it. Suspect it's from another aircraft. Not sure if this has something to do with the incident prior to her retirement? Anyway, best guess like you suggested, is to mix and match until it gets to "if it looks right, it is right" colour. 

 

Cheers, 

John 

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On 4/6/2021 at 2:35 PM, Mistral said:

Next, the wing mounted JL-100 combined fuel tank / rocket pods. These were carried by the SAAF Mirage IIID2Zs in both training and combat sorties up on the border. John has provided the correct pod diameter, nose configuration and inboard wing pylon - the kit's pylons are too short and too shallow. John also provides the little arming latch on the lower side as well as the rocket exhaust shrouds. These were located only over those exhausts adjacent to the outboard wing pylons. The purpose was to reduce the chance of flames from these exhausts impacting on the IR sensors on the outboard missiles. Once again, thanks for the clarification John :)

 

 

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I added small location pins using thin brass tube. These items are rather heavy and will need some positive location onto the wings :

 

 

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All treated to the standard Tamiya fine grey surface primer :

 

 

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Here you go....:) Temporarily in place using Prestic :

 

 

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Malcom,  all I can say is WOW! :bow:

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This is looking amazing. I have an Italeri Mirage in the stash and your building tips will be invaluable. I find the combination of the rocket pods with the fuel tank fascinating. I see how it make sense but the idea of combining in a single contraption high explosive, rockets and fuel is an interesting one...

 

Cheers,

 

David

 

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Thanks David :)

 

Some progress on painting - interiors of main undercarriage bays is assumed to be aluminium / silver. I used Tamiya LP-38 flat aluminium lacquer paint and weathered using MiG-1008 dark wash. Before I apply the weathering, I seal the base coat with Tamiya X-22 gloss acrylic varnish which prevents the oil based wash from eating the base coat. I like this MiG stuff as it provides an oily finish which, for aircraft, is realistic. Once completed, a final coat of X-22 is applied to seal everything in. Data placards care of AirScale decal sheet.

 

20210411_192811 - 800

 

Then for the undersurface colour. As per Nick's input above, the R2Z and D2Z Mirages supplied by Dassault were painted in France using French colours. As it would seem the underside blue used by Dassault is a bluer shade that used to paint the BZ/CZ/DZ/EZs in South Africa. These were delivered in natural metal with camouflage only applied later when operational requirements dictated (= Border War). So what blue to use - I've heard that Humbrol H25 is a good match but I'm not a fan of Humbrol. Luckily I had a bottle of ModelMaster Flanker "top-surface blue" which looked to me to be just correct based on photos of the real aircraft :

 

 

20210411_192737 - 800

 

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Next step is one I was not looking forward to - trimming and working with the vac form canopy. The vac form parts are supplied by ScaleWorx as a single section, the modeller having to separate the windshield from the canopy and then trim to fit. The vac form parts are nice and thin and clear. They are also tolerant of the abuse taken when manhandling them in the process of removing excess material. I used a dremmel tool with a small sanding bit. Way better than trying to score and cut with a sharp knife. Just keep the speed to medium and work slowly without too much pressure.

 

Loose fit :

 

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I added some structural detail to the insides of the windshield frames using Evergreen plastic strip :

 

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Added some riveting on the frames :

 

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Masking using Tamiya tape - black base coat applied to remove translucency :

 

20210411_130345 - 800

 

Next step - glue the thing into place.....

Edited by Mistral
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Hi

excellent job !! that seems so easy !!! .One thing that impressed me the most is the quality of the wing / fuselage gluing on the bottom , we even don't guess where the join is . I have to try your method 

Alain

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Right then, more progress. I have beaten the windshield into submission with Tamiya white putty - took a number of layers to get the result I wanted. Nicely faired in :

 

 

20210414_205209 - 800

 

I then rescribed the windshield frame lines using a Tamiya razor saw dragged along a piece of dymo tape as a template. Works like a bomb and doesn't shatter the putty like a normal scriber would - thanks Mr. Lee for the advice on this neat little trick. I also rescribed the nose cone panel line which got a bit clogged up with putty and sanding residue. Riveting added to canopy frames :

 

 

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The kit pitot probes were hollowed out at the front and then glued in place :

 

 

20210416_144501 - 800

 

Edited by Mistral
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And then the marathon job of painting the upper surfaces. Lower surfaces masked off :

 

 

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Windshield and cockpit masked :

 

 

20210416_153523 - 800

 

The part which required the most time to mask were the interiors of the intakes. The camouflage colour follows through into the inside leading edges and the "mice" - fiddly masking took 30 minutes. Reference photos tacked to the cupboard for easy viewing and off we go...

 

 

20210418_101116 - 800

 

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