Hi guys

Just a quick note to say that the gremlins have moved from my airbrush into my computer. I'm writing this from another machine as mine refuses to boot up. I'll be back in action as soon as I can.

All the best

Steve

Steve,
One just needs to make sure that they're using the soft easy bendable plastic shaft ones and not the stiffer metals ones that can easily damage the cone.

And sorry to see that your computer has deserted you. I recently went through the same deal and ended up with a new, state of the art mid tower PC, as I can fix, upgrade, and modify as needed.

Joel

Hi Joel

Sounds like a great idea. I'm going to get some. As you can see my laptop is back in working order, and the gremlins have been chased away. I might get some of the stiff metal flossers for torturing the little beasties.

Now its back to business.

With best wishes

Steve

Progress; forward or onward movement towards a destination. I suspect the word wasn't invented for modellers but it’s a good modelling word nonetheless.

Not only has the sandpaper ejector seat and instrument panel been resprayed with a nice smooth layer of satin dark grey, but the inside walls of the front wheel bay are now finished. The technique was simple. A gloss black undercoat was over-sprayed with a layer of AK Extreme Metal Dark Aluminium and details were emphasised with a pin wash of black oil paint. I might add a few oil stains, but as this part of the kit won't show I’m not going to do too much more painting.

Here’s what it all looks like.

Panels look great, Steve. Honestly, I never saw the pebbly effect. But I understand how so ething gets under your skin.

Cheers,

Gary

Hi Gary

If only I wasn't born in September, maybe my Virgo side would be under control. Anyhow, as you say, I'm much happier with the second results, and this is a hobby after all. Its supposed to be enjoyable right?

To misquote a famous manager of a famous English Football Team, 'Some people believe modelling is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.'

Have a great day.

Steve

The 1970s have been described as the decade that taste forgot. If you take that view you could roll in the late 1960s too. Loud clashing colours dominated everything, and the interior of the Mirage was no exception. Take a look at the reference photo of the ejector seat at the beginning of this blog. You’ll see red-brown leather, bright yellow foam, blue straps and a smattering of grey and olive green, all set in a background of black metal. Faithful to the times and my references I’ve started blocking in the colours.



It’s a journey outside of the comfort zone of purposeful greys and olive greens inside today's cockpits. Right now it all looks a bit garish and it’s going to get worse. However it is going to add some real visual interest, and I intend to approach the ejector seat like painting a figure, using oils to add highlights, shadows and colour modulation. Right now though I’m waiting for the Austin Powers colour set from Vallejo. What? They don't do one?! Man, that is far out.

So, while I research just the right tone of 1960s garish red-brown I’ve assembled the front wheel bay and given it a test fit inside the lower fuselage. That part has also been cleaned up and the worst of the inevitable flash and moulding oddities removed or patched.





I have to say the fit feels pretty good. I hope its all a good omen for the final mating of cockpit, lower fuselage and fuselage halves. Then I’ll be a believer that there’s no monkeying around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfuBREMXxts&list=RDXfuBREMXxts#t=5

Sometimes Steve, I feel the pointlessness of trying to detail WWII 1/48 cockpits. Greys and greens, a black instrument panel, occasionally punctuated by a tiny pip of red or white. But otherwise bleh, mostly hidden behind a framed canopy and high fuselage sides.

I think a garish pit would be refreshing.

Gary

Steve,
The wheel well really does look quite good.

I graduated High School in 1965, so no one knows more then I do about bright gaudy colors . Still, there was a certain charm to it back then, especially coming from the super conservative 50's.

I did watch the Monkeys vid you posted the link to. And to think that it was a #1 top 40 hit. Back then those hair cuts were considered radical, and they were easily referred to by our parents as being hippies. But today they look like fine young men, neatly dressed, with conservative hair cuts. Go figure

Joel

Hi guys

As ever, thanks for dropping in.

Gary, yes I know what you mean about a lot of effort that doesn't get seen. Its one of the reasons I switched to 1/32 scale - so I could work on details that would be seen. I think we're dazzled with quality close ups of minute parts these days and while they are inspirational and look great in magazines and on-line, when you view a model with the naked eye its the whole thing that we take in. Of course good detailing and painting helps, but for me its no use if you cant see it.

Joel, I'm vintage 1964 so I spent a good deal of my childhood in flares and like you I think of the times with nostalgia. And, yes, times change huh, but don't throw anything away. It seems like last decade's trash is this decade's must have.

I'm cracking on with the ejector seat and will post soon.

Happy modelling guys.

Steve

What’s the right colour? It’s a question that modellers ask themselves often. Some of us use the colour callouts in instructions to find the right paint, others use references to get the feel and pick a colour that matches. Whichever method you choose one thing is certain, the light that shines on your chosen colour will change the way it looks. Just take a look at the photos in this blog and you’ll see.

My preference is to get the feel right and mix colours when I need to. That search for the right feel had me looking deeper into the colours inside the Mirage, just because I didn't really like the look of the colours in the reference photo. Experience so far has taught me that the IIIC comes in many guises, and I was likely to find some options. What I came up with was this:



It’s not so different but it shows a covering on that yellow foam which I like better. So, I’m going with this one. There’s still enough colour variation to keep it interesting, but the tones are more military. Is this me re-inventing history to suit my own tastes? It seems not, but I couldn't swear this version of the ejector seat version was used by the French Airforce.

Equipped with this new reference I’ve been blocking in colours. I find it hard to do more than an hour or so of detailed painting in one session. I get sloppy if I do to much. So progress is slow at this stage, but I hope worth it in the end.





Oh, and just to keep things real, here’s a shot from just over arms length - about the distance many people view the finished article from (including me). Puts it into perspective doesn't it?

Steve,
your seat weathering is superb, especially at that viewing distance.

Joel

Joel.

Thanks very much for your kind words. I've been blocking in more colour on the seat, and finally got the instruments back to where they were before the incident with the airbrush in the night.

Once the acrylics are dry, I'll go back with oils and add highlights and shadows. I had a great day today - just me my work bench and endless old films - so I made good progress. I started adding a little very dark-grey wash here and there to the front of the instruments, just to add some depth.

Hi Steve

Your detailing is absolutely awesome - excellent work sir!

Regards,
Kobus

Looking good, Steve! I'm not so good with a brush. Spent the last couple days on my tank crew to comparatively miserable results.

Gary

Looking fantastic Steve, I am a sucker for blue harness straps The cockpit alone would make an excellent display item in it's own right.
tim

Guys, you've made me feel the warm glow of fellow modellers' praise. Maybe its post Valentine's day, but I feel the love. Thanks a million.

Kobus, thanks for taking the time to look in and for dropping a very nice comment too.

Gary, sorry to read of your figure painting woes. Figures are the hardest part of our hobby to get right it seems to me. Probably because we are all so very good at seeing the details of our fellow humans, and we have a well trained idea of what is right. These articles have helped me, and provided inspiration (as has lots of practice and many 'Oh damn I've messed it up' moments):

http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/articles_figures.htm

This is aimed at photoshop users, but its great for us modellers trying to paint faces as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7rrrkpJHLU

Tim, thanks too. Its tempting to stop there and not bury all that detail in the airframe, but there's a bigger prize - a complete Mirage!

The paintbrushes got a workout tonight, and the seat and instrument panel are nearly done. Tonight's work was subtle shading with oils, adding a few shadows and highlights. Now there'll be a few days of drying, a final touch up and adjustment and then it will all be sealed with a coat of varnish. I'm going to experiment with adding some final bright highlights using acrylic pencils. Wish me luck!

Crikey, I just looked in the box. That was the first time in ages. There's still lots to build, and some of the parts look BIG after all that fiddly painting.

Here's how it all looks now under the yellowy lights of my lounge. Maybe one day that strange bright globe will appear in the sky and cast its light again. What is it called? Oh, yes. The sun.

By the way, does anyone have a good way of painting the black and yellow stripes on the ejector seat handles? I'm thinking of masking the yellow base (actually a mix of Vallejo ivory and yellow, to keep the scale colour feel) with a very thin strip of Tamiya flexible masking tape before dry brushing or maybe even airbrushing dark grey, to simulate black. What do you think? All ideas and tips are gratefully received.

Steve,

Looking very nice indeed there!

I've finished mine (without as much attention to detail I must admit) and will soon be putting up a full build review. My biggest piece of advice is: don't glue the inner wheel wells to the bottom fuselage as the instructions say. I did that and then couldn't get the wings on. Had to pull them out and glue them to the inner well previously installed in the bottom wings. Then I was able to make everything fit.

In case you're interested, and not to hijack your thread, here's my finished IAF Mirage:



Keep up the great work!

Michael

Hey Steve,
Those look great! They look so great, that I can't believe that you say they need more shading and highlighting. And thanks for the links! I need to do some serious reading if I want to correct my methods. I think I need to invest in some seriously fine tipped brushes, too.

I'll be interested to see what you come up with for the ejector seat loops. In 1/1 scale the stripes aren't much wider than the average finger. Just the kind of detail I hate to have to replicate. Got steady hands?

Best Wishes,

Gary

Hi guys

Michael, wow that's a beauty. Congratulations on a great build and finish. I know this is not an easy kit to build well and you've done a lovely job. You've also swung my decision - I'm going for the natural metal finish. It just looks so right for the period and the machine. Thanks also for the advice on the wheel wells. I'll follow it.

Gary, I may have gone over the top. There are only a few final touches like highlighting the rivets in the seat. Unless anyone suggests a better way, I'm going to try the masking and painting the ejector seat handles knowing that it won't be exactly in scale. I'm going for neatness first.

Happy modelling guys.

Steve

Steve,
The seat and IP are simply outstanding examples of detailing and detail painting that simulates realism to a remarkable degree.

I've always struggled with those ejection handles in 1/48 scale. I did decide to use very thin strips of Tamiya tape to create the Black/white striping on the tail arresting hook of my A-4 Scooter. I would imagine that, that technique would work quite well in 1/32 scale to yield perfect striping.
Joel

Hi Joel

Wow, thank you very much.

I've had several attempts at masking the handles and it's really hard to get right - super fiddly work. In the end I decided to hand paint. Its not as neat close up but it passes the 'looking-good-to-the-naked-eye' test.

I'll post a picture tonight and see if I can live with the result.

I hope you have a good day.

Steve

There’s just a touch of madness in making models. The search for miniature perfection could be seen by those outside as obsessive or well, weird. If that’s true then break out the straight jacket and fly me over the cuckoo’s nest because I adore it. Yup, getting it right just feels so good.

Getting the black and yellow stripes on the ejector seat handles right has been a struggle though. I gave up trying to mask it because that route really did lead to madness. In the end I hand painted and got something that looks alright from a distance and not quite so neat close up.





While the paint dries I also experimented. There’s a great idea right here on Aeroscale:

https://aeroscale.kitmaker.net//features/4279

I adapted it a bit. Basically it involves twisting and gluing yellow and black cotton to achieve those hard to paint diagonal stripes. I changed the technique and used toothpicks at each end. Then I stuck them in some corrugated cardboard and brushed on a few coats of diluted white glue.





It’s drying now and if it looks good in the morning I’ll cut off the painted handles and replace them with this.

Watch this space for news!

Oh, and if you’re wondering how I keep my sanity. The answer is deep inside here.

Now that's an idea worth trying! I like the color of the beer best of all...lol

Steve,
You're here with admitted to the Official Aeroscale Nut Factory. Congratulations. I've been a member for years, just ask my wife

I tried the twisting technique with the smallest wire I could find, but the results were just to thick for 1/48 scale jets. Never gave thread a thought, and it does look good. I would think that a synthetic thread would be a better option as there wouldn't be any of those fuzzes, but then again with a coat of white glue actually being absorbed into the cotton that wouldn't happen with a synthetic fiber, you're way should be the right way. I'm really looking forward to seeing your results.

While I do love beer, I rarely drink these days, but when I do, I've developed a real liking to Blue Moon. Don't laugh

Joel