Hi Again. Thought I would continue with the reconnaissance theme and start Kinetic models 1/48 scale Mirage IIIRS. This is the Swiss AF version of the classic Mirage III. It features camera bay in the nose as well as the distinctive canards.



Cockpit detail is not bad at all, including this reasonably detailed seat.

There are some large raised ejector marks in the intake ducts. These were filled down, but I'm not sure its entirely necessary as you can not see much beyond the first few millimetres of the air intake entrance.






Forward undercarriage bay is glued to the rear of the cockpit. the colour is a mix of aluminium and zinc chromate




All the internal parts are fixed in place: cockpit, forward undercarriage bay, engine air ducts and the two piece jet nozzle. There is a plastic part representing the primary compressor included, but this will go in the spares box as I don't think you will see it once the fuselage halves are joined..

happy modelling. This has been a formidable version of the Mirage III and it served the Swiss Air Force well for many years! I still miss those delta wings flying over us.

Hi Phillipe. I was lucky enough to see the Swiss Mirage III's a few times flying up the valleys and over cols on walking holidays in Switzerland. Amazing sight and sound

Upper and lower wings joined then attached to the fuselage. Quite a gap on the upper surface. Probably could have spread the fuselage wider with some sprue.





The parts that make up the fuselage need to be blended in a bit..




There are also a few areas where the plastic has sunk. Will put that down to stressed skin

Most of the parts making up the airframe are done, needs a lot of careful clamping. Its going to need some work filling and blending. level of detail is very good.



The parts for the nose. Either the Mirage IIIS or the Mirage IIIR/S can be built.

I have been a bit distracted with building the Bf 109 G-10 over the last few weeks. So the Mirage III RS has been shelved during that time.

The cockpit was finished and the canopy and windscreen were fitted.




I have been working on the reconnaissance nose. The one piece clear part for the windows for the cameras is a poor fit. So lots of filler used.



The join of the plastic needed redoing as Mr Surfacer filler cracking. So I reamed it out and used Super Glue and Talc to create a strong join

Looking good Tim.
What scale is it?

Its 1/48 scale Stephen...

Wasn't completely happy with the fit of the clear parts of the canopy and the windscreen. So taped up the clear parts and ran some Mr Surfacer [500] into the gaps. Will carefully sand the filler down to have a more blended in look.



You can see one of the more noticeable sink marks that has been filled just below the canopy. It follows the locating point of the floor of the cockpit.

Cool. Got to admit that I do like the Mirage. I really should try to actually build the ones in my collection at some point.

Is this a recent release? Seems to be giving you a bit of trouble in places.

It was released in 2016 Stephen, you can find my review here.
I really like the Mirage III and the Mirage 5 family despite attempts to make it look more ugly with later modifications. Its a typical Kinetic kit really, brilliant surface detail, but some fit issues. Nothing I would call bad, but some joints need attention for a good finish. I do enjoy putting Kinetic kits together as you do need test your skills a bit. Their range of Mirages is superb and enjoyed building their Harriers too

You are doing a good job on this Tim despite the challenging and somewhat unsatisfactory fit of parts for a modern kit; it ain't a Tamiya that's for sure!

Great choice of a Swiss AF version though and I look forward to seeing the end result.

Gary

Hi Gary, no it ain't Tamiya or Eduard, but still very buildable. Worth the effort to have a Mirage III RS in my collection. Always find some of the film on Youtube inspiring.

Well it’s taken awhile to fill, sand and blend the various joints over the last few days. Masked the clear parts: windscreen, canopy and camera ports. Applied primer over the whole kit ready for the camouflage. The under surfaces are light grey with dark ocean grey and dark green disruptive camouflage on top. I decided to use blue tack to create the disruptive camouflage as it conforms much better to the shape of the fuselage than paper masks which is what I normally use. Just hope I paint the appropriate areas dark green in the morning..

Well I’m pretty happy with the way the painting has gone. I did give the model a coat of clear before masking off the various panels on the tail, the primed areas in the main gear bay and the anti-dazzle patch on the nose. I have given the paintwork a slight tired look, which is a bit unfair as the Swiss seem to keep their aircraft incredibly tidy looking.

Looking good Tim.

Thanks Stephen

Three coats of kleer was applied before placing the decals. I did have initial problems sliding the decals of the backing sheet. Discovered they needed slightly warmer water than usual. Once the problem was rectified no problems applying the decals. Decals settled down well employing Microsol and Microset. The roundels on the undersurface of the wing still looks wrinkly as the Microset is still working its magic....

Right I think I’ll put this build to bed now. Really enjoyed the build despite having to spend some time filling and blending some of the parts. Its been well worth the effort as I hope you will agree.