Mirage F1 AZ 1/32 Scale, Scratch Build. Part 1
Well its that time again.''The scores are tie, and now its time for the big one'', Yip, I have taken the plunge again and started another long term project in the form of the Mirage F1 AZ of the South African Airforce. Needless to say she is going to be quite a big model in 1/32 scale, 478.13mm long and a wing span of 262.5 mm.
I managed to get some scale drawings that I scaled up to 32nd scale , bought a roll of .5mm plastic and kicked off.
This is what I have done so far,
- Used tracing paper to cut out the side views , transferred to plastic card and cut out,
- Cut out all the rib sections and glued into position.
- Tomorrow I will fill in between the ribs with balsa wood and start to shape the fuselage for vac forming.
I will be using a lot of the techniques I used on the PC 21 that I built, this is just a lot bigger.
I would like the end result to be as accurate to the real aircraft as possible, just in case some one out there decides to release a kit in the near future.
I look forward to all your comments and encouragement.
Cheers
Marc
Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Just love following these ‘Barris Masterclasses’. Take as long as you like, Marc - great to see more of the ‘behind the scenes’ work.
Made my modeling day, Marc.
Hey David, thanks for the comment, this one is going to take some time to complete.
Looking good so far, Marc. If I may add a possible suggestion - I've built RC models using that technique, but using high density foam instead of balsa. The pink or blue foam insulation that can be had in sheets from home improvement stores usually works well for that. It's dense enough to carve and support a skin, and easier to fix if you mess something up. I've usually sheeted it with thin balsa, but I'm pretty sure you could do the same with styrene.
Just my 2 cents...
Hey there Jaime, Here is some change, i use the balsa wood to fill in between the rids on the two fuselage halves, the end of the day I am making a mold to vac form, thanks for the comment.
🙂 … Greetings … 🙂 :
Very interesting work Marc, really hope to see more.
Thanks for the comment. I will keep you posted.
Needless to say I will follow this build. Another masterclass build from the Barris stable! Good luck with this one Marc it sure promises to be AWESOME!
Dankie my chom, is there a F1 standing there at PE?
Wow, you are one ambitious modeler Marc. Love it.
Cheers Tom, I hope I can make it happen.
Wow !
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Thanks Maarten
That's some project!
Its a big one Robert, I am enjoying it so far.
Yeah! I was wondering when you'd kick off another, and this one is a doozy! I'm all in to follow and provide encouragement to one of my modeling heros! Love your choice - a nice military aircraft with sleek lines and some great schemes. Enjoy the ride - I sure will!