Eduard’s Mirage III CZ SAAF 1982 in 1:48
My first post here on Imodeler!
Just a few pics of this lovely kit. It is Eduard's Mirage III CZ SAAF 1982 in 1:48. I used the Profipack version and finished it in the kit decals for nr. 800 2 Eskader/ 2 Squadron of the SAAF Waterkloof 1982.
The kit has 4 vices;
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Poor fit of the wing undersides to the fuselage in particular the ventral gun bays and the overall fit of upper wing to fuselage is ...ambitious lets say.
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The plane sits too high; chop the nose wheel down by 2-3 mm
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Fit of the cockpit Instrument panel hood is bad.
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Loctaion of main undercarriage support arms is esoteric
Plane is a tail sitter (not a vice as its stated in the instructions) so don't forget to add weight to the nose.
Other than that its a lovely kit and I picked up a few more as Overtrees to use up the Profi Pack decal sheet. If you buy enough overtree kits it justifies the postage.
At least that is what I tell my wife.
Regards
Brian
Nice build I like the scheme, looks great!
Looks great, welcome to Imodeler.
Welcome to iModeler. Very nice result Brian considering the hurdles! I know the aircraft well and your depiction is fantastic, well done! Keep the SAAF aircraft coming!
Welcome to this great community, Brian. @info4
You made a great entry with this Mirage.
You did solve the issues very well, nice build.
Beautiful job really! Love the overall finish. Great way to introduce yourself. Welcome to a great site and modeling community.
First, welcome to iModeler, I'm sure you will enjoy it here. Looks like you've done a fine job on this kit despite its vices, definitely liked. I get a sneaking suspicion that not all Eduard products are as good as they're made out to be.
This is an amazing result of a beautiful plane, Brian @info4!
Your attention to details is great and painting/weathering fantastic. The SAAF planes sport amazing schemes!
Thanks for all remarks regarding the Eduard kit: I will definitely refer to them upon building my Israeli Eduard same kit.
Welcome aboard!
Excellent work! Welcome to the site.
That is one lovely Mirage! Paint and finish work is fantastic, and looks like you solved all the vices handily! Well done. And welcome...
Brian as a South African, I am always greatful to see a SAAF Mirage III. As a child growing up in the early 1980's the Mirage III and the F1CZ / AZ were hot favourites at airshows in South Africa. They were SAAF icons of the Bush War in Angola. You did an AMAZING job on capturing the Dark Green / Buff camo so distinct on these fighters in SAAF service. Many of these Mirage III airframes were later upgraded to Kifr standard with the help of Israel to produce an indigenous upgrade known as the Cheetah. The latter was produced to win back air supremacy over Angola from Cuban and Angolan piloted Mig 23's.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Thanks
Many thanks to everyone for the very friendly welcome and kind words . I am glad that you liked the Mirage III. I have some more to post over the coming days and weeks.
Still absolutely love the Mirage 3. SAAF had some awesome colour schemes from the exposed alloy to the different camos
Yes Niell
I still have some interesting SAAF camouflage schemes to do ; the late F1AZ colours are particulary nice...