Mirage IIIO – RAAF ARDU (Kinetic 1/48)
The Royal Australian Air Force's Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU) plans, conducts and analyses the results of ground and flight testing of existing and new Air Force aircraft. ARDU consists of three test and evaluation flights (TEFs) located at RAAF Bases Edinburgh, Amberley and Williamtown, staffed by qualified test pilots, flight test engineers (engineer graduates of test pilot school) and flight test system specialists (air combat officer graduates of test pilot school). ARDU also conducted flight testing for the Australian Army until 2016, with Army personnel working within the unit.
Depicted in this model is the RAAF Mirage IIIO, serial number A3-2, ARDU, based at Edinburgh Air Force base, South Australia December 1981.
This model kit presented me with many challenges, which at times nearly saw the kit sent to the trash bin and my mojo hit rock bottom on several occasions. However, being the persistent guy I am, I walked away from it several times, to re think, regain my state of mind, whilst refusing to quit on it.
So I am pleased to say that despite the challenges this kit gave me, it did teach me some very valuable lessons and some new skills, which will hopefully stay with me for the next builds and beyond.
I don't feel that the end result of this model is my best effort to date, but given the challenges that I personally had to overcome with it, it does exceed my self imposed expectations. So I do feel that I finished with a reasonable and venerable model Mirage IIIO. For me the kit will always remind me of the blood, sweat and tears that went into it. OK a little over dramatic but you catch my drift. I'm guessing there's that one kit you're thinking about where you had the same experiences right?
The challenges included poorly fitting wing assembly to the main fuselage. The outcome was that I learnt some great techniques of filling and sanding using a thinned down version of Tamiya grey putty (and Mr Color Levelling Thinner), which had a similar but more resilient mix to Perfect Plastic Putty. Other areas needed similar treatment around the air intakes and the forward wheel bay areas.
Getting a good paint colour match wasn't easy. The kit seemingly called out for colour codes that were either OOS or obsolete. So colour matching was a challenge. The green colour was a fluke, where Tamiya's XF-13 was a close if not a perfect match. The yellow colour I played with was a mix of XF-3:10 + X-6:1. This seemed perfect as a swab mix in comparison with the yellow decals, but once everything was on the plane - the match went astray! Other challenges included incorrect call outs for various parts. As this kit seems to have universal parts for other Kinetic Mirage kits and different Mirage versions, the kit instructions often lead to replacing parts with others from the sprue to make the build more relevant.
I used Eduard interior and exterior PE upgrades on this kit and as per a previous build, was able to mount the external tanks with magnets so that the model can be posed with or without the tanks fitted to the wings.
Having had the luxury of building some well designed kits, being presented with something that forced me to be a little more creative, in the end I realised was a gift even if wrapped in newspaper.
Anyway, please feel free to view my version of the RAAF Mirage IIIO ARDU, serial number A3-2.
No pain, no gain. Scott (@scottiya) your knowledge of the aircraft,its history and your gifts and talents have paid dividends with some good returns.
Yellow finishes can be challenging and making black cheat lines that are smart and sharp is not always easy. Two thumbs up.
Thank you Stephen (@stephen-w-towle) - very much appreciate and value your input mate
A really nice result on this challenging build, Scott @scottiya
Very interesting scheme which you applied beautifully.
Hey John (@johnb), thank you kind sir
Despite the challenges and drawbacks you described (so recognizable to most of us) you managed to make this kit an excellent build with an interesting paint scheme.
Thanks for sharing the the outcome and accompanying story on the real thing.
Thank you Alfred @alfred for your support
This Mirage looks absolutely stunning, Scott @scottiya. Absolutely fantastic!
Thank you Felix @fxrob. I’m humbled
A fantastic Mirage, Scott! Kudos to your skills and perseverance!
Hey Spiros (@fiveten) thank you so much for your support my friend
Your work and persistence paid off.
Thank you for looking Tom @tcinla
G’day Scott (@scottiya),
Great to see this one finished after it fought you for so long.
I look forward to seeing it in person at the next meeting.
Liked!
G'day Michael, thank you sir
It did take awhile longer than I thought when I first started it
Serves me right for putting expectations on myself
I will miss the next meeting I'm afraid, as I will be travelling back from NZ that day after a work trip in Napier
I'll be delighted to show you in person asap!
Now there's a Mirage of a different color! Looks great!
Thank you Greg (@gkittinger)
Gorgeous Mirage! Thanks for sharing it with us. I've heard that this kit is a stinker to build and you have confirmed it.
Thank you Robert (@magoo)
It's a great kit if you feel like honing your skills a bit
But (rightly or wrongly) I just expected more from a company that make model kits for a living ha ha