Heller 1/72 Mirage IV

Not long after I sprayed the camo scheme I realised that the colours would more than likely show through the roundels so using a vernier gauge I measured the diameter of the decals then divided by 2 (using a calculator because I was always shit at maths) to find the radius.
The vernier was set to the radius measurement then I set the compass cutter to the vernier;

Using a self adhesive masking film that I found on Amazon the masks were cut with the compass cutter, cut into squares to allow for any overspray then applied to the model.
Mr Hobby Aqueous white was sprayed over the masks rather than Tamiya as that stuff is a bitch to spray nicely for some reason, the masks were then removed and the model given another coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss;

While I was in the mood for spraying I masked off the air intakes and painted the red rims around them. Also there are dayglo panels on the main undercarriage doors and a dayglo stripe on each fuel tank and to do this I masked off the areas first, sprayed them with Tamiya XF-3 Yellow and when dry oversprayed these areas with Vallejo Model Air Flourescent Orange. This was the first time ever spraying anything a dayglo colour so I'm quite pleased with the results;

The next step is to get the decals on. 

Heller 1/72 Mirage IV

As I'm waiting for the Takom Bergepanther to set for a day or so (the hull and tracks mainly) I've pulled this out of the 'to do' pile. I sprayed it with Tamiya XF-24 Sea Grey but the finish was terrible due to the paint drying too quick and leaving it with a 'sandy' texture, so I rubbed it down, resprayed, rubbed it down, resprayed and realising I wasn't getting anywhere I left it.
Earlier this week I bought a Humbrol rattle can of Matt 27 Sea Grey acrylic to see if that worked and resprayed the model with that and the finish was a lot better. Once dry I masked off the areas for the green camouflage pattern and here's where it is so far;

I haven't masked off a 1/72 aircraft for years! Going 'old school' I used masking tape cut into narrow strips and followed the pattern on the decal sheet instructions, the areas to be left grey were taped over and using a scalpel I verrrrry carefully cut around the narrow strips of tape.
With a bit of luck I can get this one finished soon. It won't be perfect by any means as this one put up a fight from the start but it will be nice to have a Mirage IV in the collection.

Airfix 1/48 P-51D Mustang and Heller Mirage IV

Having calmed down a bit from the last time I touched this model I decided to give it one more shot so I resprayed the wheel bays then masked them off along with the cockpit.
Instead of using Alclad I decided to use a Tamiya rattle-can (AS-12) as recommended by one of my model-making buddies , this being applied directly to the bare plastic.
There were STILL some issues with the styrene looking rough in a couple of places on the fuselage sides however I gave the model three coats and it's more or less evened out and will do for my purposes;

I have to say the AS-12 looks pretty good! The next test would be with masking tape as this model will require the olive drab anti-glare panel, yellow band around the nose, a yellow tail and black invasion stripes masking off.
With that the first area was the anti-glare panel and where everything started going wrong last time so using Tamiya tape the nose was masked off and sprayed with Tamiya XF-62. The tape was carefully removed as I was concerned about the silver paint coming away but there was no need as the AS-12 seems to be pretty tough stuff;

This bodes well as I may actually finish the bloody thing! The cockpit still needs touching up due to the Mr Muscle oven cleaner getting in but after looking the other day it's not THAT bad and repairable.
While I was in the loft I decide to get some paint on the Heller Mirage IV;

I used Tamiya X-27 for the base coat however it was very warm in the loft and the paint was drying out before it hit the model so I've been left with a rough surface that will need going over with Scotchbrite before applying the green for the camouflage scheme.

Heller 1/72 Mirage IV

The model has been rescribed, all fuselage joints filled, sanded, polished, rescribed again to get rid of dust and swarf and liquid glue run around the lines to neaten them up;

Looking at the wings I noticed one side was higher than the other so using hot water I tried to gently bend it into shape, unfortunately this happened;

In all my years of modelling this has NEVER happened to me. Obviously the wing is totally ruined so with this and the recent balls up with the Airfix Mustang I'm taking a break from the hobby for a while as nothing is going right modelling wise so time to do something else. All projects have been put back in the loft and the bench has been tidied;

Be back soon!

Heller 1/72 Mirage IV

The model features raised panel lines so I decided to start rescribing them using blue electrical tape as a guide for curved surfaces and a straight edge for flat surfaces;

After rescribing the lines excess dust and debris was removed then liquid glue was washed over them to clean out the remaining swarf. I'm undecided as to whether to replace the rivet detail as in 1/72 scale it would be quite tiny.
The lower wing features a recess for the AN22 nuke supplied in the kit but I will be using the CT52 reconnaissance pod so I decided to fill this recess using .30 thou styrene strip and lots of Revell filler;

All very nice and it looks quite good, so much so I rescribed the panel lines across the styrene insert.
It was at this point I wondered how the recon pod would look fitted to the model when I came across a fairly obvious problem;

....there needs to be a recess for the recon pod. F**K SAAAAAAAAKE!!! What a complete idiot!! Soooooooo guess what is being removed very soon? At least if anybody reading this blog is due to make a Mirage IV with a recon pod they won't make the same mistake. also
that will teach me to actually check the fit of parts first although in my defence I thought the pod was mounted on a pylon like the ASMP missile....duh.....

Heller 1/72 Mirage IV

It's a late one for me tonight and with the family asleep I'm unable to do any spraying on the other projects I have on the go so to save falling asleep myself I've decided to make a start on the old Heller 1/72 Mirage IV.
I've had this kit in the stash since 2001 (I keep a book for this type of thing) so feeling the need to revisit the scale where I started this hobby and the fact this kit was staring at me from the pile recently I've dug it out.
I have some resin bits to add such as a BOZ-103 chaff dispenser, a CT52 photo-reconnaissance pod and a ASMP nuclear missile plus a decal sheet from Model Art (no.72057). I got the nuke and recon pod as I couldn't decide which to add although I think I may be leaning towards the recon pod.
At the time of purchasing the kit these resin parts and decals were not available and probably why the kit stayed in the stash for so long. I won't be super-detailing the cockpit as the canopies will be closed and you won't see very much so technically it should be a pretty quick build...LOL!

Edit; Having said that and after a couple of hours I've more or less ended up with a virtually complete model!

Considering the age of the kit the fit of parts has been very good, all I've done so far is sand down the tail cone for the exhausts as the aerofoil section at the top featured some sink marks. Sanding it has also reduced the thickness of this bit too.
The rather basic cockpit has been assembled and glued into place and will be painted later on because as stated above you won't see very much of it as it is entirely black in the real aircraft. What I will do is find some Aeroclub Martin Baker ejection seats I have in stock as these will provide some interest for what you will be able to see through the closed canopies.
When the model is completely set I will rescribe the panel lines as these are raised on the kit, also the oversized rivet detail will be removed and possibly be redone using an RB Productions riveting wheel set although due to the scale of the model I might leave it. I shall decide on this later on as well as think about dropping the elevons, also one thing I do need to add is some weight in the nose as the model is a definite tail sitter.
With the decal sheet I have I may finish the model as the Mirage IV that was on static display during the 1994 International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford as that was the only time I ever saw one of these impressive aircraft;