 | Dassault Mirage III Revell 1:32 kit no: 00185 build time: January 2 2018 - April 24 2018 |
Next, I'll be tackling a kit that is literally older than I am. Bu about a year (this thing's from 1973, my passport states 1974...). Although the kit is the 2005 boxing, with newly printed decals, the molds themselves are antique. With that in mind, I can say I'm rather impressed by the amount of flash (hardly there).
Let's take a look
First of all, the kit comes in the not-so-typical-for-Revell box: one that lifts from the top instead of opens on the side...
With a nice bunch of plastic inside:
Instructions are typical for the Revell that I am used to:
and a huge decal sheet with options for several aircraft.
I'll be going for a French paintscheme. To be exact, I'll be going for the one with the wild boar on the tail
The glasswork is pretty much flawless
As for details, not too shabby. First off, we have a 2-part (front/back) pilot figure. I'm not sure yet if I will be using him.
A mix of recessed and raised detail. Which is good, after a first look I thought it was all raised, but I'm in luck. I'm giving the raised detail a closer look soon to decide on rescribing this or not.
The engine, which will be removable at the end, has some nice detail too, although I wonder if it's enough. If I want it removable I will have to add some stuff to make it look decent/good.
The first major disappointment is the fantastic detail in the wheelbays:
>Right......
The cockpit itself is marginal at best, especially in this scale
Not even sure what kind of seat that is supposed to be, but it does come with seatbelts!
Maybe in the 70's, but nowadays you really can't get away with a decal for the instrument panel. Blegh.
After some careful consideration, and knowing my scratchbuilding skills, I opted for the easy way out: I got a few aftermarket parts. To start off with, a new pitot tube:
Technically speaking I believe this one is for the Mirage IIIR/S and I'll be building a IIIE, but I doubt anyone but the most hardened rivetcounters will ever notice
Some metal landing gear. Again, this will be an experiment. I never tried this stuff yet and I'm hearing mixed signals on whether or not they're worth it. We will see.
And a resin cockpit set. This will definitely be an improvement.
Excellent detailing on the tub itself
Two different bang seats, a mk4 and a mk6. I assume that's Martin Baker.
I have no idea which is which, although I should be able to figure that out, and I'm not sure yet which I should use, and which I will use....
The kit comes with 2 mediocre Sidewinders, which shouldn't be hard to replace, and 10 undesignated free-fall bombs, which aren't even mediocre. I've found one image of a Mirage III carrying these bombs, but that one carried a load consisting of 3 types of bombs, so I'm not sure yet if I will use them or just stick with the fuel tanks and Sidewinders.
| next page |