Mirage F.1B
KittyHawk
1:48
kit no: 80112
build time: January 3 2015 - May 8 2015


And on we go....

Next issue with this kit: the wheelbays.  They're nicely detailed - there's a big PE set available, you might wanna use it or not, - these bays have some decent detail but it's not a whole lot....  But, unfortunately...



Let's all go find the sinkmark. Bingo! That will have to go, but it's not in an easily accessible place.....

The other side of the wheelbay will cause some fit issues, but that's no problem.  Too bad KittyHawk needed these, because they definitely are the cause of that sinkmark...



Nothing a little putty can't fix. I used Phil's concoction on these:  a little Tamiya-Extra-Thin-with-some-Evergreen-strip putty.



And after paint



Then we move on to the intakes.  Two parts, and it's a nice fit



Too bad the inside looks like this



And yes, those will be visible....



Still, I can rech them fine with a skinny stick, so a little sanding will take care of them. And that locating pin, since that too will be blatantly obvious if you leave it be. Now I just need to find out the color of the inside before I glue the parts together. KittyHawk is lacking a color indication [frown]

By the way - the fit of the intake to the fuselage is nothing short of great...



This kit is giving me mixed messages....

Next up: the wings.  each wing is 8 parts: topside, insert, PE part, 2 flaps, a slat and two antennas. And I found the wingtip launch rail, so that makes 9 parts.
The only downside:  next to the two locating tabs, there's these thingies that will lock the wing in place. Great idea, but dry-fitting nightmare. I fear that once in place, the wings will be very hard if not impossible to remove again without breaking something off. Might have to put them into place without a dryfit [frown]

More trouble ahead. There's white metal landing gear for this one, but I wasn't that interested. This thing is going to be in flight and wheels up. Well, that was the plan until I saw the fit of the wheelbay doors. It's gonna be wheels down. But I didn't wanna place a 2nd order with Hannants in two weeks time, so I decided to go with the kit gear.

Can you spot the sinkmark, chapter 2.



One HUGE sinkmark on side A, 3 big ejector pin marks on side B. Firtunately these are raised, so easy to get rid of.

So, enter, stage left: Tamiya Light Curing Putty. Marvellous stuff, smells like crazy, but rockhard in a minute and no shrinking back. You just need a darn good lightsource - I'm using a diving lamp.



As you may notice, they're a bit bare. To get rid of the mold seam lines, I had to sand them down a wee bit, and there's rings around them that I had to sand off. I figured it'd be easier to restore them afterwards than
to try and save them while sanding away at the mold seams. So first plan: use some round Evergreen and glue. Glue ijn place, leave to try, and come back the next day to bend them around and glue in place.



This was a bad idea, because A] bend them and the glue doen't hold, and B] they're too big and too round. So we go to plan B: flat lead wire



Better.



Remember my ponderings about the cockpit sidewalls?  Two sidewalls each side, two locating pins per sidewall where they meet the fuselage. Glue to pit and risk the locating holes not matching up with the pins in the fuselage, or glue them to the fuselage and risk the pit not fitting. Or get rid of the locating pins altogether.

And this is what I mean with mixed messages:  after a dryfit I was a bit in awe. I glued the panels to the fuselage, and then glued the pit in place. Perfect fit, and I do mean perfect.





Time to move on and finish off the engine.  We still have the exhaust to put in, the part that will actually be visible. One ring and the nozzle bit in 3 parts. I didn't glue them on perfectly, but I think I can get away with it.





Cya next time!


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