Mirage F1P

[PR19_Kit]

Getting there but slowly, but it's not as if I'm pushed for time.............

Said he who asked for an extension to the GB already.... 

Gondor

Well I'm not, I may get an extra two weeks. 

[PR19_Kit]

See the last post on my Double Pancake thread. Everything's come to a halt for now.

https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=47537.new#new

[PR19_Kit]

I got fed up with just sitting there looking at the unfinished Mirage F1P and the Double Pancake so I decided to do something.

As most of the paint was already on the F1P I gave it a coat of Klear and started on the decals. I'd printed out the ones I needed for its Aeronavale squadron, which is Flotille 16F, the force's dedicated PR unit, plus some camera windows etc. The rest came from the SH decal sheet plus some tricolours and anchors from Berna Decals.

Sadly the anchors are a tad small, even for the Berna tricolours, but they're the only games in town for me so they'll have to do. More decals to go on yet, but it's not looking too bad so far.



And yes, the Aeronavale do only carry their anchored tricolours on the port wing, top and bottom. I have no idea why, they just do.

Also I now know why they never did operate naval Mirage F1s, there just isn't enough room aft of the wing to carry their usual 'MARINE' script and a tricolour. That's why the F1P's fuselage tricolour is on the intakes!

[NARSES2]

Also I now know why they never did operate naval Mirage F1s, there just isn't enough room aft of the wing to carry their usual 'MARINE' script and a tricolour.

They had a similar problem with their Skyrays 

[PR19_Kit]

Following Zenrat's 2nd rule of the 'In the Navy' GB, stating that every carrier borne entrant has to have a hook, I found that two of my models, the Mirage F1P and the Double Pancake, haven't got one of these essential devices.

Well, the Double Pancake had one from the single seater version, but that's patently stupid as it retracts into the TOP of the fuselage! 

So I've built a couple of hooks for these two, a single arm one for the Mirage and a V armed one for the Pancake, mainly because it's got a tailwheel and a straight one hasn't anywhere to go. (It could retract into the top of the................no, that's just TOO silly!)

[CammNut]

Yes, the XF7U's hook was probably the mist bizarre creation is the history of aviation

[PR19_Kit]

Yes, the XF7U's hook was probably the mist bizarre creation is the history of aviation

I think you meant 'XF5U', didn't you?

But if you did I'm in total agreement, I just can't think why they did it like that, makes no sense at all.

[PR19_Kit]

Hmmm, after having finished painting the cockpit, well as far as I'm going to paint it anyway, it was time to glue on the canopies, all five parts of it.

Except the middle bits don't fit! 

The bang seats are too tall and prevent the canopies closing, which may be OK if you want to model them open, but I don't, so it looks as if I'll have to file off the detail bits of the top of the bang seats and then repaint them, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............

I wouldn't mind too much if they were aftermarket bang seats, but they're out of the box!

[Gondor]

Hmmm, after having finished painting the cockpit, well as far as I'm going to paint it anyway, it was time to glue on the canopies, all five parts of it.

Except the middle bits don't fit! 

The bang seats are too tall and prevent the canopies closing, which may be OK if you want to model them open, but I don't, so it looks as if I'll have to file off the detail bits of the top of the bang seats and then repaint them, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............

I wouldn't mind too much if they were aftermarket bang seats, but they're out of the box!

Better to take the file to the bottom of the seat and lower it so you don't lose the detail and if you make a mess its hidden too 

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

Better to take the file to the bottom of the seat and lower it so you don't lose the detail and if you make a mess its hidden too 

If I hadn't already assembled, glued and painted the cockpit I could have, but that's impossible now. I'll have to slice the top off the seats, no other way.

[DogfighterZen]

Better to take the file to the bottom of the seat and lower it so you don't lose the detail and if you make a mess its hidden too 

If I hadn't already assembled, glued and painted the cockpit I could have, but that's impossible now. I'll have to slice the top off the seats, no other way.

That sucks... i thought that by being a recent kit, those problems would not come up... 

[Gondor]

Better to take the file to the bottom of the seat and lower it so you don't lose the detail and if you make a mess its hidden too 

If I hadn't already assembled, glued and painted the cockpit I could have, but that's impossible now. I'll have to slice the top off the seats, no other way.

That'll do it

Perhaps cut the neck of the seat to lower the headrest?    Maybe not....

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

Just painted all the wheels. I HATE paining wheels! 

No matter how I do it, they always need 4-5 goes, first the silver hubs, then the black tyres. Then more silver to clean up the mistakes I made with the black, and so on and so on.............

[Dizzyfugu]

That paint scheme with the mid waterline looks very good on the F.1C - it stretches the slender aircraft even more!  Very pretty.

[PR19_Kit]

That was the plan, and at one time I thought of adding a light blue stripe along the joint line, but thought better of it.