1/48 Academy Mirage IIIR

by Carlos Arvizú

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I received this kit as a gift when I joined the modeling club here college here in Monterrey, México. It´s a simple model without many details and inaccurate in some aspects, like the cockpit. Still I wanted to make something special out of it, so when I visited Aztec models and saw this scheme (Amazonia mirages) i got hooked. I realize it's inaccurate to apply this scheme to a Mirage IIIR, but as I mentioned before: I wanted to make something special.

I have only been on modeling seriously for about two years and I know I have much to improve, but I'm getting better. This model is all about the paintjob and the great decals. I spent no time trying to make a realistic cockpit, wheel wells, pilot, nor anything. If some of you veterans like what this rookie did, I bet you can do something impressive with a better kit.

I had to use a lot of putty, and decided to leave the landing gear out to make painting easier and because it wasn't good enough. I used a Tamiya spray can for the yellow, willow green from model master, blue and black from testors and used future (straight from the bottle) for the clear coats before and after the decals. The decals are impressive and colorful, but a bit fragile.

Carlos

Click on images below to see larger images

Photos and text © by Carlos Arvizú