1/48 ESCI Dassault Mirage IIIEBR  

Model by Marcelo Paiva, 'MASP'

Photos by Henrique Matte

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This is the old ESCI mold of the French delta jet Mirage IIIE .  The ESCI kit was hard to find before Italeri decided to re-release this model.  I got this one on eBay a couple of years back. Now I can pick up one at my local hobby shop!  Thank you Italeri! ;-)  To build this model I used a lot of putty on the bottom of the wings.  Since the plastic was very old, the upper halve of the wing cracked while I was grabing without making much pressure.  Nothing that some Cyanocrilate and a bit of sanding couldn't solve!

The detalis on the cockpit are scarce, so I decided to use a resin Martin Baker Mk.4 on it.  Landing gears are well detailed regarding the age the kit was tooled.  I also modified the afterburner, making some details from scratch, using a styrene tube and aluminum sheet.  Decals are from AZTEC Models for the Brazilian Mirages and some weathering was made using light gray pastels.

The most special attaction of this kit was the paint.  I used the actual paint of plane!  I got a small bottle of the gunship gray from a friend of mine who got it straight from the paintshop at the Anapolis Air Base where those Mirages served since their retirement in December 2005.  It was not necessary to use a primer.  I just thinned and airbrushed it!

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

  

In October 2005 a two-seater Mirage IIIDBR came to the annual "Open House" at Brasília Air Base.  The model group I participate, "Ratos de Hangar" (Hangar Rats), was invited and we were showing our models at a stand.  At the end of the event we asked permission to take some pictures of my model standing at nothing but the REAL THING!  Ok, My model is the single seat, but let´s consider they are brothers ;-)  We also took some pictures of other Mirages at 1/32 and 1/72 scale.    

Special thanks to my friend Henrique Matte for taking these wonderful photos.

Hope you enjoy!

Marcelo

  Photos © Henrique Matte and text © by Marcelo Paiva, 'MASP'