1/48 RAAF Mirage 111 from Ecardmodels

[Robert Woolley]

Hi all, welcome to my first defeat since I started paper modelling. This Mirage has beaten me. Now maybe my printer didn't print get it right, but hardly anything fit. Bit by bit I cut and adjusted but I got to a point where I called it quits. It didn't look right and the parts were getting harder to make fit. It is buildable, as someone made the one that is pictured on Ecardmodels. I got out an old 1/48 plastic kit to compare and found they didn't match each other very well. The tail was too small, the canopy too big and the cross section of the fuselage was too broad.
I had recoloured the model using Gimp by taking the colours from a photo off the net and transferring them to the model. I was very pleased with the new colours. I also changed the tail emblem and added some extra details. That was fun and I also learned some new skills.
I did all this because The Mirage is my favourite aircraft of all time. When I was a kid, dad would take me to Williamtown RAAF base, which was nearby, and I would watch them come and go. We had an excellent vantage point to the side of the end of the runway. I loved the parachute coming out as the landed, and the noise as they spooled up to full power for take off, you could feel it go straight through your body. Wonderful days. And they were beautiful planes. Especially with the yellow and black tiger emblem of 2OCU squadron. The F18s that replaced them never quite did it for me like the Mirage.
I guess my disappointment is compounded by how much I like this plane. Maybe in the future I can have another go at it.

Robert

[nikischutt]

I'm not a fan of the design of those kits. You might want to either purchase the other kit on Ecards or search online for a freebie.

[3Turner]

Lad N Dad models are finiky to get a fit. These are models that should be dry fit prior to gluing in so that you verify that all markings line up.

Additionally, if the kit comes in more than one page....be sure to print each page with "fit page" or similar turned OFF.

[MacSongLi]

I feel bad for you Robert, all the best on any new project that you try.

Gary

[db-sa]

.... and as usual caveat emptor ...but not always can that be before purchase ...

[Robert Woolley]

Thank you everyone for responding. I have half made another Lad N Dad kit, the Avro Avian. That one is going together ok so far. Since their prodocts are mostly of aircraft used by the RAAF or Australian aviators, they are of great interest to me.
In this case I had the right boxes checked in the printer settings. The parts that didn't fit were on the same page. I was adjusting parts as I went along . They initially fit but didnt form straight lines where they should have, such as along the top of the fuselage. Correcting these may have exaggerated fit problems later on. The sample model on ecardmodels is kind of twisted, so if I had gone with parts supplied I may have got them all together. But as this is a special project, I wanted it to be just right.
Nikischutt, is there another Mirage 3 on Ecardmodels? I could only find Mirage 2000s. Other choices are the 1/33 kits from Geli and Maly Modelarz, but these are of the slightly shorter Mirage 3C. I guess for now to get what I want, I will need to develope some serious repaint skills.

[Wyvern]

Also bear in mind that Lad-n-dad models are hand-drawn, and not on a computer. They do require a lot of fiddly fitting; the payoff is that they make some subjects no one else does.

Wyvern

[cgutzmer]

Hey - yeah what he said - they are all hand drawn and are rather finicky to build. Please drop me a note via the inquiry and I can shoot you a refund for the kit.
Thanks
Chris

[Robert Woolley]

Chris, no need for a refund. I will buy Lad N Dad models in the future as there are many of interest, and my experience with the Avro Avian has been good. I made the fuselage on that one twice, the second time because I learned how to do it better from the first time.
I have looked at the mirage over the weekend and think I can make it to my satisfaction. I will make the nose and tail a little bigger, the canopy a little smaller and the rear fuselage a little slimmer. If I can do that, and move the markings and camouflage around a bit to make it all line up, then I will have learned a lot, as I don't have all these skills right now, and got more than my money's worth. And I will have a nice model of my favourite plane.

Robert

[Wyvern]

I really admire your spirit and attitude, Robert.

I know, from having corresponded with him, that all the designer of Lad-n-Dad models wants for people to have fun putting something together. His designs definitely aren't for scale-fidelity purists. Another of my modelling buddies on this forum likens LND kits to vacuuform kits in the plastic world- the basic shape is there, but the modeler has to invest time and attention beyond that.

I wish you all the best!

Wyvern