Mirage 2000 Prototype
Comments
62 16 June 2020, 19:35
Maciej BellosAfter some elementary work on the cockpit and more work on the seat (belts and some decals), I managed to close the fuselage with upper wings already attached on the fuselage halves. With this approach I managed to minimise the wing-fuselage gap. Some elbow grease now in order to fix the fuselage join.
16 June 2020, 19:55
Maciej BellosWhile it may seem like a minor update, I glued the lower portion of the wing. The fit was so and so. At the back it was ok, no putty needed. The leading and trailing edges had some steps which faded towards the wing tips. A sharp blade and some Mr Surfacer solved this. There were some steps where the front section of the wing connected with the cockpit and intake undersides. Mr Dissolved putty was used and a lot of sanding and some scribing to retrieve the missing panel lines.
For an italeri kit, all the above are minor nuances. The way I built the kit I won in the upper wing-fuselage join (no putty at all) and lost a bit in the lower wing area and the leading edges. You win some, you lose some, but in this case what I gained was much more than what I lost.
I am pleased and pretty optimistic for the paintjob.
9 December 2020, 20:23
Jos JansenLove to see your progress...it will be a stunner, merry X-mas mate!
24 December 2020, 22:32
Maciej BellosThank you Jos for your kind words! I hope I'll pick it up the next few days.
Happy holidays mate and may 2021 be normal.
26 December 2020, 21:59
Maciej BellosSlow work on this one because of the russian lady. I got the first layer of Humbrol 130 Semigloss white. It is kind of used as a primer before finaly using Gunze's Gloss white. Some touch ups are needed as there are some imperfections on my puttying and sanding technique.
29 April 2021, 21:04
Maciej BellosA really small update on this one. I threw away of the blob of the "transparent" plastic and created a HUD from scratch. It'll do.
Also I am done with the base white. After I glue up and mask the windscreen and canopy I will get on the final white before the good stuff comes along.
11 March 2022, 22:04
Maciej BellosSo... it is white! Gunze H1 over Humbrol 130. Masking is up next.
25 September 2022, 14:27
Łukasz GlińskiBrave you, mixing the Humbrols with Gunze layers. I'll never do it again 😉
26 September 2022, 08:03
Maciej BellosHahahaha!
It would have taken ages to spray the Gunze White, and I have surplus Humbrol to use, so... I kind of used Humbrol as a primer. Looks sturdy enough.
Cheers!
26 September 2022, 08:08
Maciej BellosThe red is on! And equally importantly the white held on. More masking to come for the french blue. Then it's up on my printer to produce the missing decals.
25 October 2022, 14:44
James CLooking great 👍 I thought this kit had raised panel lines, or did you re-scribe it?
25 October 2022, 17:05
Maciej BellosThanks James! The kit has recessed panel lines. As far as I know it comes from the initial ESCI kit which has recessed panel lines back from 1978!!! Neil is building that:
ESCI | No. 4035 | 1:48 | AMD-BA Mirage Delta 2000 | Album by djferrisbueller (1:48)
I think that Italeri acquired the molds from ESCI when ESCI went bust (or something) and then shortened the tailfin, since at first the prototypes had a rather tall vertical stabiliser.
25 October 2022, 17:43
NeilHiya Maciej 🙂 how you doing on this build? It's looking great 👍 I've actually finished my version last year, but not got any final images on here yet. Your finish looks outstanding 👍
26 February 2023, 23:36
Maciej BellosWelcome Freak!
Thank you Neil! I got stuck on masking the blue. I have the wings done which kind of was the easy thing. The fuselage seems more difficult, especially the blue behind the cockpit. Once all this is done, I will have to print my decals. I will pick this up right after I finish the Su-57. Cheers!
28 February 2023, 06:39
Maciej BellosWelcome Lothar!
I think this one will be next. With some decal printing.
7 April 2023, 19:59
Maciej BellosThank you Mark! This one is in a backburner status, got sidetracked with a little one. Will pick it her up when things cool down here.
Welcome Juergen!
25 August 2023, 08:05
Album info
The goal is to build prototype #2, as it appeared with the French flag on the fin and 2 Matra S530F missiles during ordnance trials.
