BASIC BUILD

SUPERIOR
MIRAGE

broken down into several parts, though the exhaust shrouds

Mike WiIliams examines Special adding to the busy look within
Hobby’s new-tool 1/72 Mirage IIICJ the somewhat small cockpit
opening. Weapons selection was
thoroughly in this out-of-the-box build more than adequate, though,
giving the modeller a broad
were separate parts to allow for
future releases with differing
details. These parts fitted tightly
along panel line breaks, saving
the need for having to fill and

D
assault’s Mirage family
has been something of
a labour of love from
Special Hobby in 1/72
as it seems to be working their
way through all the variants in
this scale.
Then, each time it releases a
new kit, the bar seems to be
raised repeatedly in regard to
quality and execution. This all-
new Mirage III release was
another step up in quality, even
when compared to its splendid
Mirage F.1 from 2016. We thought
that had broken new ground with
its detail and finesses, but the
Mirage IIICJ raises that to even
greater heights.
Closer inspection of this pre-
release review sample revealed
clever parts breakdown as
regards the nose gear bay,
cockpit, wheel wells and wings,
plus separately moulded optional
tails. The intakes and shock
cones looked neatly rendered
too. The ejection seat was
selection of drop tanks and
missiles from which to choose to
arm their IIICJ. The panel lines
and overall details were some of
the finest yet seen in 1/72… dare
we say almost too fine? The truth,
as always, will come out as the
kit is constructed and painted.
Conventional
approach
The fuselage was broken down
along the vertical axis, as is the
norm for most model aircraft,
sand unsightly seams on highly
visible areas. There were two
sub-assemblies to prepare and
assemble within the fuselage: the
cockpit and the exhaust.
The former comprised some
ten parts, with the main
‘tub’, separate front and rear
bulkheads, rudder pedals,
control column, instrument panel,
coaming and gunsight, along
with a multi-part ejection seat.
As with many Western Cold
War-era aircraft, the cockpit

The cockpit was small, but adequately detailed for 1/72; the sum of parts can For a better scale effect, the ‘black’ cockpit parts were painted very dark grey
be seen here before paint. Rudder pedals and control stick along with front and then dry-brushed with a lighter, contrasting tone. Detail was then picked out with
rear bulkheads were all separately moulded from the ‘tub’ paint via fine brushes and a sharpened toothpick

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was predominantly black,

With the cockpit sub-assembly fitted,
always an awkward thing to MODEL SPEC steel shot was secured to act as a
represent because if simply Mirage IIICJ nose balance. Special Hobby noted
painted matt black everything By: Special Hobby that weight was required but did not
is lost in the resulting ‘black Stock Code: SH72352 specify how much
hole’. A dark grey shade was Scale: 1/72
the way to go, as it allows the Price: €20.80
Available from:
detail to be seen, while at the
www.specialhobby.eu
same time suggesting a dark
interior. Tamiya’s XF-63 German
Grey (www.hobbyco.net) can
always be relied upon for such
eventualities, before a gentle
dry-brushing with light grey to
enhance the detail.
No decals were provided for
the instrument panel, so careful
painting was needed to pick remiss to not at least try to impart moulded ribbing details; a one-
out the dials and switches on it some detailing. piece bulkhead with flame
and the side consoles – though The exhaust was broken ring; and a two-part exhaust,
little would be seen within the down into six parts: three all coming together for a
finished model it would be for the exhaust tunnel with fair representation of the

Snecma Atar powerplant.

Everything was then
sprayed a suitable dark
metallic shade before
being assembled and
attached to the rear fuselage.
This needed care to align with
the various moulded tabs and
notches, but fitted as designed.
The cockpit was then secured
to the fuselage with positive
locating points helping align
it. Before sealing the fuselage,
“Panel lines and overall details were nose weight was added as in
the instructions; no amount was
some of the finest yet seen in 1/72” noted, so as much steel shot

A modular assembly (allowing for other Mirage III variants) was provided for The exhaust for the Atar engine came in six parts, which were mounted on a
the exhaust outlets and this required additional sections to be glued to the stick to be painted suitable shades. Note the subtle moulded detail within the
fuselage; these fitted easily and without issue shroud, all of which would disappear once installed

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“Aircraft were kept exceptionally clean

according to references, so weathering
was kept to a minimum”

as possible was secured

with superglue ahead of
the cockpit ‘tub.’

Slim fuselage
The fuselage was glued
together without issue, fitting
neatly, although care was taken
when sanding the central seam to
not damage the finely moulded
panel lines. It would be prudent
to re-scribe any details that might
be lost before seam sanding,
making their reinstatement
somewhat easier, as otherwise make note of which either/or the tabs and adding the intakes and shock
it’s all too easy to overdo. aircraft you are building. recesses to achieve an easier cones. These all fitted cleanly and
Alternate tails were supplied, All items fitted well, albeit join. Also, ensure it sits vertically easily, with the joins falling along
and the differences were subtle tightly into the rear fuselage there was a tendency for it to panel lines – as did the lower
but related to specific aircraft as spine; you may need to remove lean to either port or starboard. fuselage panel, on to which the
called out in the instructions, so a small amount of plastic from The fuselage was completed by nose gear bay attaches.

The exhaust was painted, assembled and fitted to the starboard fuselage half. The neatly moulded deep nose wheel bay must be attached to a lower
Care was needed to align the side strips seen here to ensure it sat correctly. fuselage insert. Attention was required to ensure the correct orientation was
Note the ‘eye-lid’ shape to the exhaust outlet achieved as it would have fitted either way around

Once the fuselage was assembled and all seams addressed with light sanding, … up before being secured with quick-setting liquid cement. Fortunately, the
the intakes could be attached. Alternative shock cones were supplied; be sure to join fell along a panel line so minimal work would be needed to eliminate any
select to the correct ones for the CJ. The outer intakes were then offered… seam – one of several such well-designed components

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MAKING PARTS FIT

Even the most modern kits can suffer from the occasional glitch. On Special Hobby’s Mirage IIICJ this was encountered when marrying the wings to the fuselage.

With the wings and fuselage

assembled, you are furnished
with two sub-assemblies to
be brought together…

When offered up, the wing section Although designed to form part
would not slide in far enough to close of the gear bay walls, these tabs
the gap apparent here, with something appeared to hinder the fit so were
appearing to foul snipped carefully

Careful sanding with a coarse A small gap was apparent at the … squeezed along the seam, with ... resulting in a smooth, gap-
stick was also required to the rear wing/fuselage join, so it was masked any excess removed before the putty free seam along the panel lines –
of the lower fuselage insert carefully, and water-based putty was… dried, using moistened cotton buds... invaluable for a metallic finish

as it did for me in the past – until

Delta delight – no mean feat in 1/72 scale. Metallic sheen I found an (almost) fool-proof
Moving on to the wings saw a When it came to attaching With the bulk of the build method that didn’t need primers
one-piece lower section with the wings to the fuselage a completed, attention turned to and polishing and specialised
separate upper, outer units to small obstacle was found; they painting and finishing. Most of lacquers to be applied in a certain
be attached, but before this wouldn’t join correctly as the Israeli IIICJ’s were a natural- way to achieve realistic finishes.
could be tackled there were there seemed to be metal finish (NMF) and Before this, though, the dielectric
some holes to be drilled for the an obstruction (see to some modellers panels atop the fuselage and
aileron actuator covers and stores Making parts fit). those words can tail were painted white and black
pylons. All this was highlighted in strike fear into as per the instructions before
the instructions, so adherence to their hearts, being masked.
these was paramount to ensure
everything fitted later in the build.
The upper sections connected
neatly to the lower unit with a
cleverly designed breakdown
to fit into moulded recesses
on the leading edges and the
flaps. Before bringing the wings
together, though, there were
inserts for the undercarriage
bays to be secured. These were
for the left- and right-hand sides,
despite looking remarkably
similar, but fitted snugly into their
respective bays.
The way the wings were
designed and moulded has
allowed Special Hobby to ensure
that the Mirage’s characteristic
curvature was captured faithfully

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The tail was a separate piece. Be sure to follow the instructions to select the Main wheel bay inserts fitted without issue but needed a deft hand to seat
correct item for the specific aircraft being modelled. They fitted well, if a little them correctly into the recesses provided, such was the moulding’s finesse.
tightly, though that was preferable to being too loose Note the holes drilled for the flap actuators

The upper wing sections fitted neatly to the one-piece lower section. Note the The aileron actuator covers needed care to fit – if the outer pylons are chosen
recess along the leading edge and at the rear, which aided positioning then the corresponding fairings can be omitted

“The bar for 1/72 scale Mirages has been raised

to a remarkably high point by Special Hobby”
The starting
point for a good
NMF was a coat
of Tamiya AS-12 Bare
Metal Silver, which came in an
aerosol that can, of course, be
sprayed as intended. However,
for greater control and to waste
less paint, it could be decanted
for use through an airbrush. No
diluting is required and it could
be sprayed almost immediately
once it had de-gassed (letting
the propellant bubble and
evaporate from the paint).
It can be decanted into a paint Once dry
jar or, if you are feeling confident, it gives a tough
straight into the airbrush colour and opaque metallic
cup. It can then be sprayed as finish to which any other
you would any other paint with colours or finishes can be
the beauty of this method being applied without of fear of
that it acts as a primer and damage – and will not rub off
topcoat in one fell swoop. when handling as can happen

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least a set of seatbelts, but for

this build it was assembled and
painted as per the instructions,
before being slipped into
place within the cockpit. The
undercarriage was neatly
detailed but a little fiddly to
install; once fixed, the correct
inward cant to the main gear
legs was apparent and the
nose wheel benefited from
being trapped between a two-
part yoke assembly, far better
than being moulded as one
piece. The main wheels
comprised two parts
each and required
filler to eliminate a
circumferential
seam

with other, more delicate

Before painting, panels on the
products. Several panels were
then masked and adjusted
fuselage and tail were airbrushed ISRAELI
tonally via Mr. Color C8 Silver
and then masked, along with the
black nose cone and canopy frames. SPECIALISTS
(www.albionhobbies.com) mixed Note the cockpit packed with Blu
IsraDecal first issued a decal
Tack to function as a mask
with Alclad ALC-118 Steel and/ sheet (Item #IAF-34) catering
or ALC-111 Magnesium as both for Israeli Mirage IIICJs (named
paint brands are lacquer-based, locally as ‘Shahak’) in 2004. It
making them easily compatible. allows modellers to build one
of 16 options from the four
squadrons (101, 117, 119 and 253)
Bright markings that operated the type, with
With painting finished within a further choices of natural-metal
relatively short space of time, finish, three-tone desert or two-
a sealing coat of clear gloss tone grey camouflage. There
was airbrushed on to the finish are also enough spare serials,
to protect the silver paintwork letters and numerals to allow any
and provide a smooth, shiny Israeli-operated Mirage IIICJ to be
Tamiya’s AS-12 Bare Metal Silver was decanted from the aerosol can and depicted – even the large black
surface for decaling. Being that
sprayed via airbrush to create a smooth, opaque and tough bare-metal finish. and yellow identification panels
this review kit was an early pre- Various panels were masked and tinted with metallic lacquers to impart the
are included. While this sheet
release sample, the kit decals multi-tonal effects of a natural metal finish. Good references were needed for
this to ensure the end result looked effective is out of production, it has been
were not available, so a set
superseded by IAF-115, which is
of IsraDecal’s were sourced available direct from IsraDecal at:
(thanks to the Editor) to replicate www.isradecal.com
a scheme that would be found
in the kit proper. Therefore,
comment cannot be made on the
Special Hobby decals. A second
gloss varnish sealed the decals
in readiness for an oil-based
panel line wash. Note, these
aircraft were kept exceptionally
clean according to references,
so weathering was kept to a
minimum, so as not to detract
from the NMF scheme.
Focus then shifted to the
undercarriage, canopy, seat
and stores. The seat was rather
rudimentary and would possibly
warrant a replacement or at

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“This Special Hobby

Mirage IIICJ comes
highly recommended
for fans of the type
and 1/72 scale
modellers alike”

– no big deal but frustrating
nonetheless. Undercarriage
doors all fitted well and featured
lovely detail. Stores were kept
to a pair of underwing tanks,
though a variety of air-to-air
missiles and larger drop tanks
were also supplied. Final details
were added in the form of the
wingtip navigation lights and tail
anti-collision beacons, all picked
out with Tamiya clear acrylics
before the masks were removed
from the canopy clear parts
and the opening section was
secured with a dab of superglue.
Final thoughts…
The bar for 1/72 scale Mirages
has been raised to a remarkably
high point by Special Hobby. As
per this build review, straight-
from-the-box it is a superb kit
and excellent details abound.
The panel lines and airframe
details were exceptionally fine
and fit all round was near perfect.
If we were to nitpick? The seat
and cockpit could benefit from a
little more detail and/or finesse
and the main wheels could be
a better fit or even one-piece
mouldings – although it’s likely
sister firm CMK will produce resin
alternatives for those seeking
greater refinement. This Special
Hobby Mirage IIICJ comes
highly recommended for fans
of the type and 1/72 scale
modellers alike.

The decals were applied over a gloss varnish with another coat to seal them, The main wheels needed puttying around their circumference to eliminate a
before an oil wash highlighted the panel lines and fuselage detail small gap. Correction fluid was used here for expediency

The ejection seat built and painted straight-from-the box was adequate, but The undercarriage was exceptionally detailed and designed, if a little fiddly to
looked a little basic compared to the detailing on the rest of the kit install. A good set of pointed tweezers was invaluable

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