SPA Modeler

This was the first kit i ever built some 25 years ago. Mum and dad had just separated. Mum was looking for a way for me to be closer to Dad without plonking me on the back of his motorbike while he gallivanted off around the country. And so she got me the mirage. I slapped it together in a couple of days. No paint. No masking. Just plastic and decals. Half of which weren't even placed correctly.
Unfortunately i don't have photos of that.
What i do have photos of is my attempt 25 years later.
This kit fought me from start to finish. I started out by trying my level best to make it the best kit i could. By the time i got to putting it together, i just wanted it done.
Box Art. I believe this kit was first popped in 1975?



Pretty simple kit.


Lotta weight in the nose.


Simple pilot with size 500 feet?



First proper try using alclad.



Fit is...ok. Pretty damn good for its age.





Looks mean in black.


Half way through the build i knocked my electric drill off the work bench (id just used it to create the holes for the skewars to hold parts being painted.) I stupidly tried to catch it. This is the result. I didn't realise drill bits could bend. (Yes the blood is where it went into my hand, no thats not what bent it)


Paint finished.



Somehow (i do not know how) i managed to make XF-1 spray high gloss. So high gloss in fact the flat coat didnt change it at all. It continued to stay gloss even after several coats of XF-86


Time for decals...or not.
Sample decal.


Remaining very very yellow decals. (Camera doesnt do the yellowing justice, they were almost brown)


After a day in the sun they cleared up a bit. But were still yellow.
I laid on a coat of testors decal matt coat. It seemed to work pretty well.




Final thoughts.
I hate this kit. It has made life difficult for me since the moment i opened the box. Everything that could go wrong did. Now that its done i want to biff it.
Literally the only reason i did this kit is because i wanted to go back to my roots to try and get my mojo back. All this kit has done is stress me out.
Hopefully you guys get some enjoyment out of it.
Would i build this kit again?...No, i wouldnt.
Do i have another one (Academy repop) in the stash?...Yes, yes i do.

Im aware this is more of a build log. But i wanted to share the process with you and show it finished.

I’ve learned to let sharp things fall...well, for the the most part. Glad it wasn’t more serious. It still looks a bit painful.

You did a bang up job on this rascal, given the struggles. I think we all have done this. I know I have several early years kits on the shelf. The Tri-Pacer was one. I had such fond memories of this... they vanished when I dug it out.

But, more importantly, you are back among us? Made a happy, happy start to my day!

I feel your pain! Well, not the one in your hand, but the pain of building this kit. I built an Academy boxing a few years ago, adding a few improvements. But yes, it fights you.
You did really well on this! Very well done! The metallic paint looks gorgeous! What paints and color(s) did you use?
It’s good to see you back on here building again!

Despite all the troubles this thing gave you in the end you have a beautiful build of this old kit.

You finished it! You persevered ! For that alone you should be proud.
And I think you did good with such an old kit.

I’ve got a couple Italeri kits in my stash, one currently on hold for the Jets GB thread. I’ve been hearing stories of Italeri being a PITA to build. You managed to whip her in shape despite the faults. Well done!

I think that the 1/48 Italeri Mirages are reboxes of the old ESCI kits, with new decal sheets and perhaps some updated sprues as well, depending upon the versions.

Yes, hopefully back among you. I have a few kits i want to build. Or at the very least finish.
The 3 colours i used were Polished Aluminium. Duraluminum and Steel. I was surprised at how dark the steel came out. Having worked with steel for the last 10 years i dont remember it being that colour lol.
Im temped to give the academy one a go, but i might leave it till im a bit more settled.
Next up is my RAF squadron. 48 scale typhoon, 48 scale spitfire and a 72nd scale lancaster.
This build as you can see is completely OOB. Didnt even use any filler. It could probably benefit from a bunch of it if im honest.
Thank you for all the compliments on my terrible rendition of this shitty kit lol.

Mike, I gotta say, you have some mad skills and excellent perseverance with this kit. Despite the fact it fought you hard; you made this look magnificent. I can't even dream of doing so well with a bare metal finish! I would be proud of that kit; especially given how hard that one fought. You are one mad-skilled modeler!

It's not bad for a kit that fought you the whole time. But hey, at least you finished it and the NMF looks great! I've tried my hand at a kit I did back when I was a kid. I tried building the Revell Tomcat and gave up. I couldn't for the life of me get it to look decent. It's now a paint mule.