1/48 Academy Mirage IIIR

by Sean Campbell

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When I was eight, my Dad and I built my first model kit.  We didn't paint the cockpit--it and the pilot remained in the silver shade the plastic was molded in.  We used tube glue, and the kit when built had a "see through" look.  My Dad painted it using his artists oils and put ALL the decals on it--marking it as belonging to two different air forces.  This wonderful kit of memory was the Academy 1/48 Mirage IIIR.

Over twenty years later I happened upon an ancient Academy boxing of this very same kit.  In a fit of nostalgia I built it up, scratch building the cockpit, camera bay and exhaust.  It was painted with Tamiya acrylics (using an airbrush this time) and marked as 33-TA; a member of the French squadron ER 3/33 (this actual bird was a Mirage IIIRD, but I decided not to add the extra doppler radar under the nose).

Despite it being and old and temperamental kit, I enjoyed working on it, and was amazed when it brought home silver in its category at the 2006 Western Canadian Regional Show.  The model and its award now reside on my parent's mantel--a gift to Dad for his birthday.

Sean

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Photos and text © by Sean Campbell