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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