1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
- Softscience
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1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
Here is my completed M3 Lee from the Mirage Hobby kit. This is a fantastic little kit. It is built entirely out of the box. I had the version which came with a small PE fret that included brush guards, rear engine grill, and side-door interiors. I had problems with the decals shattering, but having read other builders' accounts of the kit, I think I must have had an odd faulty sheet. The more recent releases of small scale armor from Mirage are fantastic, and I recommend the Lee/Grant, Panzer IV, and Stuart kits to anybody who fancies this sort of stuff.
The base was made from a circle of card covered with epoxy putty. I sifted some sandy soil from my back yard through 6.3 mm mesh and after coating the base with white glue, sprinkled it on. Once it dried I applied several misty coats of earth tones to make it more deserty looking. The vegetation is dyed shredded dish sponge and hairs from an old brush.
I'm really proud of how this turned out, and I hope you enjoy it too.
The base was made from a circle of card covered with epoxy putty. I sifted some sandy soil from my back yard through 6.3 mm mesh and after coating the base with white glue, sprinkled it on. Once it dried I applied several misty coats of earth tones to make it more deserty looking. The vegetation is dyed shredded dish sponge and hairs from an old brush.
I'm really proud of how this turned out, and I hope you enjoy it too.
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Re: 1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
And so you should be! A very effective vignette. Only the somehow gravity defying, upward tension of the tracks lets on that the model isn't a much bigger scale than 1:72.Softscience wrote: I'm really proud of how this turned out…
Very well done indeed!
/Joachim
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Re: 1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
very nice indeed.................i like the innovative use of the sponge
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- splash
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Re: 1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
It looks great, what a difference a small base makes.
I must have a go at making small display bases as they make the model look so much better, you say you used card & epoxy putty for the base, was that like the type you use for car body repairs?
Regards
Splash
I must have a go at making small display bases as they make the model look so much better, you say you used card & epoxy putty for the base, was that like the type you use for car body repairs?
Regards
Splash
My work bench is starting to look like Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
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Re: 1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
A great piece of work , the dio just rounds it off .
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Re: 1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
Nicely done Lee, good weathering as usual. I would skip this green spongy thing imitating vegetation...
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- Softscience
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Re: 1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
Thanks guys.
Splash, the Epoxy Putty is a product called Apoxy Sculpt. I don't know if its the same as things like Bondo and the other car body stuff. It may be, you'll have to check. But this stuff is a two part epoxy that you kneed and roll into a plasticine like consistency and then sculpt or use to fill large gaps.
Dyzio, the spongy stuff isn't the best, but I wanted to recreate some of the low creeping shrubs I saw in photos from North Africa. Admittedly, its not the best material for the job. Whatever it was you used to cover your SKOT would be better. What did you use?
Bruce, my goal was to reproduce a scrubby high-desert habitat like some of the Tunisian foothills. It came out more desert-like than intended, but I like it nevertheless. And coffin for 6 brothers indeed; could you imagine cresting a hill with that high profile?
Splash, the Epoxy Putty is a product called Apoxy Sculpt. I don't know if its the same as things like Bondo and the other car body stuff. It may be, you'll have to check. But this stuff is a two part epoxy that you kneed and roll into a plasticine like consistency and then sculpt or use to fill large gaps.
Dyzio, the spongy stuff isn't the best, but I wanted to recreate some of the low creeping shrubs I saw in photos from North Africa. Admittedly, its not the best material for the job. Whatever it was you used to cover your SKOT would be better. What did you use?
Bruce, my goal was to reproduce a scrubby high-desert habitat like some of the Tunisian foothills. It came out more desert-like than intended, but I like it nevertheless. And coffin for 6 brothers indeed; could you imagine cresting a hill with that high profile?
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Re: 1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
Great work Ralph, it looks 1/35th, I had to go and check the title again. You are the weather master.
Cheers
Jim
Cheers
Jim
- MrDyzio
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Re: 1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
Foliage mat from Czech maker PolakSoftscience wrote:Dyzio, the spongy stuff isn't the best, but I wanted to recreate some of the low creeping shrubs I saw in photos from North Africa. Admittedly, its not the best material for the job. Whatever it was you used to cover your SKOT would be better. What did you use?
Here's their website
http://polakmodel.com/cs/;
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- Dirkpitt289
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Re: 1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
Well done Ralph
.... Dirk
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Re: 1:72 Mirage M3 Lee
Splendid, and it is a Mirage!