The SAAF Forum

So, I've been pottering around with this for several years now, but it's finally complete - I used the relatively new Italeri 32nd scale Mirage IIIE/R kit and the ScaleWorx resin conversion set for the Cheetah D specific parts.

Cheetah D 93 - 1000 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 93 - 1000-8 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

This was the bag of resin bits I received from John at ScaleWorx :

Cheetah D-1 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Some test fitting of the dual seat Cheetah D resin cockpit - nicely detailed :

Cheetah D-4 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

With resin nose :

Cheetah D-5 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Resin vertical stabiliser - ScaleWorx corrected the rudder dimensions and the rudder actuator and added the trapezoidal shaped panel near the top of the fin :

Cheetah D-7 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Correct length resin intakes - kit parts are around 2 to 3mm too long.

Cheetah D-9 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Resin dorsal fairing :

Cheetah D-6 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Lots of cutting of the base kit is required :

Cheetah D-10 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

I used this little circular cutter - it's a nasty thing if not treated with respect :

Cheetah D-12 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

The nasty part of dealing with resin

Cheetah D by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Test fitting - lots of it....

Cheetah D-13 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D-15 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Outboard leading edges of base kit removed ready for the resin dogtooth leading edges :

Cheetah D-14 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Most of the resin parts in place - some still loose fitted :

Cheetah D-16 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Resin ventral fairing with integral chaff/flare dispensers fitted :

Cheetah D-17 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

As the resin nose gear bay came with very little detail, I added some...

Cheetah D-27 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Here's the nose glued on - I used two part epoxy for a strong bond. Getting the droop angle just right took quite a bit of trial and error. The filler is Tamiya UV curing putty :

Cheetah D-28 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D-30 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

ScaleWorx provides a really nice resin exhaust - waaaaay better than the kit version :

Cheetah D-29 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

All major resin parts glued in place and interfaces treated with filler - Tamiya white putty used :

Cheetah D-33 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D-35 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Here's the absolute worst part of this conversion - ScaleWorx supplies a corrected windshield which is vac formed. The fit to the resin nose is poor and requires a bunch of filler :

Cheetah D-36 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D-37 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

I added some internal framing using plastic rod / bar :

Cheetah D-39 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

But it all turns out OK once the primer is added - this is necessary to a) identify gany remaining defects and b) provide a nice uniform neutral base for the camouflage greys :

Cheetah D-41 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

By no means is this a "shake and bake" conversion - it requires a lot of hard work and test fitting. But, the final result is very pleasing indeed. The fact that I put so much effort into this makes it even more satisfying to see it come together. I did have to put the model away on several occasions just to get the conversion mojo back, but like I said, with some real modelling elbow grease, the result is great. I'm really pleased that ScaleWorx have provided these resin conversion sets in 32nd scale (along with the Cheetah E and the Mirage IIID/D2). ScaleWorx appears to have taken a temporary sabbatical as John has recently moved to Canada. I really hope he gets the business going again soon

Before primer :

Cheetah D-43 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

After primer . I used Tamiya fine grey primer straight form the rattle can - stuff is just brilliant :

Cheetah D-42 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

So, then, now for some camo - SAAF Cheetah greys - base light grey has been applied and Prestic worms are then used to provide a soft demarcation for the darker grey diamond :

Cheetah D-50 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D-49 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

The result :

Cheetah D-46 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

I use mottling templates and a darker version of the base colour to give a patchy weathered look :

Cheetah D-47 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

I then added an oil wash for extra grime and weathering - in the image below you can see the wash being added. Once semi dry, this is wiped off using a cloth moistened with white spirits :

Cheetah D 92 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Scaleworx provides the corrected resin lower main landing gear legs - to take the larger diameter resin wheels. The resin legs have a piece of strong wire embedded which provides additional strength for a heavy model :

Cheetah D-52 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

As a side note, the kit wheels are around 3mm too small in diameter. Eduard provided some beautifully detailed resin wheels, but they copied the kit dimensions.

Cheetah D-55 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

I added some details to the main landing gear legs and treated them to Tamiya fine grey primer :

Cheetah D-51 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Completed (detailed and painted) landing gear legs :

Cheetah D-57 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

ScaleWorx also supplies very nicely detailed resin MB.MK.10 seats - these have been primed :

Cheetah D-54 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Seats painted :

Cheetah D-65 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Then I had to get over then least favourite part - dealign with the main canopy - the vacuum formed part needs to be carefully cut and trimmed :

Cheetah D 69 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Then I added some internal structural detail :

Cheetah D 68 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 67 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 70 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

This was then masked and painted - much better :

Cheetah D 89 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

My subject Cheetah D is #841. The ScaleWorx resin set is only designed for the early mod state Cheetah D i.e. with the 09C engine, standard Mirage IIID undercarriage and the framed windshield. Cheetah Ds were later upgraded to take the 09K50 engine (with scalloped intake splitters), Kfir 16 ton main landing gear legs and a single piece windshield. But why 841 ? Well, in the early mod state, the Cheetah Ds were initially painted in a plain medium grey camouflage, similar to the Cheetah E. I have already built a 32nd Cheetah E in this colour scheme and I was looking at options available for the early Ds. #841, and one other, were painted in the standard later 2 grey Cheetah camouflage prior to the upgrades as noted above, so I had my subject. This Cheetah still had the Castle and Bokkie markings.

I printed my own decals for the ejector seat warning triangles :

Cheetah D 71 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

I had a fellow modeller (Herman) cut me masks for the Castle/Bokkies and some other details such as aircraft number - this is the artwork :

Cheetah D 72 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

The masks were used to airbrush the markings on :

Cheetah D 77 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

This is how they turned out - much better than decals :

Cheetah D 75 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 76 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 74 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 73 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 78 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 81 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 79 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 90 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

The 2 Squadron badge was a decal (from MavDecals) supplied as part of the resin conversion set. The red circle was apparently unique to #841 indicating part of 2 Squadron training flight :

Cheetah D 93 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

There's a local AM company called Artman Delta who provide a very nice set of 3D printed resin SAAF subject external stores pylons, fuel tanks, bombs and missiles. For my Cheetah D, I went with a typical training load consisting of 6 x Mk. 82 bombs, 2 x RPK combined fuel tank/bomb carriers, a single PM-3 centreline tandem bomb carrier and 2 x dummy V3B missiles :

Cheetah D-58 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Items have been primed ready for paint - once again, Tamiya fine grey primer :

Cheetah D-59 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Tanks have been painted in silver, still to be weathered :

Cheetah D-60 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Blue colours for the bombs indicate inert practice items :

Cheetah D-61 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

V3B missiles - will be painted light blue to represent inert training items :

Cheetah D-62 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

RPK wing tanks and centerline PM-3 bomb carrier are glued in place :

Cheetah D-64 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

V3B missiles and launcher rails - painted :

Cheetah D 85 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

I added pins to the launch rails to provide a more positive location onto the model :

Cheetah D 84 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 88 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 87 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 86 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

All on board !!

Cheetah D 83 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

And then, the finished product. Very nice in 32nd :

Cheetah D 93 - 1000-1 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 93 - 1000-2 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 93 - 1000-3 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 93 - 1000-4 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 93 - 1000-5 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 93 - 1000-7 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 93 - 1000-9 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 93 - 1000-10 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr

Cheetah D 93 - 1000-12 by Malcolm Reid, on Flickr