[aluffarb]

Hi all. I'm new to this board but I've beeen collecting diecast planes for the last three years and must have about 180 or so aircraft in my private air force. I've been thinking of converting the new Franklin Mint Mirage III to an Israeli Air Force version circa Six Day War of 1967. Unfortunately, I've been unable to locate the Isradecal 1/48 set for the Mirage III as it appears to have sold out. If any one has any leads on this decal set I'd be very grateful.Thanks much and it's great to be aboard this excellent board. Mark

[STARMAN 352ND]

Welcome to The Model Hangar Mark.
You will learn new things every day on this forum.
JP

[flyXwire]

Welcome to the forum, aluffarb. Must be getting bored with the 1/6 figure scene, eh? Anyway I'm glad to see here buddy!

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by aluffarb

Hi all. I'm new to this board but I've beeen collecting diecast planes for the last three years and must have about 180 or so aircraft in my private air force. I've been thinking of converting the new Franklin Mint Mirage III to an Israeli Air Force version circa Six Day War of 1967. Unfortunately, I've been unable to locate the Isradecal 1/48 set for the Mirage III as it appears to have sold out. If any one has any leads on this decal set I'd be very grateful.Thanks much and it's great to be aboard this excellent board. Mark

Hello aluffarb, welcome to the forum!

IMHO, if you are going to go through all that trouble, just build a plastic kit version of the airplane (recommend the one from Eduard in 1/48. They sell it with all the right Israeli decals). The FM Mirage III is so horribly deformed that I don't even recognize it as a Mirage III. And I speak as one who has been collecting CDC and then FM models for quite a long time (in other words I'm not biased against that company in any way).

Just my thoughts...

FVD

[Captain Eddie]

Welcom to the Forum, Mark. Enjoy!

[aluffarb]

FVD, I looked at some photos of the FM Mirage III more critically and have to thank you for your input because you are absolutely correct. The plane is an abortion as far as its silhouette is concerned, the fairing behind the cockpit canopy is way too large and distorted. Being a former F-111 and F-16 driver you obviously know your way around aircraft. I took your advice and ordered the Eduard 1/48 Mirage III. I mainly build ship and armor models so this should be a new experience for me building an aircraft. That's the main reason I got into Diecast aircraft as opposed to start building aircraft. I'm an old tanker at heart so I kind of prefer my feet on the ground (though I have been know on occasion to kiss the feet of you fly boys who bailed my a$$ out of some real furballs). I moved to Israel after graduating from college in 1976 and joined the IDF (the He'yl Shiryon--Armored Corps). I was in service for 6 years (initially starting out in M51 Ishermans and then moving on to Centurions-- ie. Sh'ots) and rose to the rank of Seren (Captain) and commanded a company of Merkava 1s in Lebanon (Operation Peace for Galilee) where we shot the crap out of Syrian T-72s and T-62s. After that war (at the behest of my family) I moved back home to the good 'ole USA where I continued on to medical school and my ultimate career.

[FormerViperDriver]

Aluffarb, what an awesome background. Just so you know, I have been to Israel when I was in the Air Force, back in 1989. I have wonderful souvenirs from there. Unfortunately I can't talk about the details, but I did get to visit many sites in that great country.

And even tough I flew jets, I also love tanks. I was an Air Force liaison officer with the US Army for a while (including during Desert Storm with 3rd Armor Division) and got to ride many times in an M-1A1 and even shoot a 120mm round (after the war). Also shot a TOW missile from an M-2 Bradley. So I have a little appreciation for what tankers do.

And yes, I was very disappointed when I first saw the FM Mirage III, as I was certainly looking forward to it, including an Israeli version. But to me it's a no-go, the shape is just too incorrect. What a shame... But considering FM/Armour has so far neglected to do Israeli F-4s, F-15s and F-16s (another shame), I even wonder if they would have done the Mirage.

However, don't let that discourage you from getting into diecast aircraft. There are many that are very, very good out there. I recommend the Witty 1/72 scale Israeli F-16s, although I myself prefer the 1/48 scale.

Anyway, it is totally cool for this forum to count you as a member. Again, welcome. If you have any questions about diecast aircraft, you've come to the right place. It may take you a while, but go back and look at the older threads. Lots of outstanding info. If you want to look at my personal collection, it is under the Collections area, FormerViperDriver Collection thread.

FVD

[aluffarb]

FVD it's a true pleasure being a member of this forum. Especially considering all the great former military guys around. We are a unique, dedicated breed. Had I not been a Zionist and moved to Israel after college I'm sure I would have ended up in our Armed Forces at some point. Just goes to show that there are hard-core, Gung-Ho, Jewish Right-Wing Conservatives! Even at this point in my life I still miss it at times. I'm almost 53, but if I was 15-20 years younger I think I'd be into doing a tour or two. There's always a need for a good military surgeon, especially in Iraq. I've been into diecast planes for the last three years or so and have picked up the Witty Wings IAF F-15 and their 3 IAF F-16s. I think they're exremely well done, especially the Eagle. I also have Witty's IAF Spitfire and the Suez Crisis (1956) Corgi IAF Mustang and Mosquito. That's about it for the IAF fixed wing aircraft in diecast. Model Power makes a nice looking Apache that I'm thinking of getting. If you (or any of our board memebers) ever happen to be in Israel again make sure to get over to Hatzerim AFB (near Beersheba) as it's the site of the Israeli Air Force Museum. This is an incredible site of around 150 planes all set up outdoors-- the great, dry climate makes this possible. There are some incredible planes there, Gloster Meteors, Vampires, Spitfires, P-51s, Mig-15-17-21-23s, Kfirs C1 & 2, Mirage III, Nesher, Avia S199 (Czech version of the Bf109), Ouragons, Vauoturs, Mysteres/Super Mysteres, Skyhawks, the Lavi (an indigenous high performance Israeli plane designed in the 1980s that unfortunately never entered production), a ton of Phantoms, choppers, trainers, and various transport craft. Unfortunately, there are no F-16s and F-15s there as these are still in active service. Also the Armored Corps Museum (Yad L'Shiryon) is another fabulous site. It's located in Latrun just outside of Jerusalem and contains over 200 tanks, APCs, self-propelled artillery/rockets, and other armored vehicles (including Israeli, Arab, and international vehicles) all arranged outdoors around the old Latrun police station which was the site of several brutal battles during the 1948 War of Independence. BTW I've seen the photos of your collection and they are definitely IMPRESSIVE!! Nothing like cold steel (or diecast zinc!).

[aluffarb]

FVD, one question about your aircraft collection-- is that B-36 a diecast plane or a plastic model? I've always thought the B-36 was an increbibly cool plane ever since I saw the old movie "Strategic Air Command" (starring Jimmie Stewart, Frank Lovejoy, and June Allyson) as a kid. There's some great vintage shots of B-36s and B-47s in it. Magnesium Overcast!! (just like the title of the book).

[FormerViperDriver]

Aluffarb,

Yes, I love the B-36 also. My model is a plastic kit; there is a company, Western Models, that makes a B-36 in the same scale (1/144) but get ready to pay big bucks (do a search on google). They also make a Tu-95 Bear and Tu-22, but again, very expensive.

Ah, about the Lavi, when I was in Israel we got to spend an evening with Menahem Ben Schmuhl (spelling?) who had been the test pilot for that aircraft. That being said, most of the stories he related were from the 67 and 73 wars, where he flew the Mirage III and got a few kills. But he told of his first combat mission in 67 when he almost didn't make it back, partly due to errors on his part, and was really chewed out by his squadron commander.

Also, I have the Model Power Israeli AH-64A (along with a US Army one, you should be able to see them in one of my collection pictures, it's on a bottom shelf with a UH-1). Of couse, the nice cammo scheme on it was not adopted at the time (only one aircraft flew painted like that, I think, the others staying with the basic olive drab scheme), but I believe that the "D" (Long Bow) models have a somewhat similar cammo pattern now. Anyway, I recommend those MP AH-64 models.

One plane I'd like to have in Israeli colors is a Vautour, but that one is unlikely to ever be done in diecast. Also I'd like to see an Israeli F-16 D model with the deep spine ("Brakeet").

Anyway, take care. Good luck with that Mirage III.

FVD