Looking for opinions on 1/72 Mirage 2000 kits

[rs2man]

Gents

 

Whilst browsing Hannants the other day I came across a number of Syhart Decals sheets for some absolutely stunning Mirage 2000 commemorative schemes .  I can see one or two looming in my future , but realized that I know nothing about the various 1/72 kits .  I'm assuming that the Revell & Italeri kits are the same , but are they better or worse than the Heller kits ? 

 

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated .

 

John Green

Nantwich , Cheshire

[alex]

Well, from what I heard and read, the heller may be more accurate. Italeri/Revell is more based on the prototype, and has some issues with the dimensions. As there is no really good option on the market, I wait until someone develops a new & nice M2000.

 

Alex

 

[Apex]

I have also read that the Italeri kit is inaccurate, more exactly it is stretched in length so the whole fuselage and wings are incorrect, pretty much impossible to correct. If you don't mind it is probably much nicer to build than Heller.

 

I have a Heller Mirage 2000N started. It retains some parts from the 1979 vintage Mirage 2000C kit. These are typical for that era (less than stellar fit, raised panel lines, etc). It also has a new sprue for 2000N parts (fuselage, cruise missile and wing tanks, these are not bad actually). The fit of intakes is horrible, my kit had warped vertical fin, the detail level is very basic. Not Heller's best kit, but perfectly buildable.

[rs2man]

Thank you for the information gentlemen

 

Much appreciated

 

John

[Hook]

Heller has the better shape, even though it is by now an older kit. 

 

The main problem with the Italeri mold is that the Italians didn't do a very good job on the length - they confused total fuselage length with and without pitot tube, giving a stretched look to the model with a way too acute wing leading edge sweep.

 

Their B-58 Hustler has the same issue.

 

Cheers,

Andre

•  

[DougC]

I find it extraordinary that a major manufacturer hasn't released a decent 1/72 kit of the M2000 family yet - it's been around for over 30 years, has several main variants & there would be so many colour, decal & weapons options!

 

I know it's not a US or Russian subject but Hasegawa or Revell, are you listening?

[Nigel Bunker]

On 03/03/2018 at 1:48 PM, DougC said:

I find it extraordinary that a major manufacturer hasn't released a decent 1/72 kit of the M2000 family yet - it's been around for over 30 years, has several main variants & there would be so many colour, decal & weapons options!

I wonder if Special Hobby are listening - it would make a great follow up to the Mirage F.1 series.

[Wez]

19 minutes ago, Nigel Bunker said:

I wonder if Special Hobby are listening - it would make a great follow up to the Mirage F.1 series.

I've said this many times, it's right up their street too!  I'd love a modern M.2000 series to the standard of their F.1's.

 

IIRC, the original Heller kit was based on the prototypes, I don't think they made any substantive changes to make it a production 2000C, obviously they made changes to make it a two seater but the details and surface detail are not up to modern standards.

 

I was hugely disappointed with the Italeri kit, I had such high hopes when they announced it but these were dashed when it was released, it doesn't resemble a production aircraft either.

Edited March 4, 2018 by Wez

[k5054nz]

I, for one, would rather like a state-of-the-art 2000N kit in 1/72!

[Vultures1]

20 hours ago, k5054nz said:

I, for one, would rather like a state-of-the-art 2000N kit in 1/72!

And a proper 2000D perhaps?!

[tempestfan]

On ‎04‎.‎03‎.‎2018 at 4:20 PM, Wez said:

 

IIRC, the original Heller kit was based on the prototypes, I don't think they made any substantive changes to make it a production 2000C, obviously they made changes to make it a two seater but the details and surface detail are not up to modern standards.

 

Not that sure, I'd have to look up old catalogues or mags to pin it, but I think it must have come out in 1983 or '84, as one of the last kits in a "black box" - just like the SUper Et, it's very hard to find in that boxing. I think it's one of the early production C's, but freely admit I'm no expert (I guess, however, they had good connections to AMD and would likely have been able to get info on the final config before other manufacturers).

[Aardvark]

From 72scale.com:

( good was site, but it not live now)

 

"The kit dimensions scale to: 
Heller L 14.58, W 9.288m 
Italeri L 15.768 (with same pitot length as Heller:15.264m), W 8.856m 

The Italeri kit is far too long with a narrow wingspan, adversly affecting the angle of sweep on the leading edge of the wings. The Heller kit is much closer to the mark. Until Hasegawa graces us with a definitive M2000, the Heller kit is recommended."

 

Heller(blue) vs Italeri (Red):

My photo Italeri

My photo Heller:

Drawings from poland PKL (Pereglyad Konstrukcij Lotnicyh)

 

Resource all photo:

http://scalemodels.ru/modules/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5085&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

 

B.R.

Serge

 

[meindert]

Hi

check out the kits I made (Heller, Italeri and Revell) and also some Syhart decals applied and some tips at my page here:

 

https://designer.home.xs4all.nl/models/mirage-2000/mirage-2000-1.htm

 

Meindert