desert falcon Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 It's the 17th and we are allowed to start on the first GB of the year (for me at least) So here is my humble contribution, the ITALERI 1/72 GULF WAR 25th anniversary version of the Mirage 2000C. As per the title, I'll be doing it in the United Arab Emirates version. After a long debate I have almost settled on the colours, still subject for change once the paint hits the plastic. I can't seem to find much information about the United Arab Emirates involvement in the first Gulf War, other than they deployed some 4.000 personnel and that Mirage fighters were part of the package. Could anyone enlighten me on how the UAE Mirage might have been utilized during operation Desert Storm and the Gulf War in general? I understand that the UAE Mirage contribution might have been stationed at Al-Ahsa Air Base in Saudi and that they didn't see much action? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Johnny b 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 Some info here:- https://dstorm.eu/pages/en/uae/mirage.html. I will try and find more when I get home and look at my books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted January 18, 2021 Author Share Posted January 18, 2021 3 hours ago, Jabba said: Some info here:- https://dstorm.eu/pages/en/uae/mirage.html. I will try and find more when I get home and look at my books. Thank you @Jabba, dstorm.eu is indeed a great resource but I was also looking for some more background info on the UAE involvement you know. Thanks for checking later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 According the the "Gulf War Air Debrief" the UAEs Mirage 2000s operated from Maqatra, Abu Dhabi starting operations on 19 Feb, apparently for local air defence. Technical support was given by the French Air force. I have been put off this kit because of its inaccuracies (although already built one), but may have to get one because of the markings that you are using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted January 19, 2021 Author Share Posted January 19, 2021 12 hours ago, Jabba said: According the the "Gulf War Air Debrief" the UAEs Mirage 2000s operated from Maqatra, Abu Dhabi starting operations on 19 Feb, apparently for local air defence. Technical support was given by the French Air force. I have been put off this kit because of its inaccuracies (although already built one), but may have to get one because of the markings that you are using. Thanks a lot Jabba! Think they must be referring to al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi then, as they are home to the UAE AF fighter squadrons. Yes, I know the kit is inaccurate in some areas but in 1/72 scale I can live with that. I'm not a Mirage expert anyway. Here ia a close up of the markings, they aren't perfect either (i.e. the red part of the fin flash doesn't align with the green and black) but will have to do. Thanks again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakub Cikhart Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Hi, the problem with UAE is same as with other Arab allies. Nearly no info on their ops. And sometimes complete lack of pictures. E.G. UAE has/had Casa 212 planes. There is only 1 (ONE) picture available on the whole internet !!! And no idea what happend to them, do they still use them ? According to all sources, they do them. Why there is no other pic ? No idea.... same as with arab part during Gulf war. It is 2000C, but you can get some inspiration here - https://www.themodellingnews.com/2020/08/build-review-pt-i-kitty-hawks-32nd.html There are 4 parts of this great build. Regards Jakub P.S. If you need more help with UAE M2K, let me know, I have some other pics/info available. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 Hi @Jakub Cikhart Thanks a lot for the link and for keeping the Desert Storm homepage alive, it's indeed a great resource for us all !! I'm extensively using the photos of the UAE Mirage from your homepage as a reference and they were a great help in deciding on the colours 👍 You're most certainly right when it comes to missing info and photos of UAE forces equipment, guess most is considered "classified" in their point of view. I think the missing photo documentation is greatly also due to the fact, that taking any photos of or near an UAE Air Base is strictly prohibited. In fact, it's strongly recommended not to take any photos of any government installations, as you could quickly find your self charged of espionage. That said I do have quite a lot of legally taken photos of UAE Air Force / Joint Air Command equipment from the 2019 Dubai Airshow, so if anyone is interested I'm more than happy to share them in the aircraft walk around section. Sadly nothing of a CASA 212 but I do have some of the Airbus C295, Mirage 2000-9 (twin seater) & F-16F (both in light grey camo), Black Hawk, Chinook, Apache, AT 802 (with a heavy load representation), AW 139 (Dubai Police Air Wing), Bell (407 or 412?) with machine gun, DHC-6 Twin Otter and the new SAAB Globaleye. Cheers Johnny b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 If you want some pictures of Mirage 2000EAD/RAD but taken after Desert Storm (you'll see ELT/558 LBJ in place) you can go to the François Robineau's (former Dassault photographer) portfolio with différents payloads. http://francoisrobineau.com/fr/portfolio-49636-0-40-portfolio.html 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 That’s some stunning pictures there !! Merci beaucoup for the link 🙏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 3 hours ago, eclipse said: François Robineau's (former Dassault photographer) portfolio That shot with the pyramids in the background! 💥 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 Evening all, So finally we're off to a start on the Mirage. The kit doesn't come with decals for the cockpit, so it's DIY is you want some colors on the knobs and dials. A quick dry fit and the major parts seems to be fitting well. Also the level of detail is ok I think. If it's accurate is another thing? Thanks for looking! Johnny b 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 For the paints I did some testing and have decided to use the following Vallejo colors which I already have to my avail. Below - 71.276 USAF Light Gray Top side - 70.819 Iraqui Sand with some 71.125 USAF Brown to make it a bit darker - 73.613 (70.613) Desert Tan with some white to make it a bit lighter (if required) The Desert Tan is actually a surface primer, so if it behaves well with the airbrush, I'll use it as an overall primer before applying the grey on the underside and the Iraqui Sand on the top for the desert camo. tbc ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 A few progress pics on the UAE Mirage Gave it some weight at the nose, about 12 gram or so, hope it will be enough! Glued the two fuselage parts together and the overall fit is great. Only a little filler required behind the cockpit, then some light sanding and a bit of rescribing on the seams I have already sanded. Next will be the wings and the air intakes. Thanks! Johnny b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 I'm a big fan of Vallejo Plastic Putty, it's slow drying and water based so you can work it several minutes after you have applied it and any excess putty can be removed with a wet Q-tip. Opposite to Tamiya's putty, which starts drying on leaving the tube. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Looking good with the fuselage together and a nice tip about the filler. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted February 13, 2021 Author Share Posted February 13, 2021 On 2/8/2021 at 8:10 AM, Jabba said: Looking good with the fuselage together and a nice tip about the filler. Thanks Jabba !! It's unmistakable looking like a Mirage now: Some sanding and a bit more work on some of the seams and it's time to work on the canopy and the underside of the wing. Happy weekend building to you all !! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Certainly looks Mirage like now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 Good afternoon gentlemen, Sincere apologies for my absence from this fantastic GB and the forum in general. Life has been very busy for the last couple of months, with no time for hobbies I'm still hopeful though, that I will have some time before the deadline to finish the Mirage in some sort of state, so that at least she can go into the gallery! Until then, happy building to you all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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