Ian Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Kit - Kinetic 1:48 Paint - All Tamiya acrylics Decals - Kit Extras - Missiles from RoG Rafale kit, Pavla resin 'Dash 5' nose, Aires resin & etch MB10 seat. Mirage 2000C-9 United Arab Emirates AF Al Dhafra AB 2010. Had this kit for a long time but like a couple of other recent builds, been waiting for my 'skills' to get to a point where I feel confident enough to have-at-it !!. It's not a straightforward build by any means, and the crude instructions (with no paint call outs) do not help much. But because I've built the Kinetic F-5A & Alpha Jet, I was sort of prepared for a more challenging build process. Where this kit excels is the surface detail, it is exquisite with beautifully refined panel lines, sharp trailing edges and crystal clear canopy parts. There's A LOT in the box, including four separate fins and many of the sprues from the 2000D/N kit of which for this version you only need one of the fins - because those parts were moulded even better than the 'fighter' parts, where possible I swapped them over. The very pale camouflage grey was mixed using the (in)famous Mk.I eyeball method and the darker tone is Tamiya Medium Sea Grey (XF-83) straight from the bottle. I freehanded the pattern at first using my new Dragonair AB with a 0.2 needle/nozzle but it was just a little too 'vague' so I masked the edges with Blue-Tac and redefined the edges which was absolutely the best call, glad I did it. Not too much in the way of weathering as every photo that I went to showed UAE Mirages in fairly immaculate condition. I added a few streaks under the fuselage with dry-brushed oil tones and more heavily on the underside of the drop-tanks where the cr*p would be kicked-up from the runway surfaces. Not too much else to say, yes it's a bit of an effort to get built but given that the 1:48 alternatives are the Jurassic Era kits from Esci & Monogram or the very rare Heller kit then this is the 'only way to go' if you want a Mirage 2000 on your shelf - and I really did ! - feel free to comment, criticise or ask any questions. Following very soon will be something British in 1:72, in the meantime all the best from New Zealand. NOTE: I'm aware of the scratch on the left side of the canopy and am slowly reducing it with gentle sanding and polishing... it already looks better than in the photos. Ian. 32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Very nice! Such a classy looking jet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Seen it on a big screen & it looks magic, the gulf states camo is especially attractive & you've done a beaut job on it. I must confess when I saw the header I thought I was going to be looking at a racing car model, till I saw it was in RFI aircraft. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maginot Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Very agreeable camouflage scheme nicely applied; your Mk.I eyeball is sharp. For working out the scratch, I can recommend NOVUS plastic scratch remover, polish and cleaner system (if you're not already using it). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Very nice work, Ian. The camouflage looks spot on! Well done 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 I agree , that one turns out very nice with this exact cammo sceme. Wonderful work! Did you use masks? Cheers Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted March 5, 2022 Author Share Posted March 5, 2022 12 hours ago, Andy Dyck said: I agree , that one turns out very nice with this exact cammo sceme. Wonderful work! Did you use masks? Cheers Andy Used Blue Tac / Pattax to define the edges of the camo, Andy, but just copied the photographs to get the pattern. I deliberately chose the UAE aircraft because as far as I can tell, they are the only ones that don't use the standard M2000 camo pattern, and I always prefer doing something that's 'different' when I can. best from NZ. Ian. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 On 3/5/2022 at 7:50 AM, stevehnz said: it looks magic 😏 BTW Mirage 2000-9 doesn't use Magic ! 😁 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 That's beautiful work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 3 hours ago, eclipse said: 😏 BTW Mirage 2000-9 doesn't use Magic ! 😁 Opps, though they were. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 On 05/03/2022 at 06:50, stevehnz said: I must confess when I saw the header I thought I was going to be looking at a racing car model, till I saw it was in RFI aircraft. I thought exactly the same Steve! That's another beauty Ian, really lovely build and finish! Cracking job! Keith 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 What a great build!! I can only second all the above! Some Mica missiles indeed would look great on this... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 On 3/8/2022 at 5:16 AM, eclipse said: 😏 BTW Mirage 2000-9 doesn't use Magic ! 😁 I've been thinking about this, if they're not Magics, in particular R 550 Magic IIs, what are they? I haven't been able to find refs for anything else looking like them. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in a shed Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Excellent! The mark 1 eyeball worked a treat! Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 4 hours ago, stevehnz said: I've been thinking about this, if they're not Magics, in particular R 550 Magic IIs, what are they? I haven't been able to find refs for anything else looking like them. Steve. Mirage 2000-9 uses only Mica IR and RF as air-to-air missiles. 😉 Here during Unified Protector in 2011 with Mica IR under wings and Mica RF under belly ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Right. That is certainly true for the photos you show, but did not come up as such in the online info I sourced which mentioned Magics in each case, just like Ian's model wears & that I was referring to, hence my confusion. I'm glad I wasn't going completely potty. In defense of the online refs I found, I couldn't find one specifically for the 2000-9 but for 2000s in general, earlier models of which did carry the Magics. Apologies for this diversion from your thread Ian. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 In fact, my first intervention was just an attempt to make a joke with magic and Magics (missiles) and to report that Mirage 2000-9 as proposed by Ian never used Magic missiles. Yes, oldest versions of Mirage 2000s used R550, but three versions don't ever use it : Mirage 2000-5 Mk.2, -9 and I/TI (upgrade of Indian Mirage 2000s). However, Mirage 2000-5EDA (DDA), EI (DI) and -5F used it (until 2006 for the latter). And sorry too for the digression... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 On 3/9/2022 at 1:28 AM, exdraken said: What a great build!! Some Mica missiles indeed would look great on this... I have them painted & decalled, I did try them (using white glue) but they simply made the model look 'heavy' and less Mirage-like... not sure if I'm explaining this too well. Let's just say the MICA's simply didn't work with the overall look of the build. As for any discussions about R550's or any other air-to-air missile, feel free chaps, have-at-it. This thread is in the public domain and all your comments and questions are relevant and informative so go-ahead. Cheers all, best from NZ. Ian. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Very smart work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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