Heller-Humbrol 1/72 AMD Mirage 2000

HELLER-HUMBROL 1:72 AMD MIRAGE 2000

Reviewer: Paulo Ivo Teixeira (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 16 September 2007

Kit Details:

Heller Humbrol AMD Mirage 2000 1/72 scale, kit # 80354. No date to be found anywhere, but looks 1980s. Sturdy top-opening box, of the elongated variety favoured by Heller. Doesn't say which Mirage 2000 subtype this is, however it's pretty obviously the interceptor (Mirage 2000C). From e-Bay for 5.80 GB pounds incl. p&p.

This is the older release with raised panel lines, not the more recent one that can sometimes still be found in shops (thanks to Kevin Ronayne for correspondence on this).

Aircraft History:

The success of the delta-winged Dassault Mirage III/5 series of fighters led Dassault to produce a next-generation fighter, the Mirage 2000, with a similar configuration, although it was in fact an entirely new design. It evolved from a series of unsuccessful design efforts performed from 1965 to 1975. The last of this, known as `Avion de Combat Futur' (ACF), was cancelled by the French government in 1975: The French air force had decided that the ACF, a twin-engine aircraft based on SNECMA M53 afterburning turbofan engines, was too big. However, Dassault had been considering other fighter options in the meantime, partly because the export potential of the ACF was not very promising. Another reason was that in that very same year, four European nations adopted the F-16 as their new first-line fighter, rejecting an improved Mirage F1. These `Mini Mirage' concepts eventually congealed into an aircraft known at first as the `Super Mirage III', then the `Delta 1000', `Delta 2000', and finally `Super Mirage 2000'. When the ACF was cancelled, Dassault was able to immediately offer the Mirage 2000, and the French Defence Council accepted it.

The delta-wing configuration had been used on the Mirage III/5, but abandoned for the Mirage F1. A delta wing tends to be a good choice in terms of high-speed flight characteristics, simplicity of aircraft construction, relatively low radar signature and internal volume, but a poor choice in terms of manoeuvrability, low-altitude flight, and length of take-off and landing runs. Dassault's engineers managed to solve these problems by moving the aircraft's centre of lift to the front of its centre of gravity, giving the fighter a degree of instability that enhanced manoeuvrability and also reduced the take-off run.

The aircraft is fitted with a redundant electronic fly-by-wire flight control system to compensate for its inherent instability. The delta wing is large compared with Dassault's previous designs, reduced wing-loading providing better low-speed performance and permitting higher turn-rates at high altitude. The wing has almost no camber, but automatic, full-length, two-segment leading-edge slats (very rare on deltas) and large, two-piece, trailing-edge elevons, can produce more lift per unit area than the conventional delta wing and give the Mirage 2000 a level of agility that the Mirage III/5 lacked. Moreover, the tailfin is noticeably taller than on the earlier types, allowing the pilot to retain control at higher angles of attack, aided by small strakes mounted along each air intake.

Initial flight of the first prototype was on 10 March 1978 with test pilot Jean Coureau at the controls, reaching Mach 1.3. The first production example flew on 20 November 1982, and operational service was attained in 1984.

The first Mirage 2000 to go into service was the single-seat Mirage 2000C interceptor/air combat variant (C is for `chasse'), which is the subject of this kit. Built-in armament consisted of two DEFA 30-mm cannon with 125 rounds each. In addition a typical load was carried of two Matra Super 530 medium-range semi-active radar-guided AAMs on the inboard wing pylons, and two Matra Magic infra-red seeking AAMs on the outboard wing pylons. These were later replaced by the new Matra MICA AAM.

Other Mirage 2000 variants include the 2000B two-seat conversion trainer, the 2000N nuclear strike variant, the 2000D conventional strike variant, and export versions of the 2000C and 2000B, as well as the upgraded Mirage 2000-5. Operators (all variants) include, besides France, Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Greece, India, Peru, Qatar and Taiwan.

The Kit:

29 medium-grey injection-moulded parts on several sprues, plus 3 clear on a separate sprue. Plastic slightly brittle. Many parts off sprues, but all inside an unsealed plastic bag. A little flash, lots of ejector pin marks, many of which need filling and sanding. A mixture of raised and recessed panel lines (some a bit heavy), recessed control surfaces. Main fuselage split vertically. Cockpit consists of tub, fairly accurate seat, control column, instrument panel (no detail), plus HUD. No wheel bay detail but nice detail on undercarriage legs and wheels. Underwing stores consist of two Matra Super 530 medium-range semi-active radar-guided AAMs on the inboard wing pylons, and two Matra Magic infra-red seeking AAMs on the outboard wing pylons. Very flimsy pitot tube and front underfuselage antenna - I actually mistook them for flash and shaved them off when cleaning the parts, had to replace them later!

Instructions:

One A3-sized sheet with very brief history of aircraft and some technical data in 8 languages, plus five clear construction steps. Painting and decalling guide on back of sheet, showing 4-views of aircraft; the colours quoted look suspicious though (see below). On a separate, A4-sized sheet, general modelling advice in the same 8 languages, explanation of symbols, Heller-Humbrol paint conversion charts.

Colour Options:

Two French Air Force planes in blue/grey over grey camouflage, one from escadre de chasse 1/2 "Cigognes", another from escadre de chasse 3/2 "Alsace".

Options:

None (unless you want to leave off the missiles): even wheels up would require (minor) surgery, as the nose wheel bay doors are moulded open as part of the underfuselage.

Construction:

As usual, I tried to do as much painting as possible before assembly. Undercarriage legs, wheel hubs, wheel bays and the insides of wheel bay doors were painted flat aluminium (Hu 56), tyres and control column flat black (Hu 33), cockpit sidewalls, tub, seat and instrument panel light ghost gray FS36375 (Hu 127), as per the instructions. The seat headrest was painted flat black (Hu 33), the cushion leather FS30215 (Hu 62), and I added seat belts made with masking tape and coloured with a yellow marker pen, with silver (Hu 11) buckles. The instrument panel was almost devoid of detail, so I drew a few dials with a black marker pen, and coloured green a raised lump in the centre of the panel (standing in for the radar screen?), to match a photo. The exhaust can is quite deep and features a nicely detailed fan: I painted the outside of the can and the fan gunmetal (Hu 53), and the inside wall a darker metalliser (exact reference lost in the mists of time) for contrast. This looks realistic, as photos of Mirage 2000's usually show a rather darkened exhaust can.

So far so good. Then I started having doubts about the colour callouts: should the underwing pylons be satin white as instructed, or the same colour as the wing undersides (light ghost grey)? And what about the insides of intakes? Looking at a largish number of photos on www.airliners.net didn't settle the issue - as far as I can tell, the pylons could be anything from white through off-white to said light ghost gray. So in line with common practice, I painted them the same colour as the wing undersides, i.e., light ghost grey FS36375 (Hu 127). As for the intakes, photo evidence is again inconclusive but seems to suggest that the camouflage colour wraps around (at least some distance) into the intake, so after some hesitation I painted them intermediate blue FS35164 (Hu 144). Note, however, that instructions for the Revell Mirage 2000C in 1/72 specify that the blue does indeed wrap around, but ends about one-third of the way into the intake, which is light grey farther inside; still, I reckon this will be hardly visible once all the parts are in place, given the rather bulky intake shock-cone.

I put about 8 g of lead encased in plasticine inside the rather spacious nose, glued the cockpit assembly to the right fuselage half and then glued the two fuselage halves together. The fit is good, but requires a lot of clamping: I used five clothes pegs and pieces of masking tape. Then some sanding to get rid of a few small steps here and there. A dorsal antenna lost in the process, to be replaced later.

Next came the wings. The wind undersides are one piece with the fuselage bottom, onto which are glued the two wing upper sides. As advised by a fellow modeller reviewing this very same kit on the Modeling Madness website, I started by glueing the one-piece underwing-underfuselage to the fuselage, rather than the wing upper sides to the underwing as per the instructions. Some filler was needed along the wing roots, where the under and upper wings join, and where the underwing joins the fuselage. No big gaps you understand, but visible nonetheless.

Next came the 3-part intake assembly: unnecessarily complicated in my opinion. Fit was... irritating: small but visible steps/gaps, which had to be filled and sanded smooth. I tried to obliterate as little surface detail as possible by lining the gaps with thin strips of masking tape, then applying as small an amount of filler as would do the job, then allowing it to dry, then sanding with the tape still in place. After most of the sanding had been done the strips of tape were removed and the filled gap sanded even, using the creases of folded strips of sandpaper of ascending grit. There was a very visible gap between the intake backing plate and the lower part of the intake outer wall (the curved part). Now I don't understand what I could possibly have done wrong to cause this, so I suspect it's due to malformation of the intake backing plate - too short at the bottom. This was filled with multiple applications of white glue, followed by careful sanding to 1000 grit.

On to painting. I didn't believe the colours quoted in the painting guide (a light blue-grey and a darker blue, either of which seemed too bright), so after a brief internet search and perusal of a fair number of photos on www.airliners.net came out with a plausible scheme: light ghost grey FS36375 (Hu 127) and intermediate blue FS35164 (Hu 144) uppers, light ghost grey FS36375 (Hu 144) unders, dark gull grey FS36231 (Hu 140) nose radome. I started by painting the whole airframe light ghost grey, and then masking for the intermediate blue using Patafix sausages and masking tape. Note that Hu 127 has a satin sheen which would have to be matt-coated over; however, I managed to destroy said sheen while attempting to thin the paint with the wrong enamel thinner, and so was left with MATT light ghost grey - just what I needed! The story has a sadder ending though: I managed eventually to destroy that paint completely as a result of my clumsy attempts at thinning it further, but luckily not before most of the painting had been done. Inevitably, some touching up was required. After experimenting with various matt varnishes, I reckoned the most convincing way of converting satin light ghost grey to matt was to just sand it veeery lightly (1000-grit). Otherwise the paintjob was mostly uneventful, except for the upward-curving demarcation line between the blue and the grey just aft of the radome: I found it rather difficult (a) to get the curvature right; and (b) to get the curvature right on BOTH sides (I used a 1-eurocent coin to help cut the masking tape).

In the meantime the missiles had been painted satin white (Hu 130). This is all the instructions specify. To break the monotony I decided to paint the tips of the Matra Super 530 US medium grey FS36270 (Hu 126), and a pair of French blue (Hu 14) rings around the body of each Matra Magic; the tips of the latter were also painted gloss black (Hu 21). This is consistent with photo evidence found on the web. Note, however, that the (possibly more reliable) painting instructions for the Revell Mirage 2000C in 1/72 call for the missiles to be painted a shade of light grey - exactly which can't be determined with much accuracy, as Revell just tell you to mix paints from their range.

Once this was done, the missiles were attached to their pylons, as I usually find it easier to attach the pylon + store assembly to the wing undersides, rather than pylon to wing first, then store to pylon. In the case of the Matra Magic the contact area between missile and pylon is minimal, so these came off a number of times.

The canopy was masked and painted. Wheels, undercarriage legs and exhaust can were removed from sprues, scraped/sanded smooth and touched up. The exhaust can required some sanding to fit into the rear fuselage. Also the canopy is rather awkward to position: after much fumbling, I managed to dry-fit it in place; this left considerable gaps all around, which were then filled with white glue applied with the tip of a toothpick, (finely) sanded smooth and painted over. On the other hand, fit of the main undercarriage wheels to the legs is so good I didn't use any glue.

The wingtip lights were first given a matt white (Hu 34) undercoat, then coloured green (right) and red (left), with marker pens. The tips of two small wingtip antennas, as well as a dorsal one immediately aft of the cockpit, were painted trainer yellow (Hu 24); this is a rather thin paint and several coats were required.

The undercarriage, undercarriage bay doors and actuating struts were cemented in place. These are delicate and require careful handling. Next on were the pylon + missile assemblies. The inner pylons carrying the Matra Super 530 are perilously close to the main undercarriage, and I briefly entertained the thought of filling the relevant locating holes and cementing said missiles a mm or two farther out, but in the end I did succeed in fitting them, although the pylons ended up slightly at an angle. There were gaps of varying widths between pylons and wings, which I filled with white glue, both for aesthetic reasons and in order to get stronger bonds. More sanding, touching-up and yet more sanding followed. The cannon muzzles were done with a black marker pen.

Finally, I replaced the small antenna just fore of the nose gear that I had destroyed while cleaning the flash, painted it trainer yellow (Hu 24), cemented the exhaust can in place (again minor gap to fill with white glue), and was ready to decal. The pitot tube (donated by the Italeri Mirage 2000D, which doesn't really need it) would be the last part to go on. It was too long, I clipped off some 5 mm - still too long, but more like the real thing.

Decals:

A small but reasonably detailed sheet comprising national insignias, squadron insignias and numbers, some stencilling. A bit yellowed, but nothing a couple of days in the fierce August sunlight couldn't cure. Do refer to photos though, as the placement of some decals is given incorrectly in the instructions. I also decided to omit the Snecma decals on the rear end as photos of the aircraft don't show them. Excellent colour saturation and adhesion properties - a little too good sometimes, as once the decal was on the plane it was difficult to move. Little carrier film, but what there is, is rather thick. I did my Mirage in the colours of escadre de chasse 3/2 "Alsace.

Accuracy:

As far as I can tell it captures the elegant looks of the Deux-Mille, that's good enough for me!

Conclusion:

An easy-to build kit of quite acceptable accuracy. Pity the large number of minor gaps to fill, which impair enjoyment somewhat, and lengthen what should have been a fairly straightforward job.

References:

Chris Chant (ed.), Concise Guide to Military Aircraft of the World (Temple Press, London, 1981).
Paul Eden and Soph Moeng (eds.), The Encyclopaedia of World Aircraft (Silverdale Books, Leicester, 2002).
http://www.vectorsite.net/avmir2k.html (excellent article on the Mirage 2000 & 4000).
http://www.airliners.net

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