REVELL (ITALERI) 1:72 MIRAGE 2000C

 

Reviewer: Johan De Wolf (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted:  10 November 2007

Kit Details:

Additional items used:


© Johan De Wolf 2007

Aircraft History:

As the Mirage 2000 is a type currently in service there is an abundance of information available on the web, and I’ll leave you to do your own research (or look at the history overview from another Mirage 2000 review).

The Kit:

Packed in a reasonably sturdy end opening type box you’ll find two light grey sprues sealed in a plastic bag. In a separate bag you get one clear sprue. The kit is actually a re-run of the Italeri kit. The large decal sheet is new though. A parts location diagram shows where the parts can be found on the sprues and 23 easy to follow construction diagrams ensure an uncomplicated build. There is no flash present nor did I find any sink marks. There are a few ejector pin marks in visible places though. Surface detail is engraved but a bit inconsistent in places. Painting details are given in each construction step. Finally there is a 4-view drawing showing the colour scheme and decal placement for the single option.

Accuracy:

The kit is accurate in basic shape and outline. How ever, a closer look turns up several detail errors. The kit probably started life when the 2000 was still in prototype stage. Although the nose is correct in shape, the surface detail bears no resemblance to reality. The cooling exhausts fairings in the upper wing root are missing, and the RWR/flare housings under the tail and the trailing edge of the wing root present either. The small nose wheel bay doors are not correctly shaped either, but as they are too chunky they better be replaced anyway. The 2000C version is a pure air defense fighter. As such the Durandal missiles and the sub munitions dispenser pod are never carried by this type. The two Matra AAM types in the kit are both of inaccurate shape and size.


© Johan De Wolf 2007

Construction:

I started with filling and sanding all the panel lines in the radome area of the nose, and I also removed all the blade antennas from the fuselage halves. The solid navigation lights on the wing tips were replaced with transparent ones. The square exhaust on the fuselage spine was opened up and the gun troughs on the fuselage belly were slightly deepened. 

The five piece cockpit was built up and painted, but I left the 3 piece seat out for now. The cockpit needed some tweaking to fit properly between the fuselage halves. Before closing the fuselage I also added some ballast in the nose to prevent a tail sitter. 

The wings were fitted next. They fitted without drama but I did need some filler to clean up the wing roots and the lower rear fuselage. To add a bit more interest to the model I dropped the flaps and elevons, as is sometimes seen on parked machines. Before installing the air intakes I removed the rather visible protrusions on the inside, to create a smooth channel. The intakes didn’t fit well and I needed a few filling/sanding sessions before I was happy with the contours. The shroud over the instrument panel was another ill fitting piece. I had to thin it down to almost paper thickness before it sat well. If you don’t do this the wind screen will not fit later. 

Although the 3 piece kit seat is better than what we usually find in kits I still found it too basic. As it is very visible under that large canopy, I replaced it with the excellent Aeroclub representation. When trying to fit it in the cockpit I noticed that it would sit way too far forward. To remedy this situation I broke piece nr.5 out of the cockpit again. This was then trimmed to a more appropriate size and reinstalled. The seat now fitted much better. 

The landing gear was now fitted. The nose gear was a bit too long, and would result in an unnatural nose up attitude. I trimmed about a mm off to get the right sit. The nose gear doors were replaced with thinner ones. The HUD that comes with the kit is too chunky to fit under the wind screen, so it was replaced by a piece of clear acetate. After painting and decaling, the new made blade antennas were fitted. I also added other small details like AoA sensors and the tiny pitots on the nose. 

A flare pack was added to the lower rear fuselage, but as I couldn’t find a clear picture of the RWR sensors in the wing root, I skipped those. Note that the nose pitot in the kit is twice as long as it should be. I was not satisfied with the rockets that came with the kit. I found more accurate looking Magics and 530’s in the Heller hi-tech weapons kit. These were rather fiddly to put together (tiny etched metal fins), but in the end I think they are well worth the effort. The Tiger meet machine I wanted to build was seen with two large under wing fuel tanks. These are not included in the Revell/Italeri kit but could be scrounged from the older Heller Mirage 2000 kit. Normally these tanks are only used for long ferry flights, so I decided to use the more commonly seen centerline fuel tank that comes with the kit.


© Johan De Wolf 2007

Colours and Markings:

The Revell instructions give painting details throughout constructions (in Revell paint numbers). These are generally accurate, but instead of black I painted the inside of the intakes white. The Tiger scheme option that comes with the kit still looked a bit bland to me. As I had the Colorful set for a much gaudier scheme, I went for that option. This very striking tiger scheme was done up for the 2005 NATO tiger meet. I wanted to do this machine at a time when parts of the tiger markings on the tail had peeled off to reveal the roundel and type identification underneath. 

Comparing the decal set’s instruction with photographs of the real machine I noticed a few errors. The instructions would have you paint the whole under side of the machine in white. In reality only the forward fuselage and the wing leading edges were painted white. The rest of the underside is left in the original light grey colour. Also sections of the decal for the vertical tail were grey where they should be white. I solved this by painting the entire tail section white and carefully cutting out the offending grey parts from the decal. As the decals cater for all the tiger stripes I only needed to paint the base colour, which is an unusual red brown colour. I spent quite a bit of time mixing a colour as close as possible to the colour on the decals. 

The decal’s instruction only gives the colours in general terms. The tiger head on the tail is one very large decal. Although the fit was not perfect it did came amazingly close. To get it to conform properly I needed the help of Agama Hypersol once again. This amazing stuff produced an almost painted on look. It also worked wonders in getting the tiger stripes to conform to the compound curves of the fuselage and wing root. It helped a lot that the decals could handle quite a bit of abuse. Although the Colorful sheet included service markings, I instead used the Revell ones as they looked more accurate. The Revell decals are rather matt and prone to silvering though. While trying to position the aircraft’s registration I found that this decal is rather too large. As it would be very difficult to find a replacement of the right size, I had to use it anyway. 

After a few evenings of decaling I let everything dry thoroughly, and then carefully washed off any residue glue and decal softeners. Everything was then sealed in with a coat of satin varnish. After this had dried for a few days, the last few details were glued on as were the missiles.


© Johan De Wolf 2007

Conclusion:

While the standard Mirage 2000 is a bit bland, this one done up in tiger coat is an instant attention grabber. The tiger head looks very realistic and it certainly stands out amid all the low-viz paint schemes of today. Although the Revell/Italeri kit does have a few problems I still prefer it over the old Heller kit. The armament that comes with the kit can best be discarded though.

I enjoyed building this kit and despite the inaccuracies of the Colorful Decals I am happy with the result.

A French company called Syhart also makes decals for this machine (sheet nr .72-012) and they are much more accurate, but very difficult to find.

References:


© Johan De Wolf 2007

 

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