South
America
has a long
tradition flying Dassault Aviation planes, Mirage III family (Mirage III, V, 50,
etc.) was the most sales successful aircraft in this world area since several
countries purchased the different versions of this bird.
Peru
is the only South American purchaser of Mirage family next generation member
(after the Mirage V), the Mirage 2000.
Mirage
2000P (single seater) and Mirage 2000DP (two seater) operate with Fuerza Aerea
del Peru, Escuadrón 412 of the Grupo Aéreo de Caza 4 at La Joya,
Arequipa
.
Mirage
2000DP numbered 193 was formally handed over in Paris Air Show on
7 June 1985
and began to train pilots in
France
. The trainer version retains full capability of single seater; it features
sand-brown camo with pale blue undersides and black nose cone. With standard
export RDM radar and equipped for defense and strike roles.
Exterior
improvements and corrections
Building
this plane in 1/48 required some corrections and modifications, because the
Airfix Mirage 2000B includes the standard French trainer version.
First
the flaps were removed and relocated in dropped position use pics for the
correct dropping angle. Narrowed the leading edge slats profile because
they are so wide in the plastic kit.
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image below to see larger image
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Modifications
include the fin base which was wided a little; the Mirage 2000 export versions
include this little detail so I used styrene sheets on lateral sides and putty
to get the right width. Spirale chaff-flare dispensers included in the kit are
very spartan, so I decided to improve them using two little plastic rods from
heated sprue and placed on carved plastic kit pieces.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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The
wingtip RWR antenna array was removed and scratchbuilt using plastic rod and
shaped and scribed using Dremel moto tool, result was decent for me...Mirage
2000 export versions also includes a longer rear RWR in the fin, 2 mm. of extra
styrene will serve. The refueling probe is scratchbuilt using the moto tool and
a piece of sprue from the kit and turned. I preferred this option when I noted
the kit piece is ridiculously shorter and bad released.
Critical
zone was the entire forward fuselage section and, I reshaped with help from my
expert in Mirage friend Ernesto Ponte. This zone is a little curved when look
from upside below the front office so I used a lot of ANYPSA plastic putty (used
for real car exterior surface damage). Nose cone suffered the same required
attention, reshaped using the same material and several pics from different
angles for reference. Adding full metallic nose pitot tube was necessary I
stealth a sewing needle from mama’s hobby box and using soldering pistol ,
Radio shack Rosin-Core Solder and Lötfett Stanoll Soldering grease and turned
fastly with motor tool and sandpaper.
All
blade antennas on dorsal spine and bottom of fuselage, the same for strakes on
intakes were built using thing styrene sheet glued with Cyano. I added some
wiring on landing gears using copper wire.
I
don’t lithe the idea of building a nothing original air to air configuration
again and tired of see the same Mirage ordnance in 1/48, so a candy delivery
(bomber) configuration is fine for me, I scratchbuilt the bomb pylons for
ventral fuselage zone and made two part silicone mold for casting in resin, the
same for the 1700 liters underwing and 1300 liters belly tanks, the first
doesn’t exist in 1/48. Heller includes the underwing tank in the Mirage 2000N
version but this is the improved 2000 liters tank with more capacity and the
back ending is incorrect so I mastered my own version of them and get a good
result.Mk.82 bombs come from Testors F/A-18 Hornet kit
Matra
Magic missiles come from the kit, required effort on painting, wanted to scratch
them but University final tests doesn’t let me, next time maybe...
Internal
details
No
cockpit resin set is provided by manufacturers to improve the Mirage 2000
trainer office, Black Box promised to release it a pair of years ago, but it was
that: only a promise… so I decided to close the canopy but previously wanted
to include French style pilot, so I mastered one including the original helmet
and hard modified an American pilot and added life surveillance pack, casted in
resin and painted them based on pics.
SEM
MB
Mk.10 ejection seat was detailed using the one included in kit. Then I added
copper wire to make the oxygen hose.
Finishing
Required
colors to paint the Peruvian version are a rare thing, I recommend to use MM
Armor sand and Field Drab for upside and Light Ghost Gray downed with 40% white
for the underside. MM Glosscoat lacquer is airbrushed before Aztec Decals 48005
are placed....u will need the several little stencils from the Heller/Airfix
kit, they are excellent and well detailed. Then I sealed the decals with one
more gloss coat and light-weathered it using
oils and pastel chalks, usually FAP Mirage 2000 looks almost clean in pics...after
all that I sealed again the weathering with a semi-gloss coat and retired the
masking tape from transparent pieces...finally the Mirage 2000DP is ready to
drop the candies!!!
Well
I hope u enjoy my first ARC Gallery contribution, it includes a lot of
enthusiasm, effort and time, next project will include another Peruvian
Air Force like Mig-29SE or Su-22M3...I am still thinking about that...
Greetings
from
Peru
!!!
Eduardo
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