Heller 1/72 Mirage 2000N
Kit Number: 354
Price: $10.00
Decals : For one aircraft of the AdlA
Comments: The French Air Force's current standard fighter is the superb Mirage 2000. It is an aircraft that has good overseas sales and has been adapted to a variety of roles. Not only is it the premier fighter, but also is a great attack aircraft and is the replacement nuclear bomber for the Mirage IV.
Heller's kit has been around for a while. It was the first 1/72 scale kit
of the 2000 and Heller has gotten quite a bit of mileage from it. The 2000B,
D and N are all two seaters so with a little plastic card for new weapons
pylons, all three versions could be built using this kit. I built the N version
complete with nuclear cruise missile. I did it it in a scheme known as Arabie
which is a light desert scheme (not to be confused with the darker scheme
known as Tchad). Judicious use of Carpena codes and unit insignia made a
good representation of an aircraft used during a Red Flag exercise in 1994.
On to the kit. It has raised detail and a generally trying fit. Problem areas are the intakes (where one has to be careful not to trash the canards), the wing to fuselage join (where it is tough to get rid of a major step) and the landing gear legs (which are very spindly and prone to breaking). The cockpit could use more detail, as it is not exactly state of the art. The gear and wheels look more like those that belong on a toy than an aircraft. Having said that, one is back to the undeniable fact that this is (as of this writing) the only 1/72 Mirage 2000 around. I have not built Monogram's 1/48 version so I don't know how good it is. It must not have made a big hit as it is not often seen in stores.
I would recommend it to those used to building less than perfect kits.
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