AML 1/72 Mirage IIIC in Foreign Service
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Overview
The Mirage family is one of the most distinctive aircraft families out
there, with its classic delta wing planform making it easily recognizable
(well, except for the Mirage F1C, which has a standard wing/tailplane
layout). The Mirage III was the first operational variant of this family,
and it quickly found favor with several air forces around the world. Follow-on
variants such as the IIIE, IIIO, and various Mirage V variants also saw
extensive foreign service, and both Israel and South Africa have built
on the Mirage airframe to produce the Kfir and Cheetah aircraft. Fifty
years later, examples of the Mirage can still be seen flying in the skies
around the world, an admirable record for this classic French design.
The Kit
 Way
back in 2001, AML came out with their new-tool Mirage IIIC kit. It was
a welcome release, as most of the other 1/72 Mirage kits were of the later
IIIE or V variants, which differed quite a bit from the IIIC. While quite
good in outline, that original kit did have some problems with the crispness
of the panel lines and required a fair amount of cleanup to make it presentable,
especially if you were doing a natural metal aircraft. When I saw this
kit I just figured that it was a reissue of the earlier kit, with new
decals. Well guess what, folks, I was wrong. While the basic master appears
to be the same, this is a complete retooling of that original kit, with
added details and a general overall cleaning up of the parts.
 Whereas
in the first kit you had only a single sprue of light gray parts, this
release ups the count to three sprues of medium gray parts, with a great
improvement over the surface quality. There are some impressive additions
and changes to the kit as well, which we will get to in due time. Like
the earlier release, there is a fair amount of resin in this kit, although
the photoetch from the first release is now gone. The decal sheet is quite
good and provides markings for Israeli, Swiss, and South African aircraft.
Like the original release, though, this kit relies heavily on resin
for many of the smaller details. The entire cockpit is resin, including
a one-piece tub, a seat, an instrument panel, and a control stick. The
nose gear well is also resin, as is the exhaust pipe. Another resin piece,
and a new feature in this kit, is the rear fuselage section. This was
molded into the fuselage on the original release, but this kit has the
rear section separate. Also separate this time around is the vertical
fin.
 Outside
the fuselage, the intakes are injection plastic this time around, instead
of the resin found in the first release. You get a separate intake lip
with a splitter plate having the aerodynamic bullet molded in place. Resin
strakes fit in between the fuselage and the intake assembly. This kit
provides two types of intakes, one with cannons and one without. The wings
follow the same assembly as before, with a one-piece lower wing, a resin
wheelwell insert, and separate upper wing sections incorporating the whole
leading edge. What’s different, though, is that in this release
the flaperons are separate, with two styles provided: a solid one and
separated pieces.
Flipping the model over, this kit has another nice feature: both styles
of rear belly fairing. Yes, you get both the small and large fairing,
opening up more options for the modeler. Most of the scoops are now plastic,
but there still is the resin nose. This kit also includes the Israeli
photo recon nose, which is different from the standard Mirage reconnaissance
nose.
 For
the decals, the options are interesting, spanning three continents. Four
aircraft are provided: two Israeli, one Swiss, and one South African.
As the South African one is the only camouflaged example, we’ll
start with that one. This is a Mirage IIICZ of No. 2 Squadron seen at
Waterkloof in 1972. It is camouflaged in green and tan over blue gray.
The South African national insignia is on the intakes, tailplane, and
wings, and the rudder is striped orange, white and blue. Also present
is the unit badge on the tailfin, making this an interesting Mirage, especially
if you do not like natural metal finishes.
Starting off the natural metal Mirages (which make up the remaining
options on this decal sheet), the Swiss aircraft is a Mirage IIIC, J-2201,
which is the aircraft currently on display at the Swiss Air Force Museum
in Dubendorf. It carries the Swiss national insignia in six locations,
and on the nose are several ‘kill’ markings of some sort (no
explanation is given, and unfortunately I could not travel to Switzerland
to find out. If someone wants to cover the trip costs, though, I can easily
dedicate a week to deciphering this enigma). The general finish is the
standard Mirage IIIC scheme, with red scallops on the intakes and behind
the canopy.
The first Israeli option is Captain Avi Lanir’s Black 60, the
famous “Black Mirage.” On April 7, 1967, Lanir shot down a
Syrian MiG-21, which exploded in a fireball. Unable to maneuver around
it, Lanir flew through the fireball, which covered his Mirage with soot
and oil. Prior to that incident, the aircraft was finished in the standard
natural metal with red scallops on the intakes, with a red line down the
fuselage sides and the unit badge on the tail. The final option is the
Israeli reconnaissance Mirage, with the “Tashbetz” camera
nose. That nose is painted black, while the rest of the airplane is natural
metal, with the requisite red trim on the intakes and behind the canopy.
The plane is number 99, and it also as a unit badge on the fin. The decals
are nicely printed, with excellent register, even on the multi-color unit
badges.
Conclusion
While the original AML Mirage kit was a welcome model, this one is even
more so due to the improvements to the molds and the added options. If
you want to build up a nice Mirage IIIC, this is the best choice out there
in 1/72. |
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