1:48 Mirage 2000C 12-YO Tigermeet 2005

The tiger from Cambrai

The meeting of tiger squadrons is among the most colorful events in European military aviation. Units that have a member of the cat family in their badge send machines to it in striped or spotted finishes that nobody would approve in normal operation. The Mirage 2000C with the fuselage code 12-YO arrived at the 2005 edition in exactly such a finish, and the sheet carries its appearance over into a plastic model.

The character of the subject

A delta without a horizontal tail surface gives the Mirage 2000 enormous continuous areas of wing and fin, on which tiger motifs were drawn most readily. At the same time it means that on a model you work with large pieces of film, which have to follow the edges and the leading sections exactly. Alongside the festive artwork the sheet also holds the ordinary French insignia and registration lettering.

Settling the large areas

A large motif is best laid in stages: first place it in the middle of the area, and only then push the water out toward the edges. The base has to be glossy and perfectly free of dust. If the film forms a ripple somewhere, let it dry, pierce it with a fine point and go over it with a softener. At the seams between the parts of the kit a gentle warming with a hair dryer also helps. The final clear coat should be rather semi-gloss, so that nobody notices the transition between the print and the paint.

For a collection of colorful machines

Tiger schemes are collected on their own, because every edition looks different and the machine as a rule returns to its original finish within a few months. The 2005 edition belongs to the later ones, when the French units already had considerable experience with finishes of this kind.