1:48 Mirage 2000N 20 years Mirage 2000N ASMP EC1/4 Dauphiné 2008

A nuclear carrier with two seats

The 2000N version came about as a specialized carrier of a long-range guided missile which the French Air Force brought into service at the close of the 1980s. It differs from the single-seat interceptor form in a strengthened structure for flight at low level, a second crew member and equipment for following the terrain, thanks to which the machine could work below the radar horizon and at night as well. The home of the key squadron was an airfield in the east of France, from which long low flights across the mountains were flown.

The anniversary on the fin

For twenty years since the type entered service, one of the machines received a festive coat in 2008. The sheet holds a large piece of artwork on the vertical tail surface, the years, the squadron badge, roundels and the designation of the armament carried, and with it the usual portion of technical lettering.

The build step by step

The two-seat cabin has long and broken-up glazing, so it pays to mask the frames before the gloss base for the decals comes. The motifs are then applied from the back forward, from the fin across the fuselage to the nose, so that your hand does not grope across elements already in place. It is good to change the water as you go, because dissolved adhesive from earlier pieces leaves a sticky haze on the surface.

The set itself holds no plastic; it is built on a finished airframe of the matching size. It pays to compare the spacing of the holes for the pylons in advance, because the individual kits of this type have them placed differently and the lettering around them then sits either exactly right or a little to one side.