1:72 Mirage IVP n°23 AV 40ans FAS 1964-2004

A rebuild that extended the life of the type by two decades

In the 1980s a group of eighteen airframes in a new standard came about from the original series. It was not a cosmetic change. The aircraft received a different navigation and bombing radar, a supplemented set of jammers and above all a pylon for a launched missile with a ramjet engine of its own, which could be released tens of kilometers ahead of the target. A machine designed at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s thus became a usable carrier at a moment when its European contemporaries had long been standing in museums.

Aerodynamically the aircraft remained what it had been from the start: a tailless delta machine with two power units in the fuselage, with a crew of two and with a brake chute, without which it would not fit onto an ordinary runway. It is interesting to compare the numbers. The whole strategic branch rested on a series that can be counted in tens of examples, and yet for two generations it represented the country's main means of deterrence.

The motif belongs to the celebration of forty years since the founding of the strategic air command. Between the years 1964 and 2004, which are given in the name, lie exactly forty years, so the figure of the anniversary and the span of the years hold together. The marking AV with the sequence number n°23 belongs to the same airframe, which carried further anniversary finishes during its career.

The sheet is printed for 1:72 scale. After transfer with water it is advisable to let the film dry thoroughly and only then to apply a covering varnish. The anniversary markings on the fin tend to be sizeable, so it helps to mark the upper edge on the model with a pencil beforehand.