Subject: Re: Mirage 2000N
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: "Robert Leonard" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:46:59 -0800

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Robert Leonard 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 11:57 AM
  Subject: Mirage 2000N

                    1:48 Eduard Mirage 2000N 
  by Bob Leonard
  --------------------

        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 01.jpg here  

  This is the Eduard kit released in the summer of 2007.  It combines plastic parts from Heller, resin for the cockpit and other small parts, great decals, Eduard photo-etched parts and canopy masks.  Some plastic parts were warped and you can see sizable gaps existed between the fuselage and wings.  This was addressed by placing "spreaders" made of plastic sprue to force the width of the fuselage to more closely match the wings.  I was pretty sucessful; however, some Apoxie Sculpt was needed to fix the remaining gaps. 

   I used Xrtacolor Dark Sea Grey, Dark Green and Light Aircraft Gray for the paint scheme.  One change I made was to place the majority of the landing great doors in the "up" position.  The Eduard instructions would have you put these in the "down" position.  However, most photos I've seen of the Mirage 2000 family show the landing gear doors are "up" when the aircraft is at rest.  The landing gears door did not fit well in the "up" position, so I fashioned small "lips" for the gear doors to rest on as seen below.  

  Tamiya Smoke was used to weather the model.  I figured a nuclear bomber would be kept in great shape, so I went light on the weathering.  The front of the fuel tanks were given the "chipped NMF effect" since it seems that part of the aircraft sheds paint in a regular fashion.  

  Good features of the kit are all the aftermarket treats loaded into one box, an accurate shape and engraved panel lines.  Bad features include warped plastic that makes construction more of a hassle.  But the kit is done and I think it is a good addition to my collection.  

  Click on images below to see larger images

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  I placed a 1:72 Bobkit refueling truck in the back ground to provide a forced perspective shot.  I installed only the fuel tanks to keep the lines of the model clean.  

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  I liked the kit enough to buy a Eduard Mirage 2000C single seater.  

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  Photos and text © by Bob Leonard"