Dassault Mirage F.1C by Hasegawa
1/72 scale
Kit No. D18 (alternately 018: 500)
Cost: $6.00 (circa 1984)
Decals: Three versions – 1) F.1C of E.C.1/5 VENDEE, based at Solenzara BA (the only version with the refueling probe); 2) F.1C of E.C. 1/12 “CAMBRESIS,” based at Cambrai BA; and 3) F.1C of E.C. 1/12 based at Cambrai BA and participant in the June 1979 “Tiger Meet”
Comments: Basic cockpit, raised panel lines, two-piece canopy; 2200 liter (581 gallon) centerline drop tank; two short-range Matra R.550 Magic heat-seeking air-to-air missiles; two medium-range Matra R.530 air-to-air missiles (with infra-red or semi-active radar guidance); separate dive brakes; above average landing gear detail
History
The Mirage F.1C succeeded the extremely effective Mirage III/5 jet fighter series, and had a reasonably lengthy development period; although the prototype F.1 took its maiden flight in December 1966, it did not enter service with the Armee de l’Air until 1973. It was the only member of the Mirage family with a tailplane and without a delta wing. Featuring a shoulder-mounted conventional wing along with leading- and trailing-edge flaps, the F.1 has six under wing hard points and one on its center line for extra fuel and various forms of ordnance (bombs, rockets or missiles) to augment the two 30mm DEFA cannon in its belly just aft of the intakes. It has a Thomson-CSF Cyrano IV mono-pulse radar in its nose, and during production of the C, radar warning equipment was added to the tail fin, as well as an in-flight refueling probe fitted to the nose — for this reason, many photographs of the type show the F.1C with and without the refueling probe.
The F.1C was a high-altitude interceptor as well as an effective ground attack platform, and served in French front-line squadrons until it was replaced by the Mirage 2000 in November 1982. Like the Mirage III, the F.1 series was widely exported. Notwithstanding the significant reduction in the numbers in French service after 1982, since the F.1C’s export customers include Spain, Gabon, Greece, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait and South Africa, it has seen more action than most of its contemporaries. It is reported to have fought on both sides during the 1991 Gulf War, although F.1’s never encountered each other in combat. While it has a lower profile in the Armee de l’Air these days, its upgrade programs for the export customers are expected to keep a number of F.1 variants in service for many years.
Operational Service
South African F.1’s fought against Angolan MiG-21’s and MiG-23 Floggers in the bush wars of the 1980’s. The F.1 could hold its own against the MiG-21, but a number of South African Air Force Mirages fell to the Flogger. Iraq’s F.1’s were heavily used in the 1980-1988 war with Iran, and reportedly shot down several Grumman F-14’s in Iranian service, but they were largely used as launching platforms for the Exocet anti-shipping missile (which proved to be a major threat during the 1982 Falklands War), damaging a number of oil freighters and on May 17, 1987, killing 37 sailors in an attack on the American frigate, the U.S.S. Stark. Matched against American fighters in 1991’s Operation Desert Storm, the F.1 fared poorly, and a number of them were lost in combat with F-15 Eagles. Toward the end of the conflict, a number of F.1’s fled to Iran to escape destruction, and many were ultimately integrated into the Iranian Air Force.
F.1C’s occupied center stage in the interceptor role within the Armee de l’Air for only nine years. Many were upgraded to the F.1CT standard to employ laser-guided bombs and missiles in the ground attack role, along with improved defensive measures. F.1CT’s and F.1CR’s (converted for reconnaissance) have seen action over Afghanistan and Chad. A reduced number of them remain in French service, but significant numbers remain in service in Africa and the Middle East. In addition, since the year 2000 Spain and Morocco have undertaken upgrade programs.
Construction
Assembly was the typical trouble-free Hasegawa 1980’s era construction…until it was time to attach the landing gear. The F.1C’s landing gear are unusual in design for a single-seat fighter in that there are two wheels per gear, on a kind of arm that extends down and to the rear from the main strut. Also, when deployed they rest at an odd angle in relation to the fuselage — a distinct characteristic making it easy to idenfity the type whenever it is seen taking off or landing. The gear were fiddly to say the least, and it took mulitple attempts with two different adhesives to get them more or less positioned properly, and even then the gear canted a bit too far inward. Initially for this step, I had the plane inverted in a makeshift jig, but once the glue was partially set, it was possible to rest the Mirage on the landing gear themselves and allow gravity to ensure that they would be correctly positioned by the time the glue was fully dried. To be sure, I left it alone for a good 12 hours.
The dive brakes were also a bit fiddly but did not present the kind of challange the landing gear did. The final hurdle was the getting the Matra Magic (equivalent to the AIM-9 Sidewinder in U.S. service) missiles cemented onto the wingtip rails without incident, since by then it was getting harder to handle the kit safely without damaging the various bits hanging off it: landing gear, dive brakes, Matra R.530 missiles, and finally the separately mounted ventral strakes. After one attempt that nearly ended in disaster (a narrow miss with glue that almost smeared on a beautifully finished and decalled wing), I broke out the BSI Insta-Cure in desperation. It cemented the missiles to the wingtip rails on contact, flawlessly.
While there is an option to cement the canopy in the open position, there is really no point since the cockpit is not particularly detailed and I built the kit right out of the box. To cement the canopy in the closed position, there is a small pin that must be removed from the spine of the plane immediately aft of the cockpit.
Painting
All upper surfaces of the Mirage F.1C were airbrushed in a Polly Scale acrylic, French Dark Blue Grey, F505236. Unlike Polly Scale’s French Light Blue Grey (see Hangar 47’s full build review of the Williams’ Brothers Boeing 247), the French Dark Blue Grey airbrushed on smoothly and without incident, as well if not better than Gunze Sangyo or Tamiya acrylics. This beautiful color is highly recommended for any use modelers care to make of it, since with care it will go on with a paint brush as easily as it does an airbrush. The nose cone and anti-glare panel were airbrushed in Tamiya Semi-Gloss Black.
For the undersurfaces, the Hasegawa instructions called for Silver Grey. Checking the paint stash, I had Silver Grey in a Vallejo acrylic, No. 70883 — but it looked virtually identical to Off-White. I created my own Silver Grey by mixing No. 70883 with another Vallejo acrylic, Aluminum, No. 71062, in a ratio very close to 1:1. This resulted in a light grey with a silvery sheen, and it is this Silver Grey that adorns the F.1Cs’s under surfaces. Interestingly, the Berna Decals sheet called out the under surface color as Satin Aluminum, which, after some research, proved to be the equivalent to another Vallejo acrylic, Semi-Matte Aluminum from their Metal Color line (not used on this kit, but purchased and set aside for future projects).
For the missiles, the base color was Tamiya Gloss White. In the case of the Matra Magics, that was all that needed to be done, since in photos I have seen them in overall white, sometimes with silver tips. Decals took care of the stripes. But the Matra R.530 medium range missles were a bit more involved. Reference photos show these missiles in at least two different color configurations: Gloss White overall with either a pale gold warhead and an almost yellow nose tip, or a dark grey warhead and a light blue nose tip. To make matters worse, the instruction sheet said the nose tip was black. I opted for the White-Grey-Blue configuration, since that matched an actual reference photo.
Markings
I purchased a set of aftermarket Berna Decals, BD 72-29, that match the kit decals exactly, and depicting a Mirage F.1C, tail number 23, serial 12-YB, of EC 1/12 operating from Cambresis Air Base in northern France, about 20 miles east of the town of Cambrai, and a roughly equal distance southeast of the Belgian border, circa 1978 — as of that time, a front-line fighter squadron positioned to intercept hostile aircraft from any Eastern Bloc country. The decals are excellent, fully in register with vibrant colors and a high gloss sheen.
Conclusion
This kit builds up into a fine, sleek example of the F.1C, despite its fiddly landing gear. I can’t swear to its accuracy, but it passes the eyeball test. Highly recommended.
References
- Encyclopedia of World Airpower; Edited by Bill Gunston; Copyright 1980 by Crescent Books, New York
- Jet Fighters Inside Out by Jim Winchester; Copyright 2010 by Amber Books, Ltd., London