Mirage 4000 by Modelsvit

1/72 scale
Kit No. 72053
Retail: $49.99
Decals: Two versions – Prototype in original test aircraft colors, Le Bourget Air Museum; and prototype in desert camouflage scheme of U.S. Tan and Pale Stone over Light Blue for demonstration flight before delegation of Saudi Arabian officials, 1987
Comments: Engraved panel lines and recessed rivet details; highly detailed cockpit and landing gear with an optional position canopy, boxed-in wheel wells, full complement of heat-seeking air-to-air missiles, drop tanks and laser guided bombs; photo etch details

History

The Mirage 4000, first flown on March 4, 1979 with test pilot Jean-Marie Saget at the controls, was the result of a project by Dassault Aviation of France to build a larger, more capable twin engine version of the Mirage 2000, the fighter it had just produced for the French Air Force. The Mirage 4000 with its fly-by-wire technology was to be equivalent to the formidable American F-15 Eagle. Beginning in September 1976, Dassault funded the program on its own, since the French government had no requirement for such an aircraft at the time, being quite satisfied with the Mirage 2000, which was being developed concurrently.

Interest in the new aircraft as a potential export was high, with the Shah of Iran and the government of Saudi Arabia indicating they were prepared to purchase upon completion of its development. In light of this, the French government granted permission for Dassault to install a pair of Snecma M53 turbojets in the Mirage 4000 prototype. The Snecma M53 was also the powerplant of the Mirage 2000 (in single engine configuration), and with two of them, the Mirage 4000 was quite fast, with a power-to-weight ratio of greater than 1:1 — much like the F-15.

The new design exceeded Mach 2 on its sixth test flight. Subsequent flights indicated that it could maintain this speed longer than contemporary fighters. The Mirage 4000 carried three times the fuel load of the Mirage 2000, giving it a greater combat radius. Dassault anticipated that it would be more than an effective interceptor; it would also be a highly capable strike aircraft, with eleven external hard points enabling it to carry 18,000 pounds of ordnance in addition to its two 30mm DEFA cannon. The Mirage 4000 was in short, an impressive aircraft with formidable capabilities…but it would never enter service.

The Mirage 4000 was the first aircraft to have a tail made of a carbon coated composite, which doubled as a fuel tank. It also had a full bubble canopy, unlike all prior Mirage fighters, and the same state-of-the-art RDM radar as the Mirage 2000, with more sophisticated upgrades anticipated as they were developed. Dassault had reason to anticipate brisk sales, given the litany of the Mirage 4000’s capabilities and the pending orders from Iran and Saudi Arabia, which might well have triggered orders from the French government itself. There were rumors that the Armee de l’Air was considering purchasing 50 aircraft to replace its nuclear-capable Mirage IV strike aircraft.

But world events would soon wreck the Mirage 4000’s prospects. In January 1979, the Shah of Iran was deposed as the Ayatollah Khomeini took power at the head of a fundamentalist Islamic regime, torpedoing the planned sales of the 4000 to Iran. Following Ronald Reagan’s election as U.S. President in November 1980, he changed American export policy, clearing the way for F-15 sales to Saudi Arabia (a key motivation in the Saudis’ purchase of the Mirage 4000 had been the unavailability of the F-15 during Jimmy Carter’s Administration). With its chief foreign buyers, both relatively wealthy nations, now eliminated, the Mirage 4000’s future was in jeopardy, given that it was a high-end, expensive and advanced fighter whose export prospects evaporated almost overnight.

Dassault staged several demonstration flights intended to generate orders over the next few years, but by 1983 reluctantly threw in the towel. By the mid-1980’s, the F-15 sales Saudi Arabia disturbed the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S. Congress, prompting the Saudis to diversify their fighter force, and Dassault entered talked with them once again, hoping to sell the Mirage 4000 at long last. But they were beaten out by British Aerospace who were first to procure from the Saudis a large order for the Panavia Tornado. The final flight of the Mirage 4000 was on January 8, 1988. It is now on display at Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace (the National Air and Space Museum of France) at the site of the former Le Bourget airport just outside Paris.

The Kit

Modelsvit’s Mirage 4000 is injection molded in grey plastic and is presented on 10 sprues. It consists of 169 parts, including 5 clear parts for the canopy and navigation lights. In addition, there is a photo-etch fret providing metal detail parts for instrument panels and seat straps in the cockpit, external blade antennae, and other details. The cockpit is highly detailed with a 7-part ejection seat, not including the metal seat straps, and an instrument panel hood with exquisite raised detail. The main and side instrument panels have PE faces, and there is a detailed control yoke.

An interesting aspect of this kit is the canards positioned near the jet intakes that are reminiscent of the later Dassault Rafale (the Rafale A took its maiden flight about 7 years after that of the Mirage 4000, so it is not unreasonable to assume the later influenced the lines of the Rafale to a degree).

The jet engine nozzles feature separate intake fans, separate collars and burner cans, making for a 9-part assembly. There are boxed-in wheel wells for the main and nose landing gear, all of which must be assembled with parts bearing raised details for the well interiors. The landing gear themselves are quite detailed, the nose gear alone consisting of 8 parts. The wheels are nicely detailed and bear radial tread, and the landing gear doors have the same painstaking interior detail seen in the well interiors.

Modelers will have a choice of whether to depict the cockpit open or closed, since there are parts to show the canopy in either position. Ordnance includes a total of six Matra Magic R.550 air-to-air missiles (comparable to the American AIM-9 Sidewinder), two laser guided bombs, two long-range missiles of an unknown type, two large drop tanks, and a missile that looks similar to a Nord AA-20 air-to-air missile — but this seems unlikely since this missile was reportedly phased out by the French in 1960. Still, it bears a strong resemblance, and since the instructions provide no real details on the ordnance, individual modelers’ research skills will come into play.

Finally, there are two likewise unidentified smaller pods that could be rocket pods or some kind of electronic countermeasure equipment. Naturally all this ordnance cannot be carried at once, and there is a detailed schematic on page 10 of the instructions to help modelers select an appropriate weapons load.

Markings

The kit decals include markings for two paint schemes worn by the lone prototype at different times. The first is for the prototype in its original test aircraft colors, overall white with a black anti-glare panel on the nose and a series of slender red and blue flashes. This version can be seen on the Mirage 4000 at Le Bourget Air Museum outside Paris. The second if for the prototype painted in a desert camouflage scheme of U.S. Tan and Pale Stone over Light Blue for a demonstration flight before delegation of Saudi Arabian officials in 1987. Color plates are provided for both versions, indicating Humbrol colors and providing a guide as to the location of underwing stores.

Conclusion

This is a highly detailed kit of what would have been a superb interceptor and strike aircraft, representing a splendid sword that the Armee de l’Air was sadly destined never to wield. A large and powerful interceptor, it is in the class of the F-15 Eagle, but also the what-might-have-been class of the Avro CF-105 Arrow. Very highly recommended.

References

• militarymatters.online/forgotten aircraft
• dassault-aviation.com