Full Review with Chris McDowell
A note from Geoff…
Here are a couple of photos showing Chris’s completed Mirage – love it! There’s just something about that iconic Dassault delta shape that’s always attracted me, although, oddly, I haven’t build one since I was very young! Having seen Chris’s completed build, I’m looking for one as we speak!
Over to you Chris…
This is the latest boxing of Dassault’s Mirage from Honk Kong manufacturer Kinetic, and this time around, they have focused on the South American themed versions of the classic single-seat tactical fighter-bomber.
The previous releases of Kinetic’s Mirage have all been met with relatively good reviews and this latest offering so far has been no different. The box contains over 270 parts on 12 light grey sprues, one clear sprue containing 15 beautifully clear parts, rather disappointing black and white instructions laid out unusually in a landscape format, and a comprehensive decal sheet printed by Cartograf. The sprues appear to be well moulded with a lot of very fine detail, and the parts seem to be broken up in such a way as to offer Kinetic the opportunity to re-box several variants of the Mirage from the same moulds. This can be a good thing if they have engineered the kit well, but can offer a lot of extra work for the modeller when dealing with inserts if they do not fit well.
There are five different marking options to choose from, giving you a good variety of finishes. There is a painted aluminium version, a medium blue grey version (both were based in Brazil), and three camouflaged versions with the last two featuring in the Falklands war. Take note now though, that whatever version you pick, you are going to have to stick with. Not only do they obviously use different decals and have different coloured paint finishes, but there are several differences to the build itself depending on your choice. This would have to be my first small complaint about the release. As usual, I make sure to look through the instructions several times to familiarise myself with the build sequence, and to start taking note of the different parts used for the different variants.
Kinetic have not made their build process and instructions fool proof to ensure you use the correct parts. It does not take too long to figure it out, but you are required to work some of it out yourself by checking your own references and comparing the build diagram with the drawing of the finished aircraft at the back of the instructions. It is certainly not a big deal, but if you are used to Tamiya’s or Eduard’s very clear instructions, then I would definitely take the time to study the modifications required and the different parts needed before removing anything from the sprues.