MIRAGE
T
he Dassault Mirage III is
arguably one of the greatest
combat aircraft in the
world, as demonstrated by its
longevity, reliability, flexibility,
combat record, and especially,
its popularity amongst air
forces on the front line of their
(admittedly local) conflicts.
Developed initially as an
internal Dassault programme
as the MD550, the design which
became the Mirage III evolved
through several incarnations in the
mid 1950s, trialling a number of
power plant options, and adopting
the new research into high speed
delta wings and area rule coming
out of the UK and the USA. Ten
development airframes were
ordered by the Armeé de l’Aire, the
first of these flying in May 1958
and designated Mirage IIIA-001:
and a successful development
programme which led to its rapid
adoption into operational service.
A truly international aircraft,
of the over 1400 first-generation
Mirages built, around two-thirds
were exported or built under
licence, and a number of others
were built outside any licenceagreement. The IIIBE/D two
seater variant modelled here is
derived from the definitive Mirage
IIIE fighter version, fitted with
a longer nose to accommodate
the second seat, and without
the 30mm DEFA cannon.IN THE PLASTIC
Kinetic’s kit is typical of the
manufacturer; sharply-moulded
plastic with no frills and slightly
simplified engineering to give
acceptable, but not overwhelming
detail. Most of it is very nice, but
there are some odd drop-offs, like
the lack of decals for the heavily
contoured instrument panels, and
the indifferent moulding of the
weapons sprues; there’s a clear
distinction between parts derived
from earlier releases, and the
newer, sharper parts specifically
introduced for the two-seater.
Overall, parts fit is pretty good,
helped by the straightforward
delta planform, but the complex
arrangement of the nose/intake
mouths and boundary layer splitter
ducts needs careful alignment
and even more careful glueing.KIT DETAILS:
KIT: Dassault Mirage III D
MANUFACTURER: Kinetic
SCALE: 1/
PRODUCT CODE: K
PANEL LINES: Recessed
NUMBER OF PARTS: 211 plus 10 clear
TYPE: Injection moulded
STATUS: Revised tool
DECAL OPTIONS: 5MIRAGE
Desert
Kinetic 1/48 Dassault Mirage III D
by Huw Morgan14 • MARCH 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
BY SACCO DE VRIES
DASSAULT MIRAGE III D
HUW MORGAN
1/014-21-FEAT-Mirage-0318.indd 14 09/02/2018 14: