Hi everyone!

This yet another entry to our friend 's @uscusn Gulf War GB: the Heller 1/48 Mirage 2000C, that I intend to finish as an Armée de l'Air bird, operating from Al Asha, Saudi Arabia in 1991.

The Heller is a classic kit of the Mirage 2000, with good general shape but falling short on details (cockpit, wheel wells and the like...). This build has a tight time frame, so it will be a "quick" one (whatever that means...).

Started it yesterday night, I first added some weight to the nose...

More to come (including kit details)!

Thanks my friend @johnb!
I find the Mirage 2000 one of the most aesthetically looking planes (I believe I am not the only one 🙂 ).

Upon engine shutdown, all four elevons droop at about 45 degrees (they are kept horizontal by hyd pressure when the engine is running). The Heller kit has them molded horizontal, which is wrong for a static plane (the Kinetic kit nicely - and correctly - provides them separately). I thus decided to detach them. here they are detached...

Thanks my friend @johnb!

Another bit of the old @fiveten magic on another old turkey that might be mistaken for an eagle on completion.

Thanks my friend @tcinla! It is true that regarding fit and parts preparation this kit can be easily considered "limited run" for today's standards, let alone the fact that its details in the ultra-key areas of cockpit and landing gear (incl. wells) are sparse/simplified. Have never built the Kinetic kit, but looks very good with all key details well appointed. However I think I have read that it has some (minor?) shape issues, an area that the "old dog" Heller excels (not surprisingly though: it is pretty obvious that back then Heller kit designers got their hands at the real thing for as long as they liked and then did their homework for getting the shape and paneling right).

Thanks my friend @yann!

As seen at the above pic, the kit provided molded in 30mm guns have a shallow and uninspiring look, let alone the fact that a nasty seam runs exactly at their end...I sanded them away and carved their housing, planning to hollow it and add some scratchbuilt guns...