1/48 Dassault Mirage 2000-5EI

Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF)

by Sebastian Lim

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INTRODUCTION
On November 1992, ROCAF received its initial batch of 5 Mirage 2000-5EI, of the total 60 of such examples ordered. The fleet includes 48 single-seaters and 12 double-seaters.

And the package includes 960 MICAs and 480 Magic II AAMs, which gives the ROCAF its first BVR capability, up against PLAAF's Su-27 Flankers equipped with AA-12 Adder. 

All Mirage 2000-5EIs were operated by the 499th TFW at Hsinchu,  where the last aircraft made its final delivery on 26 November 1998. The -5EI variant, is similar to the air defence-optimised -5F, with the inclusion of 5 fin antennas and the MATRA Spirale system.

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THE KIT – Italeri 1: 48 MIRAGE 2000C No. 2614

Currently, there are only two Mirage 2000 kits in 1/48 scale in the market, namely, Italeri and Heller. However, with some luck, you can still get the old Monogram or ESCI's offering. The recent release of the Italeri kit, essentially a ESCI-reboxed, still has some flaws, though it features recessed lines and a good mix of schemes for French AF, Hellenic AF and ROCAF! 
Weapons included were a pair of MATRA Super 530D and Magic II missiles. Though the inclusion of MICAs would be a nice option! 

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Other than some simple scratch-building to depict the ROCAF variant, I built this kit OOB (Out-of-box). This modification includes the ICMS Mk2 system with additional antennas above Serval unit, fitted to export aircraft only. The Spirale dispensers were made from styrene rods and stretched sprues. The radome probes are to be removed as well. New blade antennas were fitted on both spine and undernose. After having checked several references on the ROCAF bird, no IFR probe was seen installed, so I omitted that. The cockpit is very sparse and instrument panels were depicted by decals. I'd also replaced the seat with my spare MB Mk10. HUD frame was replaced with wide-angle lens. 

For more images, please visit the link below: 

http://www.myairfix.com/gallery_rocaf_mirage.htm  

Thanks for viewing! 

Sebastian

MyAirfix Models
http://www.myairfix.com
Republic of Singapore

Photos and text © by Sebastian Lim