Dassault Mirage F.1CR
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Kit Review
This is a revised tooling (based on the C offered as a 'Simple Set' kit in a bag in mid-2016) from Special Hobby and it depicts the reconnaissance version derived from F1C fighter, which retains the in-flight refuelling probe and seven pylons but had no cannon installed. Sixty-four were built, fitted with the Omera 33 vertical and Omera 40 panoramic cameras, Super Cyclop infra-red line-scanner and Raphael side-looking airborne radar. Although the type has been done before by Esci, that was in the late 1980s, so a new version is well overdue.
Inside the stout box you will find one sprue of clear plastic and six of a medium grey colour, there is no resin nor photo-etched parts. Surface detail is via thinly engraved lines, without any rivets. The instrument panel is depicted via a decal, but decals are not used for the seat belts, so the seat is rather bare. Construction is typical for a jet, with the main cockpit tub, nose and main wheel wells plus the aft section of the exhaust all contained within the fuselage halves. The entire nose region is separate, to allow other versions to be depicted and there are various bulges and other parts that have to be separate to allow Special Hobby to get as many variants out of the base moulds. None of the control surfaces are separate and the undercarriage units are one-piece, so alignment should not be an issue. The wing pylons have various sensors pod etc. and you have missiles for the wing tip rails. The canopy is only shown open, so we are unsure if it can be attached closed? There are a lot of detail sets and upgrades for this and other F.1 variants available in the CMK range and these are all listed at the end of the assembly instructions.
Colour Options
The kit has three decal options.
• No.603, 33-TA of ER3/33 based at Moselle but seen in a special scheme for Red Flag in 1990
• No.603, 33-NR of ER2/33 based at Reims, France in 1988
• No.630, 33-CY of ER1/33 based at Belfort, France in 1999.
The decal sheet is beautifully printed by Cartograf and it includes all the unique markings as well as a full set of airframe stencils.
Conclusion
A lovely kit, a great step forward from the old Airfix and Esci examples, so one we can highly recommended to all modern jet fans show have experience working with this type of kit.
For more details on this and all Special Hobby products, visit their website here (www.cmkkits.com or www.specialhobby.eu). This kit can be obtained in the UK from Hannants (here).
This is a revised tooling (based on the C offered as a 'Simple Set' kit in a bag in mid-2016) from Special Hobby and it depicts the reconnaissance version derived from F1C fighter, which retains the in-flight refuelling probe and seven pylons but had no cannon installed. Sixty-four were built, fitted with the Omera 33 vertical and Omera 40 panoramic cameras, Super Cyclop infra-red line-scanner and Raphael side-looking airborne radar. Although the type has been done before by Esci, that was in the late 1980s, so a new version is well overdue.
Inside the stout box you will find one sprue of clear plastic and six of a medium grey colour, there is no resin nor photo-etched parts. Surface detail is via thinly engraved lines, without any rivets. The instrument panel is depicted via a decal, but decals are not used for the seat belts, so the seat is rather bare. Construction is typical for a jet, with the main cockpit tub, nose and main wheel wells plus the aft section of the exhaust all contained within the fuselage halves. The entire nose region is separate, to allow other versions to be depicted and there are various bulges and other parts that have to be separate to allow Special Hobby to get as many variants out of the base moulds. None of the control surfaces are separate and the undercarriage units are one-piece, so alignment should not be an issue. The wing pylons have various sensors pod etc. and you have missiles for the wing tip rails. The canopy is only shown open, so we are unsure if it can be attached closed? There are a lot of detail sets and upgrades for this and other F.1 variants available in the CMK range and these are all listed at the end of the assembly instructions.
Colour Options
The kit has three decal options.
• No.603, 33-TA of ER3/33 based at Moselle but seen in a special scheme for Red Flag in 1990
• No.603, 33-NR of ER2/33 based at Reims, France in 1988
• No.630, 33-CY of ER1/33 based at Belfort, France in 1999.
The decal sheet is beautifully printed by Cartograf and it includes all the unique markings as well as a full set of airframe stencils.
Conclusion
A lovely kit, a great step forward from the old Airfix and Esci examples, so one we can highly recommended to all modern jet fans show have experience working with this type of kit.
For more details on this and all Special Hobby products, visit their website here (www.cmkkits.com or www.specialhobby.eu). This kit can be obtained in the UK from Hannants (here).
