Manufacturer: Airfix
Scale: 1/72
Additional parts: none
Model build: My 2013
Luftwaffe Mirage F1.C
Airfix
1/72
1/72
Mirage of the West
0:00
Made with Suno
The Balkan Fox
Captain Erich Kessler gripped the control stick, his knuckles white against the worn leather. Rain lashed the canopy of his Mirage F1.C, blurring the world outside into a smear of greens and browns. Below, the jagged teeth of the Dinaric Alps clawed at the sky, a treacherous maze he had to navigate blind.
Erich, callsign "Fuchs" (Fox), was part of Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen," the Luftwaffe's contingent in the NATO air campaign over Serbia. Today's mission: provide air cover for a strike package of German ECR Tornados targeting a heavily fortified anti-aircraft battery near Belgrade.
Intelligence reports were sketchy. The Serbs were known to have a ragtag collection of Soviet-era SAMs, and pinpointing their exact location was a gamble. Fuchs flicked a switch, the green glow of his radar display bathing the cockpit in an eerie light. Static crackled in his headset, a constant reminder of the danger lurking in the invisible web of air defense.
Suddenly, the radar flickered. A blip – a fast-moving object climbing rapidly. "Fuchs, this is Wolfpack Lead. Bogie on your mark eight o'clock, looks like a MiG-29!" the voice of the Tornado leader crackled through the speakers.
Adrenaline surged through Erich. A dogfight, mano a mano, against a legendary Fulcrum – a baptism by fire he hadn't anticipated. He dipped the Mirage, dodging a jagged peak, and pushed the throttle forward. The F1, lighter and nimbler than the lumbering Phantoms back at base, responded with a surge of acceleration, pressing him against the G-suit.
The world became a blur of greys and greens as he locked onto the MiG. Both planes weaved through the treacherous valleys, a deadly ballet at breakneck speed. Erich squeezed the trigger, his twin 30mm cannons spitting a stream of fire. Tracers arced through the air, missing their mark by a hair's breadth.
The Fulcrum banked sharply, trying to force a head-on engagement – a tactic that favored the MiG's heavier armament. Erich countered, exploiting the Mirage's superior maneuverability. He pulled a daring maneuver, skimming the treetops, forcing the Fulcrum to overshoot. In that split second, Erich lined up the shot. A burst of cannon fire tore through the air, and the MiG shuddered, smoke trailing from its engine. It spiraled out of control, a fiery comet disappearing into the clouds below.
Relief washed over Erich, but it was short-lived. A new blip appeared on his radar – another MiG, flanking him from the side. He didn't have time to celebrate his victory. With a growl, Fuchs pushed the Mirage to its limits, diving into the heart of the Serbian mountains, the Balkan Fox weaving through the maze of stone, a lone hunter surviving against the odds.
The Mirage F1 is a French air-superiority fighter and attack aircraft introduced in the early 1970s. The F1.C is the all-weather interceptor variant of the Mirage F1 aircraft.
The Luftwaffe introduced the F4 Phantom II as its main fighter aircraft between 1973-1975, a total of 175 aircraft were bought. In need of a lighter, smaller fighter plane the Luftwaffe tested different other aircraft, and decided in 1978 to buy the Mirage F1.C as the light fighter alternative.
Like the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, which entered Luftwaffe services at the same time, the German used Mirages were build at Dornier. A total of 125 aircraft were build ans assigned to the various Jagtgeschwader of the Luftwaffe.
A typical Jagdgeschwader constisted of two squadrons of F4-Phantom II and one squadron of Mirage F1.C.
After the end of the cold war, the number of Luftwaffe planes was reduced step by step and with the planned introduction of the eurofighter (former Jäger 90), the older fighter planes like the Phantom and Mirage were about to be removed from service.
However, with the wars in the Balkans - Bosnia and Kosovo - and the NATO air operations there, the F1.C went into operation and provided air cover for German ECR Tornados.
By 2004, all Mirage F1 were retured form Luftwaffe services.
The model shows a German Mirage F1.C of Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen" during the NATO operations over Bosnia and Serbia in April 1999.
I always liked the Mirage F1, so there was the idea to build a Luftwaffe version of it. I used a old (1976) Airfix Mirage for it. Its build directly out of the box, without any changes ecxept the painting and the Luftwaffe decals. Despirte its age, it was simple but quite good to build. For the color scheme, I used a one of e Luftwaffe Eurofighter. Additionally I tried some weathering wihch I tihnk worked quite good on the model, it looks as if it is heaviely used. Decals are a mix of those of a Luftwaffe Do28 and what else was found in the spare parts box.
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