Salute Beauté
Mirage F-1 CT Operation Allied Force / Trident

Zotz, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Michael Drover

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The name Mirage is synonymous with the classic French Delta winged beauty that has graced many skies and worn many a nations’ insignia. However when first seeing the Mirage F-1 it could be easily mistaken for its look-a-like cousin, the SEPECAT Jaguar. Though similar in look and stance to the Jaguar the Mirage F-1 has a long and distinguished equivalent to that of its doppelganger.

Several versions of the Mirage F-1 have served with the Armée de L‘Air since its introduction in 1974. As final retirement of the type approaches, dwindling numbers now sees only a single squadron of the reconnaissance version F-1CR still operating. The airframe has provided to be a versatile platform in a number of roles including strike, maritime strike, air defence and reconnaissance roles.

The Mirage F-1 has served in many air forces and in many theatres of combat. The Zotz ‘Salute Beauté’ decal sheet addresses the aircraft involved in Operation Trident. Trident was the French contribution to KFOR (Kosovo Force) in 1999 during the Serbian conflict. From 16 May until 29 June, ten F-1CT’s from Escadron de Chasse 1/30 and 2/30 were deployed to Istrana, Italy. During that period 14 pilots flew 300 hours across a total of 70 missions delivering laser guided ordinance.

The instruction sheet is the first indicator of quality for this well researched and produced decal set. The instruction booklet is a sturdy eight page, A5, unbound booklet that provides a concise summary of the operations and ordinance that the Mirage’s carried during their time at Istrana. A four view camouflage and decal placement guide is supplied and separate scrap diagrams are provided for decal placement for ordinance items.

The decals themselves are well produced. The colours don’t show any sign of bleeding and the art work is very crisp. The ten different WW2 pin-up style nose art works are exceptionally well done. The hard part will be trying to choose which one to use. When selecting the art work ensure that the aircraft number matches it as per the supplied list. Full stencils are provided for a single airframe. One gripe I do have is that no information is provided for which airframe belonged to which unit. Markings are provided for both escadrons but you’ll need to refer to your reference photos or alternative information sources to determine which aircraft comes from which unit.

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Thumbnail panels:

The aircraft provided are:

• Mirage F-1CT 30-QC

• Mirage F-1CT 30-QH

• Mirage F-1CT 30-QE

• Mirage F-1CT 30-QJ

• Mirage F-1CT 30-SM

• Mirage F-1CT 30-SI

• Mirage F-1CT 30-SO

• Mirage F-1CT 30-QV

• Mirage F-1CT 30-QK

• Mirage F-1CT 30-QA

Suggested aftermarket items are provided; however, since the original release of this decal sheet, several of the suggested sources are now defunct or the items are long out of production. On the other hand, the newer 1/48 Kittyhawk Mirage F-1CT/CR is now available and many of the items are supplied in the kit. Two of the ordinance items will need to be sourced from aftermarket providers though. The 2200L Iraqi banana tank that the jets carried were produced by Skyraider Model Designs from Switzerland though I’m not quite sure if these are still available. L’Arsenal from France manufactures the Corail under wing flare dispensers. These two items are sadly missing from the older Italeri kit and inexplicably missing from the new Kittyhawk kit.

It’s great to see Zotz manufacturing decals for aircraft involved in combat operations. These decals are well produced and thoroughly researched. The sexy nose art will certainly give your Mirage F-1 a different look. Even considering the minor issues mentioned above I can certainly recommend them.

Thanks to Eli from Zotz for the sample

Zotz decals are available from Zotz Decals Website
or Hobby Retailers including Squadron.com

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2014 by Mick Drover
This Page Created on 4 June, 2014
Last updated 4 June, 2014

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