While visiting the 2010 IPMS National Convention, I ran into Ra'an Weiss of Isra Cast.
I couldn't help but notice some of his new and exiting conversion kits in 1/32 scale. He was promoting his products and signing books on 'Bill Koster's - "Koster Aero Enterprise" tables at the show.
I spent a good hour discussing his castings and the history behind his decission to bring this exiting airframe history to life and the role it played within the Israeli Air Force.
The conversion kits are based on using the true and tested (and quite old 1/32 Revell Mirage, 1973 first release).
These kits can still be found easily on eBay, model shop shelves, various shows, yardsales and of course at http://www.rare-planedetective.com/ in the $20 to $40 dollar range.
Ra'an Weis proudly showing off his C1 "Navy Agressor" rendition:
The Kfir (Hebrew for lion cub) is basically a redesigned Mirage 5 with a canard mounted on the air intake. The wings are low-mounted, delta-shaped with a sawtooth in the leading edges.
There are small canards are mounted on the air intakes. There is one turbojet engine inside fuselage. There are semicircular air intakes alongside the fuselage. There is a large, single exhaust.
The fuselage is tube-shaped with a long, solid, pointed nose. The body widens at the air intakes. There is a bubble canopy flush with the spine. The tail has no elevators. The fin is swept-back and tapered with a prominent step in the leading edge.
First flown in June 1973, the Kfir-C1 was in essence the airframe of the Dassault-Breguet Mirage III/5 series mated to the General Electric J79 afterburning turbojet and fitted with a suite of Israeli electronics. My thanks to Ra'an for spending the time and letting me check out every detail of the model, removing the cockpit canopy and seeing the beautiful detail that can be brought to life. http://www.isradecal.com/ The Base Kit needed for this conversion: In late 1973, Revell issued the 1/32 scale model of the Mirage III E. Included was a reconnaissance nose for the Mirage III ER version. The same kit was later issued as a Israeli Mirage V and in the early nineties was issued again by Revell Germany as Mirage V BR in 42 sqn BAF , 70th anniversary scheme of the devil’s badge. Below are the various box art's for easy spotting your's on EBay.
The type was designed after the manufacturer had gained experience with the Nesher (eagle), which was an unlicensed copy of the Mirage IIICJ with an equally unlicensed Atar turbojet, produced mainly for Israeli service but later exported as the Dagger.
The Kfir-C1 entered only limited production (27 aircraft), with two squadrons equipped from 1974 pending the introduction of more advanced derivatives.
The Kfir-C2, introduced in 1976 after a first flight in 1974, was a developed version of the Kfir-C2 designed to keep the type viable against all conceivable threats well into the 1990s.
The type is distinguisable from the Kfir-C1 by its dogtoothed outer wing panels, small undernose strakes and, most importantly of all, swept delta canard foreplanes.
Kfir-C1 fighters with small canards but no armament were delivered to the US Navy and Marine Corps with the designation F-21A for use as "aggressor" aircraft for air combat training.
The decal sheets provide full stenceling in hebrew and aircraft designation serial numbers individualy so all combinations can be rendered.
For more info go to his website here:
The resin conversion is listed as $149 and $135 respectively.
The resin conversion is listed as $149 and $135 respectively.
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The Revell model is peculiar to the late seventies having a mix of raised and scribed wing panel details a spartan cockpit (this is entirely replaced by the resin version from IsraCast so no worries there. There is a considerable amount of flash present in this kit, but most conversion enthusiasts should not have a problem to carefully sand this down. There are the usual problems with some sink areas next to alignment pins and ejector pin marks on landing gear and other similar parts. The most important point is that it captures the elegant lines of the Mirage very well and dimensions are near perfect. Some riviting and panel scribing will be in order for this conversion project to ensure to capture the complete look. The main parts utilized out of the kit are the main wings and the two fuselage halves and the gear, pretty much everything else is replaced with beautifully casted resin pieces including the new nose, rear camera, exhausts, canards, dog tooth, wheel well inserts, landing gear doors, pitot tube, complete cockpit tube, EJ seat, subtly weighted wheels plus various small intakes. For further reading and research Isra Cast also has available in their ever expanding range of books the following title: Scale Aircraft Conversions has Released the metal version of the gear and might be a worthwile option to consider given the extra weight that this bird will carry once completed: Paragon Designs is another nice option to consider to arm your Kfir with some nicely casted Python missles: PAR32051 
