A friend who lives in Australia wants me to build something Australian Military. He is not familiar with model kits but suggested possibly a Mirage. I have never built one. Is there one out there that is decent OOB that isnt too labor intensive? I dont think he is looking for a musuem piece. Thanks
Which Mirage variant are you looking to build? Mirage is a manufacturer that has build MANY different aircraft.
Get the Academy Mirage III it’s cheap, well engineered and easy to build. And the Aussies used it. I’m surprised he does not want an F-111.
The Academy Mirage is a clone of the old Fujimi kit. It is decent enough. but lacking detail in many areas. They make a Mitage IIIC and Mirage IIIR varaints. In 1/48, hands down the best kits out there are the Eduard and Hobby Boss kits. But again they are the Mirage IIIC. If he wants a Mirage IIIO, the Australian version, in 1/48 he has to get the ESCI kit, which was reissued by Italeri. It also is an older kit, and lacking detail.
If you’re doing an Aussie Mirage, be aware that the Aussie Mirage IIIO was essentially a Mirage IIIE, which, compared to a IIIC, had a “plug” inserted to lengthen the nose, As a result, the cockpit sits slightly further forward. The difference is slight, but noticeable.
There’s not many candidates for a IIIE in 1/48 - Italeri (ex ESCI) is the only one I know of which should be readily available.
Ah stikpusher, I was thinking of the Hobbyboss kit not the Academy one, I completely forgot, I suppose it would have been wrong anyway but that’s what I was thinking of, no idea why I said Academy.
I built the Hobbyboss 3 cz and it has very nice crisp detail. The fit is OK, but a little work is needed on the long wingroots…nothing major though
Here is mine I did this year.(no hijack indented)
The Academy kit is really bare 
Theuns
Here is the ESCI Mirage IIIE kit that I modified into a IIIEA for comparison
