1:48 Spectrum Angel Mirage

The story continues from the Spectrum Angel Starfighter: After the tragic and very public crash that claimed the life of Eowyn Angel, the Spectrum Angel Starfighter (F-104Q) was hurriedly withdrawn from service. It seemed that the problem plaguing the Luftwaffe Starfighter was not an isolated incident!

In a stunning PR coup, the French government offered to gift the Spectrum organisation with a collection of Mirage IIIc airframes that they had had sitting in storage for several years after a deal to sell them to a politically difficult Middle-East customer fell through. Although the airframes were not the most up-to-date, they were readily capable of being upgraded with new avionics and weapons integrations. As a result, within a few months of the announcement, they were inaugurated into service with Spectrum. Analysts at British Aerospace spent even longer scratching their heads, unable to understand how the work could have been completed so quickly and within budget!

In the meantime, a new recruit was promoted to be Eowyn and a tribute flight was flown over the original Eowyn's grave. The aircraft proved to be a stable, reliable and economical weapons platform that remained in service until the mid 1980s.