This is a new publication from Mushroom Models Publications. The book opens with a brief description of the operational use of the Mirage III/5 family of aircraft. Like the F-104 Starfighter, the F-4 Phantom and the MiG-21, the Mirage III/5 was widely exported to nations around the world ranging from Argentina to Zaire and has participated in many conflicts over the years, in some cases on both sides of the fight. There is also a note from the author about the profiles he included, which are intended to illustrate aircraft from the nations that flew Mirages. Most of the schemes are for operational aircraft with a few commemorative schemes and test aircraft included as well. Each page has a side profile of one aircraft with a brief description listing the unit it was assigned to, the date of the image, the colors and weapons depicted. The names of the colors are generic, so a modeler will need to do some more research to determine the exact colors.

The profiles are strictly limited to paint schemes and markings, there are no drawings of any aircraft parts or details. One downside of the book is that there are no overhead views showing the full paint scheme for any of the aircraft, which I found disappointing as several of the schemes were new to me and I would like to have gotten a better feel for the full scheme, such as the Egyptian Air Force one with ID markings and the . However, the author’s note makes it clear that his intent is to introduce the reader to quite a lot of paint schemes, not to provide full detail of them. As a result, this is not a book for someone looking for reference material to super-detail a Mirage III/5 or to provide the full color scheme, there are other books for that purpose. However, if you are looking to build a Mirage III/5 that is different from the standard French Air Force scheme, this book offers plenty of interesting options.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Mirage III/5 family and wants to get inspiration to paint something different.

Thank you to Mushroom Model Publications for the review sample and to IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it.