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Dassault Rafale M
Revell 1:48 Kit# 5842
Cost range $11-15.00 USD
This kit would cost you and arm and a leg if done
by Hasegawa or Tamiya. It has very fine recessed rivet detail to include the
clear parts. There is detail throughout the kit that would have you wondering if
its resin, injection molding has come along way. Molded in light gray and clear,
the parts are flash free and very detailed. Did I mention detail yet? Revell
outdid their selves in this kit with by incorporating the clear seeker portion
as part of the three-step missile assembly. The landing gear are sturdy and go
together like a dream…just follow the instructions and every thing will click
into place. The e-seat consist of five pieces and when finished looks as good as
a resin seat. Wing assembly is best described as "building it up side
down". The bottom overlaps the top if you can envision that. There are
aftermarket resin exhaust sets for kits but this kit comes with burner cans and
exhaust nozzles that I swear look like gray resin!!!
Decals, there’s enough to keep you busy for a
few hours and they are printed well. I had problems with the stripes for the
missiles, as they would not lie down. I use the micro scale process, which didn’t
work so bring on the hard stuff "Solva-Set". My trusty ole' Solva-Set
even had a tuff go at till I used some new un-diluted Solva-Set, them decals
gave in and snuggled down. I flipped over one of the orange stripes and there
was the answer…it’s backed by white to prevent color bleed through. This is
a process most aftermarket decal makers use. Fit of parts is not the Tamiya
quality but as good as Hasegawa and Academy so I recommend dry fitting and
tacking before final gluing. I only had to fill wing to fuselage join with a dab
of Squadron white putty. I have heard that it’s advisable to glue the wings to
the fuselage first for a better fit. Here is the only part of the kit that was a
disappointment, the intake fit and the lack of intake trunks. I believe it was
left this way due to lack of data and or for security reasons. So here lies a
mission for the aftermarket companies to jump all over. This is a kit that would
look great sitting beside your F-16, F-15 or MiG-29 but even better by it’s
self in 1:32nd scale…hint, hint Revell!!! I cant wait to see the
soon to be released (Oct-Nov) Rafale B, the two seat version.
As for now you have some aftermarket stuff for
this kit all by Eduard, a photo etch set (48-284) and canopy mask (XF-026).
I have both, but you can do without and buy another Rafale M for what you will
spend. But if you must…then get them both as they are quite nice and helpful.
I built my Rafale OTB and the only after market stuff used was the HUD decal
from TEKNICS. Model Master and Tamiya (clear) paints used. There’s not much to
be had for reference material so I surfed the WWW for all my info. Go to YAHOO,
type Dassault Rafale and BAMM!!! Lots of sites and info. I found Flight
Aviation to be the best of them all. I spent more time researching this
beautiful aircraft, than building it. Be careful as to which aircraft you choose
to build because the markings you use will determine your overall finish,
meaning camouflage or an over all gray. In some pictures you will see the
prototype Rafale M-01 in a two-tone gray camo. For now all of the M’s and some
B’s are rolling off the assembly lines in a overall gray. I used (FS36231)
dark gull gray it seems to be the closest color match. In all this is a GREAT
looking kit in and out of the box and for the price you get an awesome
deal.
Tamiya, Academy, Hasegawa watch out because
Revell-Monogram has you in their sights providing more BANG for the Buck. For
all of us jet fans this is the decade of JETS and Revell-Monogram is by far the
leader in the business IMHO…of high quality, subject, and price. Bring on the
"B and C" or better yet an "M" in 1:32nd. Whoo
Hoo!!!
Le
Vander
(click on the thumbnails below to view the full size
images)
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