INTERMEDIATE BUILD

DASSAULT RAFALE C

Duncan Cooke builds

Revell’s 1/48 Dassault
Rafale C – the single-seat
variant as flown by
the Armée de l’Air

B
orn from French requirements Quarter-scale gusts marking on the surface of larger paint labelling was somewhat
in the mid-1970s for an aircraft Revell released its initial 1/48 parts where they rubbed together confusing, so modellers may wish
to complement the upcoming Rafale offering in 1999, depicting during transit. The contradiction to check references. Moulded
(and smaller) Mirage 2000 the naval M-variant; subsequent was the addition of a self-adhesive harness detail was removed with
planned for the Armée de l’Air re-boxings with additional parts/ ‘protector’ added to the lower a new scalpel blade and the seat
(French Air Force) and Marine weapons to build the B version and forward fuselage section, to cleaned with a flexible 1500-
Nationale (Navy), Dassault’s Rafale a ‘fully loaded’ M have followed. safeguard a conspicuous blade- grade Micro-Mesh pad, before it
(A Demo) first flew in 1986. Surprisingly, the final sub-type, type antenna. A larger box or was primed with MRP-084 Fine
Developed entirely in France, it the land-based single-seat Rafale bagged runners would perhaps Surface Primer (Grey) (www.
was a twin-engined canard and C, wasn’t released until 2018 and have been a more practical option.
delta-wing machine suitable for featured a striking ‘Arctic Tiger’ Care was taken to examine the
numerous roles and weapons box art, depicting the livery large sections for damage and to
loads. Dassault refers to the type applied to one airframe for the check for any loose items.
as an ‘omnirole’ aircraft, capable 2012 NATO Tigermeet as one of
of mission profiles including the two decal options. Workspace
air supremacy, interdiction, One of the most noticeable As is typical with aircraft at this
reconnaissance, ground support features of this kit was how scale, the build commenced with
and nuclear deterrence. There many runners Revell managed to the cockpit assembly. While a
are three main versions, the land- squeeze into its ubiquitous end- detailed representation of the
based Rafale C and B (single- and opening box: seven grey frames type’s Martin-Baker Mk.16 seat
twin-seaters respectively) and the and one clear. Unfortunately, the (known as the F16F in French
carrier-compatible Rafale M. tight packaging resulted in some service) was provided, Revell’s

With seven grey runners squeezed

tightly into this boxing, the self-
adhesive ‘protector’ added to a
blade antenna on the forward lower
fuselage was a welcome addition.

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mrpaint.sk) and an overall coat of

MRP-077 NATO Black was applied.
Relevant detail was identified from
references and hand painted, then
the headbox placards were added
from Eduard’s 49958 Interior set
and the firm’s FE959 Seatbelts
were fitted carefully. Although
perhaps slightly over-scale, these
were deemed to add considerable
relief to the pilot’s seat and
enhanced the overall appearance
of the completed cockpit.
Revell’s instrument panel featured  A detailed representation of the Mk.16 (F16F) Martin-Baker ejection seat was provided as
integrally moulded display and a multi-part sub-assembly.
dial detail and could easily have
been hand-painted as per the
instructions. However, it was felt
that Eduard’s laminated PE item
was far superior and matched
the selected interior colour of
MRP-040 Dark Grey (FS36118).
Once again, a fresh scalpel blade
was employed to remove raised
features, before attaching the PE
panels with cyanoacrylate (CA) gel
– this adhesive allows slightly more
working time for final positioning
compared with thinner versions.
A new rudder pedal assembly was
then constructed from Eduard’s
metal items, a length of plastic  Moulded seatbelt detail was removed  Detail was hand painted and the headbox
rod and residual elements of the with a scalpel blade and cleaned with a placards added from Eduard’s interior set,
flexible 1,500-grade Micro-Mesh pad in prior to careful application of the firm’s
kit part (C7) to achieve a more
Dassault Rafale C preparation for PE replacements. seat harnesses.
MODEL SPEC

realistic representation. The firm’s

By: Revell instructions identified clearly
Stock Code: 03901 where the styrene items must
Scale: 1/48 be modified, making what could
have been a complex stage into a
Price: £29.99 relatively simple procedure.
Available from: Revell, A sealing coat of Pledge Multi-
www.revell.de/en Surface Wax with Klear (Pledge
Klear – formerly known as
Johnson’s Klear) was sprayed prior
to a sparing application of AMMO-
MIG’s A.MIG-1601 Medium Grey
Panel Line Wash (www.migjimenez.
com). Then, Humbrol 11 Silver  Interior features were enhanced using further aftermarket PE items. The rudder pedals
(www.humbrol.com) was diluted were a combination of brass, kit parts and scratch-built materials.

“Interior features were

enhanced using further
aftermarket PE items”
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DASSAULT RAFALE C

“new turbine hubs

were scratch-built from
the tips of spare drop tanks”
and dry-brushed to highlight the though, despite much
surface detail and simulate a ‘used’ ‘encouragement’ and dry-fitting.
appearance in the finished cockpit An acceptable compromise was
tub. Last, diluted Vallejo 28.518 reached, then further White
Acrylic Matt (www.creativemodels. Putty was used to
co.uk) was sprayed to seal and smooth a slight step
mute the surfaces. on the upper surface.
Following this, any
Coming together panel line detail removed
With the Rafale’s conspicuous by sanding was restored
blended-wing design, it was with a Mr. Scriber Black
perhaps understandable that (narrow) tool (www.mrpaint.
Revell opted for a horizontal, sk) guided by DYMO Tape - this
 A degree of blending work with Squadron White Putty was required around the forward rather than vertical, split to the ensured a neat 6-thou (0.16mm)
undercarriage bay. Note that the protective section was left in position. fuselage, which meant the finished flat-bottomed groove.
cockpit was added to the upper Exhausts were modified to

Cold cat choices section before the airframe halves

were mated. Similarly, the wheel-
include Eduard’s PE detail,
with new turbine hubs
Two decaling options were provided by Revell: the ‘Arctic Tiger’ scheme illustrated well section and Eduard’s PE intake scratch-built from the tips
on the box artwork plus an operational livery: baffles (from its 49986 Exterior of drop tanks (sourced
• 118-EF, EC 5/330 ‘Côte d’Argent’, Armée de l’Air, BA118 Mont-de-Marsan, NATO set) were added to the lower from the spares box) and
Tigermeet, 2012 portion. Remember to enclose the added to the metal upgrade
• 30-GF, EC 2/30 ‘Normandie-Neimen’, Armée de l’Air, BA118 Mont-de-Marsan, 2017 posable front canards before the components. The completed
Comprehensive stencil data was also provided for both the airframe and the fuselage parts are mated – I ran assembly was finished
supplied weapons options. Tamiya’s Extra Thin Cement (www. with Alclad’s ALC-
hobbyco.net) along the join to 112 Steel (www.
secure it. alclad2.
The final fit was found to be
very good, with just minimal
manipulation required for correct
alignment. A slight imperfection
at the rear was addressed with
Squadron White Putty (www.
squadron.com), smoothed via a com) as
swab dampened with Mr. Color the base colour,
Thinner. The result was a neat join with ALC-123 Engine
disguised along the associated Manifold and ALC-113 Jet
panel lines. Exhaust added for tonal variety.
Exhausts and intakes were
then added to the main fuselage. Winging it
The intakes comprised two- Revell provided upper and lower
part assemblies, with the only surfaces with moulded, fixed flaps
modification being to blank them to form the wing sections – these
so an ‘unnatural’ view of the mated well and were clamped
model’s internals was avoided. with rubber-footed clothes pegs
Aligning them with the angular until Tamiya’s Extra Thin Cement
fuselage proved problematic, had set completely. A gentle

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 The cockpit assembly was a source of  The main undercarriage bays were painted and treated to a highlighting wash before
added visual interest on the finished model. being fitted to the lower fuselage section, prior to the marriage of the two-part airframe.
 Exhaust components were
modified to include Eduard’s PE
embellishments, while new turbine
hubs were scratch-built from the
tips of spare drop tanks.

once-over sanding with a piece of

Flex-i-File’s fine abrasive tape on
a ‘U-frame’ (www.flex-i-file.com)
was all that was required to tidy
the seams before dry-fitting to
the fuselage. The join was snug,
but very neat, and needed just a At this stage, Revell suggested This avoided complex masking Ensuring any existing moulded
minimal application of Mr. Surfacer adding the clear parts representing and/or potentially messy cleaning detail was removed entirely first,
500 (www.albionhobbies.com) with navigation and anti-collision lights, up afterwards. the PE components were applied
a swab dampened with Mr. Color but I opted to simply test-fit, paint with either thin CA for flat pieces
Thinner to achieve a satisfactory and finish them with a view to Practical over possible or CA gel where more time
panel-line seam. attaching them after final painting. While Eduard’s 49986 Rafale C was needed for final alignment
Exterior set provided a number and positioning. At this stage,
of options for improving the kit’s Master Model’s excellent AM-48-
features, not all were used to 033 Air Master Series NATO
enhance the surface detail of an Standard Refuelling Probe (www.
already impressive moulding. This master-model.pl) was added for
was an important consideration additional realism.
when looking at the overall
grey-finished aircraft, which was Airborne ironmongery
deemed to require several One positive aspect of Revell’s
areas of interest that policy of kit updates and
could draw the eye. re-releases is that many items
provided on specific runners are
retained across offerings. For this
boxing it was the external stores.
These were checked against an
online resource – the unofficial
Rafale blog (www.rafalenews.
blogspot.com) – to select
an appropriate option
that had been
deployed

 Intakes comprised vertically split halves that mated well, so the only modification made was to blank them with plastic card so the model’s internals couldn’t be seen.

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DASSAULT RAFALE C

 The completed cockpit sub-assembly was added to the upper fuselage section
before the main body was closed.

“A long-range strategic
deployment weapons
load was selected”

or supported by the aircraft. Extra Thin Cement was used sections were restored using the ensure they could swing freely.
A long-range strategic to ‘soften’ the styrene before Mr. Scriber Black tool and DYMO Again, the panel lines were soft
deployment weapons load was the detail item was pushed and Tape without any issues. and needed re-scribing prior to
selected for this build, featuring embedded into the surface. Once The SCALP-EG cruise missiles a coat of MRP-084 Fine Surface
three large fuel tanks, two SCALP- dry and hardened, a gentle pass were more challenging as they Primer (Grey) followed by pre-
EG cruise missiles, plus MICA-IR with a fine sponge sanding stick were multiple-piece constructs and shading with MRP-171 Super Matt
and MICA-EM air-to-air missiles. removed any excess styrene and featured moveable wings. While Black. A final light coat of MRP-
The fit was generally good and smoothed the PE flush with the these are closed when mounted 040 Dark Grey (FS36118) and an
Eduard’s 49986 Rafale C Exterior surrounding material. Re-scribing on the wing pylons, it seemed a application of A.MIG-1611 Night
provided enhancements for the the panel line detail was required shame if they weren’t poseable Black Panel Line Wash completed
fuel tanks. In this instance, due to as it was slightly ill-defined in in model form, so care was taken these munitions. All that remained
the parts’ curved profile, Tamiya several areas; the engraved during assembly and painting to was 28.518 Acrylic Matt varnish to

 Drop tanks had PE detail added, before the softly moulded panel lines were filled and  After priming, both ordnance and airframe were pre-shaded. Here, a SCALP-EG cruise
re-scribed, prior to the application of MRP-084 Fine Surface primer (Grey). missile has been treated with MRP-171 Super Matt Black.

Aligning the finished intakes

with airframe’s angular form Additional items
proved challenging, so a best- Eduard (www.eduard.com) produces
fit compromise was chosen and
a series of complementary photo-
Squadron White Putty used to
disguise the resulting step. etched (PE) metal and paint masking
sets for Revell’s Rafale C and these
were utilised to enhance the kit detail:
• 49958 Rafale C Interior
• 49986 Rafale C Exterior
• FE959 Rafale C Seatbelts Steel
• EX641 Rafale C Canopy Mask

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 Munitions for a long-

range strategic mission were
selected, featuring three
large fuel tanks, two SCALP-
EG cruise missiles, plus
MICA-IR and MICA-EM
air-to-air missiles.

 Master Model’s excellent AM-48-033

Air Master Series NATO Standard Refuelling
Probe was considered a superb addition for
the realism it introduced.

Undercarriage elements were completed but only fitted after final painting.
Light lenses on the nosewheel leg (centre) were created with Bondic UV Resin.

gentle rub between gloved fingers Fine Surface Primer (Grey) was layers of Pledge Klear sealed the
removed the mask, revealing the sprayed. This served to highlight topcoat in preparation for the kit-
mute the clear sections beneath, providing a an issue with a slight depression supplied decals.
surface colours. neat and seamless representation in the leading edges of both wing;
The MICA-IR and MICA-EM air- of the seeker covers. this was duly addressed using French finishing
to-air missiles utilised clear parts Squadron White Putty before Revell’s decals were plentiful, thin
for the missile tips and seeker Covering up primer was re-applied. The surface and exhibited excellent register
heads. The former were masked Once the primary components was then rubbed with a 1,500- – even the stencil data was well
with Microscale’s Liquid Mask were assembled, the tidiness of the grade wet-and-dry abrasive sheet, represented and helped to add
(www.microscale.com) before filler work was checked and any which was used wet. visual interest to the overall
the final colours and associated necessary re-scribing undertaken, In line with the process used grey scheme. However, excess
stencil data decals were applied. A before an overall coat of MRP-084 on the fuel tanks and SCALP-EG carrier film was evident on some
missiles, pre-shading was applied markings, so careful trimming
with MRP-171 Super Matt Black prior to application ensured the
prior to several thin layers of decals settled without the need
the topcoat. This was A.MIG-205 for too much Micro Set and Sol
FS26321 (BS:638) overall, with the (www.microscale.com). A small,
paint taken from the firm’s A.MIG short-bristled, flat brush was used
7211 French Modern Jets Set. with a gentle stippling action
With the pre-shade layer, subtle to encourage any decals that
variation of the overall grey crossed panel lines to conform
finish was achieved appropriately while they were still
and two softened from the solution.
Another coat of Pledge Klear was
applied to seal the decals, prior to
the application of A.MIG-1611 Night
Black Panel Line Wash, which was
removed carefully with a Tamiya
87104 rounded cotton swab,
working in small sections at a

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DASSAULT RAFALE C

“It’s a pleasantly detailed kit

that contains plenty of options”
time. Unlike traditional cotton buds, edges, each held in place with a applications of Bondic allowed detailed kit that contains plenty
these have more densely packed drop of Zap Formula 560 Canopy for an accurate profile to be built, of options in the package as a
fibres, giving a cleaner finish and Glue (www.zapglue.com). Wingtip more in keeping with the actual result of the manufacturer’s
leaving fewer cotton filaments (upper and lower) and fuselage airframe fitting of the associated evolution of the parts over
behind – a boon before applying lights were provided as moulded light lenses. time. This Rafale release is ideal
the final varnish of MRP-126 Super clear pieces, but these were for anyone looking to build a
Clear Semi-Matt. deemed to be overscale and On the stand deployed representation of this
All that remained was the replaced by small drops of Bondic At last, Revell has presented a iconic French jet and, for those
installation of the previously UV setting resin (www.notaglue. single-seat land-based Rafale with more exotic tastes, the
completed navigation lights, com) placed over spots of relevant- in quarter scale with its 1/48 ‘Arctic Tiger’ scheme is sure to
intended for the wing leading- coloured enamel paint. Multiple Dassault Rafale C. It’s a pleasantly be a winner.

 An issue with a slight depression/sink

in both wing leading edges was discovered
once the primer was applied, so was duly
addressed with Squadron White Putty.
 A coat of MRP-084 Fine Surface Primer
(Grey), followed by pre-shading with MRP-
171 Super Matt Black, provided suitable
tonal variance for the finishing hue of
A.MIG-205 FS26321.

references A coat of Pledge Klear was used to seal

the decals, prior to the application of
The Unofficial Rafale Blog A.MIG-1611 Night Black Panel Line Wash
to highlight the moulded relief.
(www.rafalenews.blogspot.com)
An excellent resource covering
all aspects of the Rafale in recent
operation up to 2017.
Martin-Baker (www.martin-baker.com)
The manufacturer’s website is the
definitive source for information on its
ejection seats.
Les Matériels de L’Armée de L’Air et
de L’Aéronavale 16: Dassault Rafale,
by Frédéric Lert (H&C Histoire &
Collections), ISBN 978-2-35250-416-0
A printed reference guide to the Rafale
with French text.

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