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There are some great photos of this exercice over on the USAF website: http://1.usa.gov/1XYNPnu

I have two old Italeri Rafale-M kits that are known for their inaccuracies, incorrect raised panel details and poor fit. Besides, these two kits share one set of transparencies ( read - one sprue is lost ) I don't want to spend much time to build accurate replicas of this beautiful aircraft, neither I want these kits to be in the stash forever so I decided I will quickly build them in "What If" scheme where accuracy does not mean much. The stories: In growing tension of looming Cold War 2 it became evident that the fixed wing of newly deployed HMS "Queen Elisabeth" and HMS "Prince Of Wales" consisting of F-35B is vastly inferior to navalized version of Russian built T-50. An immediate response measures have to be taken however an absence of catapults and arresters on the carriers made it impossible to accept any existing naval aircraft type but F-35B. While it was technically possible to relatively cheaply refit the carriers with arresting gear and approach systems, installation of a catapult required full revamping of the vessel and therefore was prohibitively expensive. The solution was to use STOBAR system for aircraft launch and recovery, however this approach required extensive modifications of existing aircraft designs to provide required trust/weight ratio for ski-jump take-off. Revised versions of Naval Typhoon, Sea Grippen, F-35C and Rafale-M were submitted for assessment. Most of the designs provided ski-jump launch capabilities by reducing payload weight and increasing afterburner thrust however French engineers' approach was somewhat different. Rafale-MS offered flat thrust vectoring nozzles that along with sophisticated automatic launch control system and canards maintained optimal thrust/angle of attack combination before sustained horizontal flight is established. Additionally there was a dedicated "take off reheat" engine mode for which specially formulated high energy fuel from a separate tank in the fin was used that made it possible to launch the plane with full load of weapons. Although being optimized for STOBAR scheme Rafale-MS retained CATOBAR capabilities. At about the same time the dormant conflict in Eastern Ukraine begun to flame up again and there were rumours that the separatists have obtained several ground attack planes. The aging fleet of Ukrainian Flankers and Fulcrums denied manufacturer spares and support was not in a shape to repel potential treat from the East, at the same time dire situation in economy prevented modernization of national air force. In this light the highly controversial credit from EU and subsequent order and quick delivery of 12 Rafales raised many questions and accusations of corruptions. Ukrainian Rafales were reduced capability versions visually distinguishable by absence of in-flight refueling boom. As it was mentioned above, I'm planning to modify RN aircraft with flat thrust vectoring nozzles, Ukrainian plane will bear splinter camouflage. I'm not too familiar with Royal Navy markings. I'm going to print my own decals, so the questions are - could "Royal Navy" inscription be in black? I can't print white (yet) and I don't want to spend extra money on decals - do RN aircraft bear LoWiz LightBlue-Pink roundels? - is vessel name is written on the plane? - no-nonsense serials / other numbers? - any other suggestions for markings? At the moment I did the following - copied transparent canopy parts in non-transparent resin, will use it as a punch for pushing missing canopy from transparent film

Dassault Rafale M – 11F Aeronavale Landivisiau, Brittany, 2015 1/72 Heller kit updated to current version – Syhart decals This one started life as a 15 year old Heller kit. Thanks to the superb Syhart decal sheet No 72-915 ‘Rafale B/C/M Standard Markings’ I was able to rescribe and update the kit. This was a bigger task than expected (as usual!) and included the addition of all sensors, ECM, chaff/flare dispensers, etc. Pylons and drop tanks came from the Hobbyboss Rafale B kit which was on the workbench at the same time. I must admit I didn’t add ALL the stencils provided by Syhart – I could only take so much of minute grey stencils on grey camo – but they’re all there on the sheet if you have the inclination and patience.

Dassault Rafale M Revell 1:48 The Dassault Rafale is a new-generation ultra-modern twin-jet combat plane. It meets the combat requirements for the next century, combining in a single plane the multiple roles that otherwise would be carried out by many different types. The Rafale M is the carrier-borne naval version equipped with a reinforced undercarriage for catapult launching. Equipped with two SNECMA M88-2 engines (each with 75 KN thrust) the Rafale reaches a speed of Mach 2. Its long range, enormous load-carrying capacity, precision fire control and survivability give the Rafale exceptional mission effectiveness. In addition it is claimed one of the best combat aircraft in the world that can engage in simultaneous ground attack and air defence missions. The first production plane went into service with the French navy in 1999. The French Navy have since ordered 48 for the navy of which ten aircraft are operational on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. The model The kit comes in the standard Revell end opening box with a great picture of the Rafale M, tooled up for a bombing mission. This kit has been released before by Revell, but since being used on bombing missions helping the Libyan rebels during the Arab Spring uprisings the FN Rafale model has also been upgraded to include the GBU-12 laser guided bombs and their respective pylon adaptors. The kit itself looks superb on the sprues with finely moulded panel lines and screws and the excellently done flying controls which are only attached to their hinge line, leaving a fine, but perhaps slightly too large a gap at each end of the ailerons and rudder. The five sprues of grey and one of clear styrene are held in two separate poly bags, unfortunately that has meant that the clear parts have been slightly damaged, but this should be able sorted with a dip in Klear or other clear solution. There is no sign of flash, just the usual moulding pipson many of the parts. Due to restriction in moulding technology, the main canopy is slightly deformed on one side, which while annoying, may not be seen if the canopy is posed open. Having looked closely at the parts there is a tremendous amount of detail, both on the surface and with the undercarriage bays which will look great with some careful painting and weathering. The only real fault found was a sink mark on either side of the tail hook, in an awkward position which will require filling and rescribing. The build begins with the MB Mk16F ejection seat, which comes in four parts, the back panel, with associated black boxes and oxygen bottle, the two sides, centre section, with seat and back pads, plus moulded seat belts, and finally the head box. The next assembly is the cockpit, with the rudder pedals, instrument panel, HOTAS stick and throttle attached to the single piece tub. Into this the completed seat assembly can be fitted. Onto the completed cockpit tub the front coaming and rear decking are fitted, with the option of adding the canopy support strut if posing the canopy open. The whole completed cockpit assembly is then glued to the underside of the upper fuselage section. With the detail painting of the undercarriage bay interiors completed these parts are then glued into the lower fuselage section, at the same point, the two holes for the arrester hook part must be opened up. The forward canards are effectively in one piece, with a moulded rod attaching the aerofoil section. The canards are sandwiched, unglued, between the two fuselage sections as the whole fuselage is buttoned up. The exhausts are really well done with some fantastic looking detail within and without the exhaust petals. The final stage fan disc is moulded at the bottom of the exhaust tube, which will make for an interesting paint job. Once the exhaust tubes are painted they can be fitted to the rear fuselage along with the inter-fuselage structure, and rear sensor units. It may be an idea to leave the exhaust petals off until the rest of the painting is complete. On the upper fuselage, the spine aft of the cockpit is fitted, as is the vertical tailplane, made up of two halves and the two ILS aerials. The build continues with the addition of the nose cone with suitable weight fitted first, the intakes are then added, with two parts making up the main assembly, with the addition of two auxiliary intakes and a SPECTRA sensor on the starboard intake. Turning the fuselage upright, the two halves of each wing are assembled, with the addition of further SPECTRA sensors on the wing tip launch rails and fuselage spine and clear parts for the wing root lights. On the underside of each outer wing what look like actuator fairings are fitted along with two more SPECTRA sensors. On the underside of the rear fuselage the arrestor hook can be added to the previously opened up holes along with the fuel dump pipe. Moving onto the undercarriage, the mains are fitted first with the main leg, actuators, locking arm scissor links and the main wheels, made up of two very well detailed parts. The nose leg is fitted with the nose wheel steering unit, light unit, actuator and locking arm. To this assembly the scissor link with its associated recoil springs and catapult arm are attached. The two nose wheels are moulded in two halves, again with very nice moulded detail. The main and nose undercarriage doors are moulded with location pins for open display, the nose doors will need to be split into its three component parts. To pose the doors closed; these pins will need to be removed first. Nearing the end of the main build the nose sensors, in front of the cockpit are fitted along with the refuelling probe and pitot probe. The canopy consists of the windscreen, main opening canopy with its central and rear bulkheads and internal mirror support. On the underside of the nose the last four aerials are added. The final parts to the build are the options for the various weapons supplied. These are the two 2000l drop tanks, wingtip mounted Magic or Mica EM/IR missiles and either launch rails for further Mica EM/IR missiles, or the reason for this re-pop up to six GBU-12 LGB’s, their associated pylon adaptors and MER’s. To most significant part missing from this kit is the Damocles targeting pod as the Atlis pod included in the kit is not used on the Rafale. Decals The single, quite small decal sheet contains insignia for the following:- Rafale 28 of the DET-CEPA, (Test and Experimentations), 100 Years of Aeronavale – BAN Hyeres-Le Palyvestre July 2010. Rafale 32 – The first Rafale of Flottille 11F BAN Landivisiau – February 2012. Rafale 15 of Flottille 12F – R91 Charles de Gaulle used during Operation Harmattan – Libya 2011 The sheet also contains a full selection of stencils, warning signs and weapons markings. The sheet is very nicely printed with good register and quite matt in appearance. Conclusion This is a fabulous looking kit which from what I’ve seen on the web can be built into a superb model of an amazing aircraft. Without building it I can’t see any real problem areas during construction and have only heard of a couple of difficult fitting parts. The missing targeting pod is a shame considering there are quite a few pictures of the aircraft fitted with the pod on missions over Libya. Still, I’m sure the aftermarket companies will soon come to the rescue. Review sample courtesy of

As I was unable to make either Friday or Saturday at Yeovilton I decided to try and catch some departures. The original plan was to go on Monday but when I heard these two were leaving on Sunday my mind was made up. As usual, you stand in sunshine all morning then as soon as these two start up it clouds over.

Rafale M, Pictures from Graham James,

French Air Force Rafale C (113-HJ) and Rafale B(118-HT) at the NATO Tiger Meet 2013 in Ørland hovedflystasjon, Norway. Kit:REVELL 1/144 RAFALE M converted Decal:Hand-painted with DIY decal

Got back into modelling after a 20 plus year gap. i used to build 1/72 and then 1/48 kits of modern jets, the usual mix of aircraft that interests a young aviation fan. Came back thinking of going back to 72 scale but a friend said if I wanted a quick build to have a look at the revell 1/144 range, the detail was amazing, after so long away from the modelling game here was a range and scale that was better then the 72 scale aircraft I built in the past. Anyway I've ended up really liking this scale and have a nice little stash building, the size of these kits is great both on a price level and also on a shelf space level as with two young children its at a premium So here is one of my recent builds the rafale, all comments greatly appreciated, bear in mind all my kits are brush painted (still hoping the kids get me an airbrush for Christmas)