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Revell 1/72 Vampire


Schlactflieger

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Hi Guys,

I've just bought the Revell (ex-Heller) 1/72 Vampire. The Box says it's an FB.5 whereas the sprue says it's a Mistral. Were there any external differences between the 2 and if so, what were they and which version is the kit?

Thanks in advance for any help.

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Hi Guys,

I've just bought the Revell (ex-Heller) 1/72 Vampire. The Box says it's an FB.5 whereas the sprue says it's a Mistral. Were there any external differences between the 2 and if so, what were they and which version is the kit?

Thanks in advance for any help.

The revell Vampire is a rebox of the old Heller kit. It was first released in 1979 together with a SNCASE SE535 Mistral (Vampire Mk.53). The kits had a number of common sprues (marked Vampire/Mistral) and version specific sprues (marked either Vampire or Mistral). That's why the sprues say Mistral. The kit is correct for a Vampire FB.5.

The real Mistral had a Rolls Royce Nene engine (instead of the DH Goblin of the standard Vampire) and a redesigned fuselage with new intakes, different seat etc.

All differences are correctly represented in the two kits with different fuselage sprues, intakes and the like.

Incidentally back in 1991 Revell Germany reissued both kits and I built them at the time. i wonder if the Mistral kit will ever reappear???

Edited by Panoz
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Thanks for the information Panoz. Now all I have to do is decide which of the 21 ModelDecal Options to do!

It's a fairly cheap kit so why not do all of them! :P

(Says he who has only done one of them so far,,,) :blush:

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This kit was released under the Airfix badge, and I've twice had a go at it, once SFTB and the second time using Modeldecal sheet 14.

A very enjoyable build, with 2 main issues (for me)

1 The 2-part canopy is such a poor fit that you need to pose it open, so improve the interior as much as you can

2 You need something very heavy to weight the nose, cos its a real tail sitter

Not really big issues, just enjoy.

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Thanks for the comments. I've already decided to do at least 3 or 4 more at some point. I guessed it could be a real tail sitter, but as it sits so low to the ground, if I fail to prevent it, I'll put a clear plastic prop where it's hardest to see.

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