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1/48 Rafale B, Escadron de Chasse 1/4 'Gascogne', Op 'Chammal' 2018. Finished 19/10.


DaveJL

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3 hours ago, Jasonb13 said:

Have to agree with you, I hate getting the seams sorted on fuel tanks! I usually just don't put fuel tanks on, but considering I'm doing a refuelling Rafale, I don't have much option! :)

 

They're a pain, I'm never able to eradicate them without a lot of cleaning up, primer, repeat. I'm maybe too fussy but they really do annoy me! :lol:

 

Yeah, I'd say you're stuck there!!

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14 hours ago, DaveJL said:

They're a pain, I'm never able to eradicate them without a lot of cleaning up, primer, repeat. I'm maybe too fussy but they really do annoy me! :lol:

problem is  those long longitudinal splits.... same tanks may be produced that way also in 1:1 scale.. but most are not leading to those non existing panel line joints :(

 

some resin manufactures manage to produce tanks made of various cylindrical pieces... making alignment hard but joints easier to address :)  I am not aware of any Rafale tanks though (there are some for nearly all Mirage types :) )

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7 hours ago, exdraken said:

problem is  those long longitudinal splits.... same tanks may be produced that way also in 1:1 scale.. but most are not leading to those non existing panel line joints :(

 

some resin manufactures manage to produce tanks made of various cylindrical pieces... making alignment hard but joints easier to address :)  I am not aware of any Rafale tanks though (there are some for nearly all Mirage types :) )

I'll just have to persevere!

6 hours ago, arnobiz said:

If the kit exhausts are not to your liking let me know ;)

 

 

Don't tempt me Arnaud!

 

A few hours done today. Firstly the cockpit, which is any colour so long as it's black. I went with Tamiya XF-69 'NATO Black' to give a slightly worn appearance. Details picked out with cocktail sticks and I added gloss to the MFDs to make them look like they're powered down. Not much will be seen when the seats go in anyway.

 

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That was popped into the fuselage and left to dry. Revell suggest you fit the canards before closing up the fuselage as they come as a one piece ensemble. This would lead to disaster and not allow for clean up of the prominent join line between the forward upper and lower fuselage so I would advise cutting them off to fit individually, like thus:

 

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The BAM update set includes a lovely APU exhaust, which is lacking completely from the kit. Simply glue in place before closing the fuselage:

 

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Fuselage closed up:

 

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Some cleanup needed along the forward join, but other than that it's looking good.

 

More soon

 

Dave

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 Rafale B, Escadron de Chasse 1/4 'Gascogne', Op 'Chammal' 2018. Update 25/08.

More done today. I started by adding the Wolfpack resin nose. As you can see below, it has more defined details than the kit part:

 

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However it wasn't a perfect fit and needed some filler to blend in, nothing major. 

 

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The only issue I've had thus far is cleaning up the seam on the forward fuselage. Revell also have a rendered the forward 'slime' light as a raised lump. Thankfully the excellent BAM set has a vinyl replacement which is much more accurate. You can see the seam free curvature of the forward fuselage and the 'slime' light in the below image.

 

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Courtesy of Prime Portal.

 

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Whilst the seam was smooth, I still wasn't happy so I've ran some sprue gloop along it which should hopefully sort it out. Once dry, I added the wings:

 

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I left that aside and assembled the tail fin:

 

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The sensor circled below is to be removed according to the BAM instructions and replaced with the small dome, shown on the right:

 

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However the images I have of the Rafale B as part of Op Chammal show the original sensors in place so that'll save me some surgery! Nice little kit this, i'm enjoying it. I did build the M version a few years ago and did remember it being a nice kit.

 

On a side note, I gave in and @coneheadff has ordered me some replacement MICA IR missiles from the 48ers to replace the rubbish kit ones.

 

More soon.

 

Dave

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 Rafale B, Escadron de Chasse 1/4 'Gascogne', Op 'Chammal' 2018. Update 26/08.

A little more done. Tail fin added along with the rear fuselage pylons (just aft of the undercarriage doors). These are actually from the M boxing, but the locating holes are present in this kit and so the fit is spot on:

 

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Coming along nicely and an enjoyable kit to build. Next up will be the BAM intakes.

 

More soon and stay safe

 

Dave

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 Rafale B, Escadron de Chasse 1/4 'Gascogne', Op 'Chammal' 2018. Update 27/08.
34 minutes ago, Lex77 said:

Nice one Dave! Will be starting the 1/48 Rafale C today.

What color are you going to use for the intakes? Not sure what color to use on them.

Are you using MRP paint for this one?

Cheers Lex!

 

I’m reliably informed the intake trunking is the same colour as the exterior of the airframe, so I’ll be doing them FS36231 Dark Ghost Grey as this, to me, looks to be the closest in shade to the Armée de l'air jets, whereas the Naval version looks to be darker.

 

MRP are my go to these days!

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More done today, firstly with the excellent BAM intakes.

 

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Zero clean up required, so after a squirt of primer, I painted the inside of the intakes Dark Ghost Grey and the fan blades MRP steel, followed by some black dry brushing.

 

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Pretty much just clicked into place, just a little filler needed to blend in the joins. Wonderful bit of work by @arnobiz!

 

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Vinyl 'slime' lights also added. Much better than the kit rendition.  You can also see the great detail in cannon muzzle in the last picture there. Pity that when on the ground, it looks like there is a cover over the muzzle, thus hiding all the detail. I also added the missing rear RAM panels, again provided by vinyl in the BAM update set:

 

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Wolfpack seats also ready for primer. These are a must in my opinion for this kit:

 

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Moved on and added the centre line pylon, wing fuel tank pylons and some sort of sensor on the intake trunking:

 

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Really like this kit, I've even convinced myself I need a Rafale C to use up some more of the wonderful Shyart decals!  A few bits to clean up and only a handful of bits to add before I can think about primer etc. Oh, and I've ordered a set of the BAM exhausts too :lol:

 

I'm off to Cornwall on Tuesday (everything pre-booked thankfully, 5 months in advance no less,  and the missus and I will be abiding by all guidance. Thank heavens we're not festival goers!) followed next week by the Biggin Hill Heritage Hanger and London, with a visit to Lakenheath and Coningsby on the cards so will be away from the bench for a couple of weeks.

 

More soon and stay safe

 

Dave

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 Rafale B, Escadron de Chasse 1/4 'Gascogne', Op 'Chammal' 2018. Update 29/08.
1 hour ago, Biggles87 said:

Looking great with the BAM intakes, I will definitely be investing in a set.

Enjoy your travels.

 

John

Thanks John!

 

The intakes are very much worth it!

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18 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

Very nice work Dave, you are doing a great job on the Rafale.

It really is a great looking aircraft isn't it.

Thanks mate!

 

I do like the Rafale, looks well lined up beside the Typhoon.

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Great progress Dave!! She's coming along nicely!

 

Hope the missiles arrive soon...German post hasn't returned them yet. So it might have worked out. 

 

Enjoy your vacation and especially your Cornwall trip.

My son finished school this summer and the plan was that we would spend his last summer as a "kid" in Cornwall, but that damn pandemic has killed the plan 😪

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9 hours ago, Marlin said:

Great work Dave. :thumbsup:

I must get me these BAM sets for my coming Rafales. 

Have a great trip. 

/Bosse

Thanks Bosse! The BAM sets are well worth it. Make an already nice kit even nicer!

4 hours ago, coneheadff said:

Great progress Dave!! She's coming along nicely!

 

Hope the missiles arrive soon...German post hasn't returned them yet. So it might have worked out. 

 

Enjoy your vacation and especially your Cornwall trip.

My son finished school this summer and the plan was that we would spend his last summer as a "kid" in Cornwall, but that damn pandemic has killed the plan 😪

Cheers Alex. Fingers crossed for the missiles! I feel your pain with the cancelled trip, hasn't been easy getting it booked but hopefully we're prepared enough. I'm sure you'll have another opportunity to visit soon, all being well.

 

On a side note, found a great picture of a 'Chammal' Rafale B:

 

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Looks like the cover is actually absent from the cannon opening; you can just make it out on the left hand intake as you look at the jet, just below and to the right of the leading edge of the wing. Also noticed in my first post, one of the pictures I posed shows the absent cannon cover too :lol:

 

Dave

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NATO Black is my goto for flat black as well.  I usually only use normal black as an accent to the NATO Black when I use it.

 

This is coming along nicely.  I'd like to get a C one of these days after hearing the announcement that HAF was going to be procuring a few.  We'll have to see if they end up just wearing the standard French AF coloring or not.  I think they would look absolutely sublime in the Aegean Ghost scheme though.

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On 8/31/2021 at 4:42 PM, helios16v said:

NATO Black is my goto for flat black as well.  I usually only use normal black as an accent to the NATO Black when I use it.

 

This is coming along nicely.  I'd like to get a C one of these days after hearing the announcement that HAF was going to be procuring a few.  We'll have to see if they end up just wearing the standard French AF coloring or not.  I think they would look absolutely sublime in the Aegean Ghost scheme though.

Cheers! I did see a picture of a HAF jet in a recent magazine and they looked to be the same old grey 😶

22 hours ago, Jasonb13 said:

Am loving this build Dave, it looks great. I too have discovered (and fallen in love with) MRP Paints, you just can't go wrong with them!

Thanks mate. It's definitely hard to knock the MRP range, though I'm told one or two of their shades are slightly 'off' but doesn't bother me!

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On 9/8/2021 at 7:58 AM, JOCKNEY said:

Apologies Dave, I've just caught up with this one. 

It's a fantastic reference article for integrating aftermarket and upgrades on this aircraft, really admiring your attention to detail. 

Cheers Pat 

Thanks Pat.

 

I've managed some more today. Firstly, the BAM exhausts I'd ordered a few weeks ago arrived:

 

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Much nicer than the kit parts:

 

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Lovely job @arnobiz!

 

A new set of resin MICA-IR missiles also turned up, thanks to @coneheadff who sourced these from a European supplier for me:

 

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Again, much better than the kit offerings (excusing the casting blocks!):

 

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I moved onto the airframe, adding a few bits and pieces from the kit with the additions of the last few bits from the BAM set. Flare launchers, missing RAM panels and the distinctive VHF antenna behind the cockpit. The pylon for the Damocles pod was also fitted:

 

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A few small bits of clean up needed then I'm about ready to fit the windscreen then mask it and the cockpit along with a few other areas, ready for priming.

 

More soon and stay safe.

 

Dave

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 Rafale B, Escadron de Chasse 1/4 'Gascogne', Op 'Chammal' 2018. Update 14/09.
18 hours ago, coneheadff said:

Glad the missiles arrived! Will definitely look good on your Rafale @DaveJL

Cheers Alex!

17 hours ago, exdraken said:

great progress!

those missiles, exhasuts, seats, and details totally make the difference!

:thumbsup:

Thanks Werner. I agree; a few extras really make an already nice kit a little bit nicer!

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