Academy/MRC has released a new boxing of the Rafale M in 1/144th scale. From Scalemates.com, the original molds were created by Revell-AG in 1999.

In the Box

The kit is enclosed in a top-opening box and comes with four gray sprues and one clear. Instructions are well illustrated and easy to follow, and contain 12 steps for assembly.

There are four marking options for this kit for the Aeronavale (Naval Air Arm of the French Navy). The markings are as follows:

1. Flottile 12F, Aeronavale, Celebrating 1000 hours of flight
2. Flottile 12F, Aeronavale
3. Flottile 11F, Aeronavale
4. Flottile 17F, Aeronavale.

Review Process

This is a box-stock build except for the decals (which I will explain later). The only assembly deviation I did for this review was taking liberties with the assembly sequence to help make the process go faster. The surface detail at 1/144th scale is impressive. The recessed rivets and panel lines are nicely scaled and crisp. The decals for this kit are on the fuzzy side. To me, one of the gray color registers is off just a little, thus, making the edges seem out of focus. Hopefully, other kits will have better printing quality.

The instructions have 12 steps with options to have the plane assembled with gear up, and an ordnance option for one or three auxiliary fuel tanks. Assembly is fast. After the cockpit is painted, you can assemble the rest of the plane within a few hours. Once all the major assembly steps were done, it was on to exterior painting. The color chosen was Tamiya XF-24 Dark Grey. The engine exhausts are painted with Vallejo Aluminum and tinted to add some annealing to the exhaust petals. After this, a coat of acrylic clear gloss was brushed on.

Given a day to dry, the decals were applied. This is where the assembly hit a snag. For product reviews, it is my intention to use what comes in the box to get a complete impression of the model kit. Some of the decal color pigments would start to detach from the clear film once it separated from the paper backing. This got worse when moving it on the model surface during positioning. I ended up using spare decals from my stash, and fortunately, I had a set of 1/144th scale French Navy decals. The next coat was Vallejo Clear Satin in preparation for minor weathering. I use ground-up charcoal applied with a soft brush. Once satisfied with the look, I sprayed AK Ultra Matt Varnish to seal it all in.

Finally, I installed the ordnance, landing gear, & refueling probe and considered it done.

Conclusion

Highly Recommended. It is easy to assemble, and the detail for such a small scale is impressive, and it does not take up much shelf space in the display cabinet. However, I do recommend using an aftermarket decal set. I want to thank Academy/MRC for providing the Rafale M kit and IPMS/USA for allowing me the opportunity to review.