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Hobby Boss 1/72 Dassault Rafale C


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When Hobby Boss announced they would release a 1/72 Rafale family, I was overjoyed. A decent Rafale family in 1/72! Finally! :lol: If done right that would mean the retirement of the Italeri and Heller kits, which do not represent current machines (those kits were released at least a decade ago). The Hobby Boss kit numbering system made it clear that these kits would be "true" kits (as opposed to the "easy builds"). Since Hobby Boss already field a Rafale family in 1/48 (very much "inspired" by the RoG Rafales), it would be logical to assume the 1/72 would be scale-downs. First CAD drawings on Hobby Boss' website indicated as much. Sadly, it seemed that the chaff/flare launchers in the rear upper fuselage would be missing as on the 1/48 kits.

So, has Hobby Boss managed to field the best Rafale so far? In a word: YES!

Here are the contents of the kit:

Box top:

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-01.jpg

Upper fuselage:

The chaff/flare launchers in the upper rear fuselage ARE included! Maybe Hobby Boss listened to the modellers who pointed that out, maybe they did some research on their own. Either way, it's great that the countermeasures dispensers are included.

As can be seen, the wing tip missile launch rail is broken. I ordered two kits and both had that problem.

Also evident is the long cut-out for the second cockpit for the dual-seater.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-02.jpg

Lower fuselage:

Detail on the parts is nicely engraved. A little less crisp than Hasegawa, but still pretty nice. The wing trailing edges are rather thick and may need some sharpening.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-03.jpg

Sprue A:

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-04.jpg

Sprue B...

contains the weaponry. You get four MICA medium-range AAMs (with a choice of either radar- or IR-guidance kits), two Matra Magic II short-range AAMs and two APACHE anti-runway cruise missiles, as well as the appropriate pylons.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-05.jpg

Sprue C...

contains the drop tanks and their pylons. You get two 2000 litres tanks as well as two of the 1250 litres tanks.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-06.jpg

Sprue D... (like Sprue E)

contains parts specific to this version of the Rafale.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-07.jpg

Sprue E...

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-08.jpg

The transparencies...

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-09.jpg

They pretty clear and don't distort too much.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-10.jpg

Edited by ChernayaAkula
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The decals:

The decal sheet is not particularly large, but that may be down to the fact that the Rafales don't carry too much in the way of stencils. Also, the B seems to have been favoured when it comes to special liveries (such as Tiger Meets). So apart from the two marking options, you get some stencils for the weaponry and some for the aircraft itself, as well as for the cockpit. The decals are very much in register and the carrier film looks pretty thin.

The marking guide has colour call-outs for a number of different brands.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-11.jpg

Marking option 1:

Hobby Boss has a nasty habit of being rather vague about the units the models represent. #104/7-HH is an aircraft of EC 1/7 "Provence" at Saint-Dizier.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-12.jpg

Marking option 2:

Just given as 330-EC, this Rafale C is an aircraft of EC 5/330 "Cote d'Argent"at Mont-de-Marsan. Pics on airliners.net indicate that #103 should have a code of 330-EG instead of 330-EC.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-13.jpg

The instructions are pretty clear and easy to understand.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-14.jpg

Two detail shots:

First off is the cockpit tub with detailed side coinsoles and a rather nicely detailed deck behind the seat.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-15.jpg

A shot of the detail on the belly. As I said, not as crisp as Hasegawa, but pretty nice nonetheless.

RafaleCHobbyBossReview-16.jpg

Conclusion:

Hobby Boss managed to produce the best Rafale in 72nd scale yet. :coolio: It was about time, too. If you want to build a current Rafale, this kit is the way to go. :lol: The Italeri and Heller kits can safely go into retirement (unless you're interested in a prototype, that is), as there is not a single area where they outperform the Hobby Boss offering.

I certainly look forward to releases of Hobby Boss' Rafale B and M, which are supposed to be available in 2010.

I got my Rafale C from LuckyModel for 12.99 USD.

Hope you found this review a bit helpful. :cheers:

Edited by ChernayaAkula
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Looks good indeed!

The cockpit is quite meh, but that isn't very surprising. Two questions:

1: How are the wheelsbays? Detailed?

2: Are intakes included? Or just holes into the fuselage?

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Cheers, chaps! :thumbsup: Glad you liked it.

<...> What's the story behind Hobby Boss' numbering system? How do you tell if a kit is an "easy" kit or a regular kit? <...>

Kits numbered 872xx are regular kits, while those numbered 802xx are "easy builds".

The cockpit is quite meh, but that isn't very surprising. Two questions:

1: How are the wheelsbays? Detailed?

2: Are intakes included? Or just holes into the fuselage?

I think the cockpit isn't that meh. :lol: The real Rafale's cockpit is also pretty sparse. See the pics in THIS THREAD, for example. Separate stick and throttle would've been nice, though. Seat and the deck behind it look rather nice.

The landing gear itself looks pretty detailed. Also when compared to pics of the real deal. The bays, however, are not that detailed, but since most of the wells is invisible because the gear bay doors close once on the ground, the detail is acceptable, I would say.

The intakes are just holes into the fuselage, I'm afraid.

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Thanks very much Moritz.

I appreciate the time taken to prepare and share your analysis; the kit looks really good and I can't wait for the M (must resist the temptation to buy this kit and combine it with parts from the Italeri Rafale....)

Cheers,

Andrew.

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I think the cockpit isn't that meh. :monkeydance: The real Rafale's cockpit is also pretty sparse.

Agreed, the cockpit of modern fighters are pretty minimal in terms of switchology and detail, and in the case of the Rafale and F-22 it's amplified, because they are painted black. Two questions, how does the seat look, and it seems like the IR versions of the MICA have clear plastic noses; is that true?

Regards,

Murph

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^ Going by pics on the interwebs, the kit seat very much looks like the MB Mk.F16F it's supposed to represent. No harness, though.

Unfortunately, the noses for the IR-guided MICAs are not in clear plastic. They're on the weapons sprue along with the radar noses.

<...> And it provides 2 MAGIC II missiles for the spare box because the Armee de l'air don't use them on the Rafale (only the french navy used them on the first Rafale batches) ;)

Most interesting! So they've gone for MICAs exclusively?

<...> Now after your Mitsu F-1 build you really gotta start on thius baby!

How´s the F-1 coming along BTW? <...>

Lookin' for a fight, are you? :cop: On Christmas Eve? :thumbsup:

;) No further progress yet. I hope to get some modelling done over Christmas, but I'm not sure yet whether that will include the F-1.

Edited by ChernayaAkula
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it seems like the IR versions of the MICA have clear plastic noses; is that true?

Murph

On the weapons sprues, center section, left side, you can see 8 MICA nose sections, 4 IR and 4 Radar, so you can mix and match them as you like. Also the clear sprue has no IR cones like the updated Revell Rafale.

Merry Christmas

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Just can't wait for the Rafale M to come out! I looked over the Italeri kit and found about 23 different discrepencies with it as compared to an active bird and decided they were just too extensive to correct. Glad I didn't waste my Zotz Decals on the Italeri kit! The Italeri kit does come with fairly decent missiles though so I'll keep those and donate the kit to my kid's pile.

Thanks for the review Moritz,

WARDOG

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