SWAP F-35 FOR RAFALE OR TYPHOON?

SMN report:

News last week of continuing delays on the Lockheed Martin F-35 aircaft meant that at least one defence planner was losing sleep. UK Admiral Sir Trevor Soar was reported - inaccurately, apparently - by The Times of London, as thinking about the French Dassault Rafale (Revell kit above) and US Boeing F-18 Hornet as backup aircraft in case of further delays.

Typhoon-N alternative

Other defence specialists reckon the Eurofighter Typhoon-N is worth looking at closely. And who are we to argue with that? SMN reported on Typhoon-N proposals some time ago, and we still reckon it makes a good alternative, not least because the twin-engine jet would need only a ski-jump for takeoff, not a full-house (and expensive) electromagnetic catapult system. The link to that piece is listed below.

Rafale in miniature

And what about models? The Rafale is a handsome looking machine that hasn’t has too many kits made of it, though the 1:48 scale Revell offering is pretty good. For a detailed look, we went to the website Model Kits Review (MKR), which says this of the Rafale B component breakdown: “...it is presented in seven sprues, six of them in light gray and one clear. Revell included a little piece of double-sided tape to protect the molded-in antenna from snapping off during shipping. The instruction manual has 72 steps on 16 pages and starting with the assembly of the ejection seats on step one and finishing with the marking options on step 72.”

Excellent details

There’s more, on the quality of production: “The details are exquisite.” That's kudos from Model Kits Review, and it ought to make Revell pleased. The kit comes with ordnance (above) that includes six GBU-12 bombs, six drop tanks in two sizes, one pair each of Magic and Mica missiles, plus two much larger Apache cruise missiles.

Decals a letdown

However highly the actual kit scores, the decals are not so great, and that’s also pointed out by MKR and Gary Wickham of the Aircraft Resource Center (ARC). So here’s a note to Revell - consider employing an specialist decal manufacturer such as Cartograf for the next production run.

Various Rafale kits here.

Scale Model News Typhoon-N article here.

Model Kits Review of Rafale here.

Aircraft Resource Center here.

Rafale model pix courtesy MKR, ARC, and ’Sisaphus’.

SWITZERLAND BUYS SAAB GRIPEN - MEANS MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MODELMAKERS

David Jefferis reports:

Ace news for Swedish aerospace company Saab this week, as Switzerland has decided to go for the Saab Gripen NG (New Generation) as its front-line combat jet. The Gripen has been a challenger for the 22-aircraft order, in a long-running competition between state-of-the-art fighters such as the Dassault Rafale, EFA Typhoon, and Boeing F/A-18.

Export success

The single-engine Gripen (meaning: Griffin) is turning into something of a success story, as Saab quietly notches up its sixth export customer. For the Swiss, the Gripen represents a natural upgrade path that replaces the long-serving F-5 Tiger, and an affordable one too - buying the Gripen means no cuts to other branches of the Swiss military.

Latest version

The Swiss order is based on the latest Gripen NG, which has not yet been offered by an injection-kit manufacturer - so maybe the new Swiss Air Force order will inspire Italeri, Airfix or Revell, all of whom make Gripens, to come up with an upgrade PDQ.

Italeri box art for the two-seater Gripen kit.

Naval Gripen

It’s a handsome aircraft that would look good on the model shelf, so let’s have one soon please! Meantime, we ran a story on the Gripen not so long ago, with a slant on the navalized version Saab was trying to sell to India - and which we reckon ought to be flying off a carrier of someone’s navy - not least because it does not need a catapult, just a ski-ramp.

Click here for the SMN article, which should open in a new window.

Decal sheet

There are no NG Gripen kits available yet, worse luck, but aftermarket suppliers are filling in gaps on other fronts. Here’s a neat decal sheet that includes those ace canard ‘eyes’. It’s available direct from Czech publisher 4plus in their Mark I Guide range. Other suppliers include Karaya, an online supplier from Poland.

Just for show - Red Bull's Sea Vixen.

Visit 4plus

And also take a moment to have a look at the gallery. It has some unusual aircraft on show, including this power-drink Sea Vixen, photographed in Zeltweg, Austria, by Michal Ovcacik. Click here for 4plus.

Visit Karaya in Poland here.

Italeri Gripen here.

NOTE TO WORLD NAVIES - CANCEL F-35, BUY NAVAL TYPHOON. NOTE TO MODEL MAKERS - HERE’S A GREAT KIT-BASH OPPORTUNITY

SMN report

Eurofighter has released details of its proposed navalised Typhoon jet, and a glance at the details makes it seem the answer to a defence planner’s budget problems. The basic aircraft is already in service and proven, the development cost would be far less than a clean-sheet design, and best of all, there’s enough power from the two EJ200 engines to allow carrier takeoffs using a ski-jump - no catapult equipment needed.

Typhoon-N to replace the F-35?

For the UK’s Royal Navy, the Typhoon-N looks particularly interesting. The lift-fan F-35 has been cancelled already, to be replaced by the standard catapult-launched version. So here’s a way to cut out the F-35 completely, and keep the cost of new aircraft carriers down as well, for ski-jump installation and operations are far cheaper than using catapults. Commonality between Typhoon and Typhoon-N has another benefit too - maintenance ought to work out cheaper, from flight and technical training to the supply and cost of spares.

A Typhoon for kit-bashers

For model makers the Typhoon-N looks a very interesting project indeed, and a not too difficult job either. The main changes are longer undercarriage legs to soak up the shock of heavy deck landings, an arrester hook, and nozzle extensions to replicate the proposed thrust-vectoring EJ200 exhausts. Eurofighter’s pictures also show conformal fuel tanks either side of the upper fuselage, so they will add visual appeal to the model. 

Possible markings

On paint schemes, it’s your choice as the Typhoon-N is a paper plane at the moment. India is a target customer, and the top picture shows the aircraft in Indian Navy markings. Britain’s cash-strapped Royal Navy is a possible customer, for EFA’s proposal looks a no-brainer, at least for serious consideration. The Aeronavale (French Navy) flies the Dassault Rafale-M, but might be interested in the cost savings of a future ski-jump carrier. The Spanish Navy flies Harrier V/STOL aircraft from the Principe de Asturias, so could be a future Typhoon-N customer. The US Navy and Marine Corps are unlikely buyers, but a  Typhoon-N display model would look great dressed in the stars and stripes!

There are plenty of kits out there - we showed the Revell 1:32 scale offering recently, and here it is again, though finished in non-naval Luftwaffe markings. The detail pic shows the existing main gear, which needs lengthening to allow for the extra extension necessary for high rate-of-descent carrier landings.  

More details and a hi-res pdf download of the cutaway at Eurofighter here.

SMN article on Revell Typhoons here.

Typhoon kits are available here.