1:48 Austrian Eurofighter Typhoon generic set

The Austrian Typhoons in everyday service

Austria decided on the Eurofighter at the start of the millennium and took the machines over in the second half of the 2000s. The original order was reduced before delivery, so the Austrian Air Force operates only fifteen airframes of an early production tranche. The base at Zeltweg in Styria became their home, and their task has been clear from the outset: to guard the airspace of a neutral country and to intervene against intruders, whether a strayed airliner or an unannounced military overflight.

It is precisely the early rendition that makes the Austrian machines an interesting subject. For a long time they lacked part of the equipment that later tranches take for granted, and their capabilities were concentrated on air-to-air defense with short-range missiles. The debate about what to replace them with or how to equip them further has accompanied Austrian politics for practically the whole of their service and has reached the floor of parliament several times. The finish, meanwhile, stays sober, a uniform gray with no colorful additions, so on a model it is the small things that decide the overall impression.

What a generic set is for

It does not aim at one particular example but offers the elements common to the whole fleet: national markings, warning and service lettering and other details that repeat on the machines. It therefore comes in handy when you want to build an airframe other than those covered by the themed sheets, or when you are building several examples at once. Apply the lettering only over a finished paint job and work from the large areas toward the details.