1:48 Croatian Rafale - Generic set + masks

The Rafale in Croatian colors

At the close of 2021 Croatia agreed with France on the delivery of twelve used Dassault Rafale machines in the F3R standard. The first group flew in to Zagreb airport in the spring of 2024 and replaced the outgoing MiGs inherited from the Yugoslav period. For the Croatian Air Force it meant a leap of a whole generation: from a light front-line interceptor to a multirole machine capable of performing strike and reconnaissance tasks alike.

A generic set, not a one-off one

What is on offer does not aim at one particular fuselage number but at the national insignia, aircraft markings and lettering shared across the whole batch of twelve delivered. A modeler can therefore choose a machine from a photograph of his own and not be stuck with a single permitted variant. With a newly introduced type that is practical, because the placement of the small markings on individual examples changes over time.

A print supplemented by masks

According to the name the package combines printed motifs with die-cut masks. The masks help precisely where a thin carrier film is most of a nuisance, that is with insignia that run across the rounded edge of the vertical surface or with larger fields around the air intakes.

The working procedure differs between the two parts. Under the printed elements it pays to apply gloss varnish, let it cure and only then position them. The masks, by contrast, are laid onto a matte and well-cleaned surface, or the paint will get under their edge. At the end it pays to go over both with a uniform coat of varnish, so that the surface looks of one piece and the difference between print and spray disappears. The model is obtained separately.