1:72 Rafale C 4-GO 'Rafale Solo Display 2022'

A coat for the year 2022

The sheet covers one single display season and the real subject is a Rafale C with the code 4-GO. From this year on, the French display coats calmed down visually: overprinted areas grew fewer and work with shape and contrast grew. A modeler thus gets a scheme that is built faster than the older all-over pieces, but which makes greater demands on the precision of placement.

A more restrained generation

The difference from the older years is noticeable in the extent of the print as well: the two preceding sheets belong among the most extensively printed of the whole display line, whereas this year and the one immediately following are noticeably more sparing. The smaller extent of the print is thus readable directly from the sheet with this brand, because the artwork of a given season decides how much of the airframe is covered.

Its neighbors in the number sequence

The number immediately following covers the 2023 year with the same structure of name and a comparable extent of print; both sheets are thus meant to be acquired as a pair and the difference between them consists only of the fuselage code of the machine and the year. That matters for a collector, because by the look of the packaging the years are told apart only with care.

Gluing it down

Work on perfectly polished gloss varnish. After soaking, the decal is slid onto the area where a thin layer of setting solution is spread, and the position is fine-tuned with a soft brush without pressure. Draw the excess water off with a paper towel and let it dry without touching. Only a completely dry surface will take the matte covering layer, which hides the boundary of the film reliably.