1:72 Rafale M n°30 100 ans Appontage CEPA 10S 2020 - (Limited 300pc)

A century since the first touchdown on a deck

In 1920 an aircraft was first successfully set down on the deck of a ship in France, and in 2020 the test unit CEPA 10S recalled the centenary of that moment. It dressed a Rafale M with the sequence number 30 in a festive coat, and the sheet issues this decoration in a run of three hundred pieces.

1:72 against 1:48

The same aircraft grows in this ratio to 21.2 cm, whereas in the ratio of one to forty-eight it grows to 31.8 cm. Ten centimeters of difference look innocent on paper, but in a display case they decide how many machines fit into one row. The smaller ratio moreover takes a shorter viewing distance, because weaker surface detail does not give itself away so much in it.

Which model it belongs on

The test unit flies the naval form, so look for a box with a hook, a strengthened nose leg and a run-up for the catapult bar. The difference from a land-based machine is not cosmetic; it is a different casting of the whole forward section. Before gluing it is worth checking whether the nose forms a step once joined, since a substantial part of the commemorative artwork runs that way and the slightest edge is printed through the thin film as a shadow.

The small lettering last

Leave the service and warning lettering for the very end, after the main pieces have been settled. You will then see how much room is left for it and will not have to shift or shorten it because of the festive graphics. If a piece of lettering is left over after all, rather leave it out than squeeze it in where it did not belong on the real subject. The display case then only needs wiping with a dry cloth; moisture would do the edges of the film no good.