#7 Dassault Rafale

Cockpit ready, no time to wait for tweaks so I went ahead with what's in the box... 

A semi-successful experiment on the main screen... 

The fit is good except for the panel cover which presses the controller and lever, giving a slight inward tilt. 

The fit appears from the dry fit to be seamless on the fuselage. 

A bit of "what if" on the consoles since there aren't that many switches on the Rafale. 

The HUD is soooo fat (!!) maybe I should have put a piece of gelatin or something. Revell does not use this particular one anyway and suggests another stubby and round one that it has on the same sprue tab, WWII type... 

Painting inside and outside was done based on photo references, since Revell's instructions give a curiously colorful result. For example, he gives the levers in black and white... (The base is white (!!) and the control is black) 

The wheel bays were installed and the fuselage closed with very good fit. 

Since visibility (will) be limited, I thought the bare essentials would be enough. 

The whole arsenal on the bench. With the patience of a 60-something mother crocheting a daughter's dowry, I try to erase the join lines. 

The marks will need putty... 

In the meantime... 

It looks like a plane now. The assembly revealed even more spots needing filling and sanding. Maybe too many! 

Time for the engines. 

 

The engine bays needed sanding for them to fit. 

Dry fit to be sure... 

I think i did a very bad job painting the exhausts! Not happy at all... I will address the problem later.