Dassault Rafale M n°12 Flotille 12F

this kit took home the gold medal in 1/48 scale jets, as well as the best overall aircraft award at the 2025 great southern tigerfest IPMS show!

i started this project with only about a month to go until the show, after a terrible disaster with another project i was going to enter. i truly did not expect this one to win. i was pretty surprised when it placed better than the super hornet i'd started working on 6 months prior to the show.

anyways this is an old boxing of the revell Rafale from before certain updates were made to the mold, like the flare dispensers in the back. i hadn't noticed this until it was too late. i did notice that the tail was different, so i robbed one from Rafale B kit i had in the stash. the kit goes together very well and didn't require much cleanup. the forward fuselage is probably the only place where seams are a problem. even the gear doors are easy to shut.

i don't really find the process of weathering with oils to be all that enjoyable. i did decide to try some new things on this one, and took my time working with just the oils very slowly over the course of a week. i think it paid off in the end and that was what helped this one take home the awards.