| Date of Review |
January 2006 |
| Manufacturer |
Contact Résine |
| Subject |
SNCASE 532/535 Mistral |
| Scale |
1/48 |
| Kit Number |
N/A |
| Primary Media |
Styrene |
| Detail Media |
Resin |
| Clear Media |
Styrene |
| Pros |
Excellent detailing in the cockpit and wheel wells |
| Cons |
|
| Skill Level |
Intermediate |
| MSRP (USD) |
$65.95 |
Background
The Vampire was the UK's first operational single-engine jet
fighter and was the first jet fighter in the world to land
on an aircraft carrier. The distinction for the first operational
single-engine jet fighter went to the He 162 Volksjager.
The weight penalty for using a twin-boom
structure was offset by obtaining the optimum thrust out of
the early jet engines by not forcing them to breath down or
exhaust out of long fuselage ducts. The overall design is one
of simple functionality, with the least amount of weight to
carry a pilot, guns, fuel and an engine aloft.
Production of the Vampire
extended over 20 years in several countries, with over 5,000
aircraft built. Few jet aircraft can boast of a production
run of that size, much less mass production of the UK's first
operational jet fighter!
France not only operated the Vampire, they obtained a license
to build their own variants of the aircraft. The aircraft was fitted
with a Hispano-built Rolls Royce Nene and was built of French materials
and equipped with French instruments. In all, SNCASE build 430
Vampires/Mistrals.
The Kit
While technically not a new-tool kit, Contact Résine has
obtained around 200 Classic Airframes 1/48 Vampire kits and worked
their magic on them.
The basic kit is molded in Classic Airframes' standard light
gray styrene, and is presented on two parts trees. Each release
from Classic Airframes raises the bar on their injection molding
standard as these parts are sharply detailed with crisp panel lines
and detailing. No flash is apparent on any of the parts and you
can see the simple layout for yourself.
This kit also comes with two sets of resin parts. The parts molded
in gray represent the original Classic Airframes parts for the
early Vampire as shown by the non-ejecting pilot's seat and nicely
cast cockpit.
The second set of resin parts, cast in tan resin, provide a new
cockpit tub, ejection seat, intakes, flaps, and main wheels. This
transforms the kit into the French configuration Mistral. The flaps
are a nice addition as the basic kit has had its flaps up and locked,
these allow for the flaps to be positioned as desired.
Two decal sheets are included in the kit. The upper sheet represents
the two Mistrals presented by Contact Résine:
- Mistral, EC 1/5, 5-WT, 1954-56
- Mistral, EC 3/5, 5-NK, 1954-56
The lower decal sheet is from the original Classic Airframes release
for the French Vampire and is rather interesting to see side-by-side
with the Contact Résine sheet. You can see just how far
off the Classic Airframes decals were from the national colors.
Conclusion
This is a very nice variation of the Classic Airframes kit to
render the French version of the venerable Vampire family. Definitely
recommended!
Note that payment is via International Money Order only. Pricing
from the manufacturer is €65.00
plus €11.00 shipping. Orders
can be sent to:
Contact-Résine
C/O Mr ROLLAND MICHEL
31 rue des Alpins
74000 ANNECY FRANCE
UPDATE - this kit is now available fron Design & Marketing International for $65.95. Click here to see the item.
Remember that this is a very limited edition of only 200 kits,
so if this is a subject of interest, you'd better get one ordered
NOW.
My sincere thanks to Contact
Résine for this review sample!
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