1:48 Rafale B cockpit (Basic edition with 3D decals) for HobbyBoss kit

The two-seat Rafale and its workstations

The Dassault Rafale B is the two-seat variant of the French multirole aircraft, in which the second crew member sits in tandem behind the pilot. It is this version that carries the main weight of the missions that demand long work with the sensors and the weapon systems from the crew, and that is why its space is divided into two full workstations with large-area displays and with the controls concentrated into the stick and the throttle.

A casting instead of the parts from the box

The resin tub replaces the original interior as a whole group. It carries the crisp edges of the frames, the fine relief of the seat and structures that an injection mold cannot deliver. The color instrument panels and side consoles come as three-dimensional decals: they have a thickness of their own, so once applied they read as real panels with raised buttons and bezels rather than as a flat print.

What changes on the model

On this machine the interior is visible over the large area of the slid-back canopy, so the difference is obvious at first glance. The builder saves hours of painting small dials and gains depth that cannot be created from the paper decal supplied in the kit. Before gluing, the parts are separated from the casting blocks, washed clean of any mold release agent and joined with cyanoacrylate glue or epoxy. The extent of the package matches the basic edition of the line, that is a tub with decals rather than the most detailed variant of the same compartment.

Who it makes sense for

Anyone building the French machine in this scale usually runs into the fact that nothing at all can be made out behind the glass of the canopy. The set removes that weakness and the finished model will stand being looked at from close up and photographed in detail by hand.