Dassault Rafale M, Royal Australian Navy (1:48)

This model is somewhat of a flight of fancy; Dassault's new Rafale M naval fighter wearing Royal Australian Navy markings. The RAN-fans out there will recognise the camouflage and tail markings, a homage to Australia's early Skyhawk squadrons, from a long time ago when Australia had operated aircraft carriers. The kit is Hobby Boss, and the loadout is an assortment of American weapons, GBU-12 guided bombs with targeting pod, TER's with MK-82 free fall bombs, and of course, the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile mounted on American pattern wingtip launch rails. This loadout will probably never be seen on a real Rafale, however on this model they represent a sample of the many American made weapons the Australian Navy and Air Force have operated for a long time.

FW-190 A8/R2 Sturmbock (1:48)

Focke-Wulf FW190 A8/R2 'Sturmbock' Aircraft of the famous Luftwaffe elite unit, the Sturmgruppen. Kit is Tamiya 1:48, figure from ICM. This model marks my first attempt at simulating chipped and scratched aluminium panels using a silver pen. Although the weathering appears somewhat heavy, many Sturmgruppen aircraft were seen to have extensive weathering.

Henschel HS-129 B1 (1:48)

This is the Hasegawa kit of the German WW-II ground attack plane the Henschel HS-129 B1. Although the planes themselves were not particularly successful during the war, it is nevertheless an interesting airframe and makes for a good looking model. Kit is built straight out of the box, using the kit supplied decals.

FW-190 A5 (1:48)

This is Eduard's 1:48 Scale FW-190 A5, done up in the markings of JG 2, flown by Josef Bigge. This is how the airframe appeared in France, 1943 wearing overall RLM 76. The beutiful BMW radial engine is exposed revealing the complex framework and exhaust manifold, and also the fuselage gun compartment. The Luftwaffe maintainance figure is from the ICM set.