SNCASE 535 Mistral, 'Normandie-Niemen'
Posted: January 28th, 2018, 2:05 pm
SNCASE 535 Mistral, GC1/III 'Normandie-Niemen' Oran-La-Senia Airfield, Algeria, 1954
Normandie-Niemen's first jet - the SNCASE Mistral, otherwise known as the good old De Havilland Vampire FB.VI with an uprated French engine and (an important consideration with the Vampire which was virtually impossible to bail out of normally) an ejector seat. Like most early jets it only had a short service life (1954-1957) and only seems to have been an interim type until the new wave of French designs got off the drawing board.
This was the old Heller kit from the early 80s, still the only game in town for this type without resorting to resin. Thankfully, like most of its labelmates, it has stood the test of time well and didn't need a lot of input from me. I detailed the cockpit with side consoles scratched from plasticard, tape seat belts and an ejector seat loop of fuse wire, only to find out when I got the lid on that everything was virtually invisible. Doesn't matter, I know it's there
. No amount of material, even depleted uranium, was going to make this one sit up on its nosewheel properly, hence the rod under the rear fuselage.
The shaky bit was the
Carpena decals, as broken as all the others on this sheet but held together with a spray of gloss varnish. I used the kit decals where I could, and they, like the rest of the kit, stood up well.
So, subject seven in the bag. Something big and impressive coming up for subject eight.
Normandie-Niemen's first jet - the SNCASE Mistral, otherwise known as the good old De Havilland Vampire FB.VI with an uprated French engine and (an important consideration with the Vampire which was virtually impossible to bail out of normally) an ejector seat. Like most early jets it only had a short service life (1954-1957) and only seems to have been an interim type until the new wave of French designs got off the drawing board.
This was the old Heller kit from the early 80s, still the only game in town for this type without resorting to resin. Thankfully, like most of its labelmates, it has stood the test of time well and didn't need a lot of input from me. I detailed the cockpit with side consoles scratched from plasticard, tape seat belts and an ejector seat loop of fuse wire, only to find out when I got the lid on that everything was virtually invisible. Doesn't matter, I know it's there
. No amount of material, even depleted uranium, was going to make this one sit up on its nosewheel properly, hence the rod under the rear fuselage. The shaky bit was the
Carpena decals, as broken as all the others on this sheet but held together with a spray of gloss varnish. I used the kit decals where I could, and they, like the rest of the kit, stood up well.So, subject seven in the bag. Something big and impressive coming up for subject eight.
