Well it's that time
of year again! Bastille Day and I'm continuing with my Aeronavale theme.
Last year I built a French F-8 Crusader and this year it's a Super
Etendard. The Sue is still the main attack platform for the French
Navy despite being almost 30 years old! despite it's long service it is
still most famous for its use in the Falklands Conflict where it sunk two
British ships using the Exocet anti-shipping missle.
The Airfix 1/48
Super Etendard (or Sue) is a great kit in my opinion. It has recessed
panel lines and options for flap position and wing folding . There
were some fit problems around the wing roots but it wasn't too bad. My
main complaint with the kit is the cockpit which is sparse and the ejection
seat is rather basic. Unfortunately, I don't know of any aftermarket
sets for this kit, so I built it right out of the box. Well OK I
added a GBU, but I'll get to that later on...
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
|
|
The construction
went smoothly and quickly. The kit comes with decals to represent a French
Navy aircraft or an Argentinian jet. I painted the kit to represent the
French unit. (Bastille Day remember?) The markings are for aircraft
No 32 of No 11 Flotille as she appeared in 1999. She is done up in
NATO 50th Anniversary markings. The plane also carries five Kosovo mission
markings. I do enjoy my ceremonial aircraft markings!!
The one non-OOB modification was
the scratchbuilding of a bomb rack and the addition of a GBU-12 laser
guided bomb. The bomb was gratuitously donated by fellow ARC'er Eddy Grantham
and it's about time he saw what I did with it.
Well, that's about it. I
want to thank all the ARC'ers for all their help. This kit was done with
their help!!
Anton
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
|
|
|