http://www.FineScale.com 53O
ne of the earliest jet fighter
designs, de Havilland’s Vampire
is pretty well-known and rea-
sonably well-represented in the
modeling world. However, the re-engined
French version made by SNCASE, the SE
535 Mistral, is less well-known.
Azur-FrRom is known for re-boxing
Special Hobby kits with new parts and
decals for French versions. To make the
Mistral, 11 injection-molded plastic parts
were added to Special Hobby’s Vampire,
along with a nice resin ejection seat.
All the marking options are essentially
the same — silver overall — with either red
or yellow trim. A nice sheet of decals with
comprehensive stencils provide the major
markings, but the builder is on their own
for the trim.
The instructions were clear about which
parts to replace for the Mistral, but they
were less than clear in some cases about the
placement of those parts. For example, the
instructions suggest a vague position for a
side console (Part B47) that ended up
interfering with the instrument panel. I
trimmed the bottom of the instrument
panel to get it to fit the floor, a consequence
of the Mistral specific parts I assume.
The instructions make no mention of
removing the seat mounts on the floor of
the cockpit. Left in place, they force the
ejection seat up which pushes the canopy
out of alignment. (I had to carefully remove
them with a chisel after I discovered this
late in the build.)
The separate nose allows the builder to
add nose weight after most assembly is
complete. You will need as much as you can
pack in — maybe slightly more; adding
some in the front of the included drop
tanks may be a good idea.
The lower fuselage half has clever addi-
tions for the intake trunks that fit very welland prevent a see-through look.
The boom assemblies and stabilizer
came together without issues. Squaring off
the mating surfaces on the fuselage
improved the booms fit, but filler was still
needed. I didn’t care for the poorly fitting
clear wingtips, but I appreciate the idea.
The lower left wing is missing a landing
light that shows up in the painting instruc-
tions. I quickly formed a depression with a
drill bit and filled it with Micro Krystal
Klear to replicate it.
After painting and masking the yellow
trim, I sprayed the entire plane with Testors
enamel steel (not Metalizer) to achieve the
painted silver finish of the real Mistral. I
applied the decals using the placement
guide in the instructions; much of the time
was spent placing the many stencils.
Azur-FrRom has supplied modelers
with a unique take on the familiar Vampire
that’s easy to build and has very nice decals.
Take care with fit and adjust for the miss-
ing information in the instructions and
you’ll have a trouble-free build.- Chuck Davis
Azur-FrRom SNCASE
SE 535 Mistral
too big and does not match the ammo
chute on the roof or the ammo tray on the
machine gun. Do not mount the turret
until the end of the build as it clicks in
place and cannot be removed.
One marking choice is provided for a
vehicle of the 2nd Calvary Regiment, how-
ever, there are extra vehicle names on the
decal sheet — check your references. I
painted it with Vallejo and Tamiya acrylics.
Images show the vision blocks to be a light
purplish color, which I tried unsuccessfully
to mix it with Tamiya clear paints. I used
clear blue as recommended.
The decals were easy to position on the
model over a gloss coat, but there was a
small amount of silvering and the carrier
film was visible under the flat coat.
Detailing is strong on the Panda kit and
really comes to light when weathering is
complete. It took me 45 hours to finish this
model with a lot of the time spent on those
small turret bolts.
Other than the wheels, error-filled
directions, and headlight assemblies, this
model would be suitable for any intermedi-
ate modeler. But be sure to test fit and take
your time. Advanced modelers may wish to
add the missing anti-slip texture to the hull
and turret as well as add straps along the
hull’s side that is present in internet photos.
- Mike Scharf
Kit: No. FR0041 Scale: 1/72
Mfr.: Azur-FrRom, frrom.com
Price: $21 Comments: Injection-
molded, 82 parts (1 resin), decals
Pros: Decent fit; clever molding of intake
trunks Cons: Instructions neglect
removal of tabs on interior; poor place-
ment diagrams for interior