"What If..." Rafale Camouflages

Gallery Article by David W. Aungst

 

Background
I recently purchased the 1/48th s
cale Rafale-B kit by Revell. It is every bit as nice of a kit as the Rafale-M was (no surprise in that). It is also every bit as unhelpful at describing the proper colors to paint the model. In a fit of annoyance, I started thinking to myself, "Why not pick my own colors?"

Then I remembered the time some years back when the US Navy leased Kfir aircraft from the Israelis. Wouldn't it be neat if they did it again using the Rafale? What an aggressor aircraft the Rafale would make! Of course, if the US military bought or leased the Rafale, it would have to have a designation assigned. The Kfir became known as the F-21. To give me something to quote, I decided to call this the Whatifjet. I picked the F-55B as its designation. The F-55A would presumably be assigned to a single-seat variant.

The idea continued to grow in my mind to the point that I decided to render a digital diagram of the aircraft in a current NSAWC camouflage. I scanned the kit's decal instructions to get a suitable four-view drawing of the Rafale. I cleaned up the image on my computer to remove all the decal instructions so that I was left with only the aircraft in the diagram. Then, I started adding colors to create one of my favorite NSAWC camouflages -- what I call the Blue / Gray Scheme below.

Once the initial diagram was completed, I converted it into GIF format. This file format allows access to the color pallet of the image so that I could swap in new colors for the camouflage without having to actually modify the image. It is a simple process and yielded quite a few permutations to the original camouflage diagram.

Then I decided to do a couple new, different patterns. The Tan Tiger Scheme was the first new pattern I created. I also swapped colors on this one to create a few permutations. I was having a blast with this!

I really like the blue splinter camouflage from the F-14 and F-18 at NSAWC. My next new pattern involved creation of that one. Then, the NSAWC people have a standard permutation of the blue splinter scheme that uses all tan colors. I created this easily by swapping colors and found it to be possibly the most pleasing to look at, yet.

Another new pattern was for the Desert (Asia Minor) Scheme. I have always liked this combination of colors on any aircraft. Don't ask me why. Unfortunately, the pattern for this did not lend itself well to many other color combinations. Not to worry, I was already building up quite a collection without having multiple versions of this pattern.

At this point, Steve posted on ARC a selection of photos from a recent Israeli Model Show. In this selection of photos was someone else's "What If..." Rafale in Israeli colors. I liked the colors on the airframe and decided to create one for myself in the diagrams.

With a little manipulation of the pattern I created on the Israeli Scheme, I came up with a S.E.Asian Scheme. Swapping colors on the S.E.Asian scheme provided the traditional USAF Grape and Ghost schemes.

I can hear the question coming already, "Why have I gone to all this trouble?" Well, to start with, I like graphic arts as much as modeling, and this gave me a reason to play with the software for some purpose other than creating decal artworks. Another reason is the "What If..." group build project that Steve announced here on ARC a few weeks back. After I got going on this, the thought occurred to me that some people might like doing a "What If..." project but are lost as to what to build. The Rafale kit builds really well and the opportunity to paint some dramatic camouflages on the model might be just what some modelers are looking for.

For decals on these aircraft, look to the assorted SuperScale and TwoBobs aggressor aircraft releases to come up with appropriate markings for any of the camouflages. Or, forget the US Navy and build a Rafale for any other air arm. Since it is only a "What If..." subject, you can defy anyone to tell you the markings (or camouflage colors) are the wrong shade. Have some fun. By next April, I hope to see several Rafale kits show up here on ARC in "What If..." schemes.

I had great fun creating the following diagrams. It was almost like painting models without needing to do any clean-up. I did get a bit carried away on all the possibilities, though. I decided that enough was enough when I hit twenty-four different camouflages. My biggest problem now is going to be narrowing my decision down to only one model. I might have to give in and do a couple...

David W. Aungst

The Camouflages

Click on images below to see larger images

Blue / Gray Scheme

This scheme is inspired from recent schemes seen on NSAWC F-18 and VFC-13 F-5 aircraft. The colors are mostly the same as those in the Blue Splintered NSAWC Tomcat, only the pattern is a traditional mottling with soft edges.

This scheme is the one that started this whole camouflage creation process. I created many schemes that are this pattern with different colors substituted.

Blue Scheme

Here is the same pattern as the "Blue/Gray Scheme", only I used all blues for the three colors. The three colors are the same colors used in the USAF "Grape", "Blue", and "New Blue" schemes applied to F-5 and T-38 aircraft. The US Navy has used the same colors on A-4, F-5, and T-38 aircraft.

Brown / Tan Scheme

The colors for this are one of several variations used by NSAWC on their F-18 aircraft. Similar combinations have show up in the past in Topgun A-4 and F-5 aircraft and USAF F-16 aircraft.

Sand Scheme

The USAF had a substantially lighter variation on the tan camouflage that they referred to a "Sand" on F-5 aircraft. This diagram attempts to capture that look. The USAF version had some odd custom mixes of colors for the camouflage. I attempted to stick to more readily available colors for this version.

Desert Scheme

Both the USAF and US Navy have had numerous schemes that use these colors.

I had already created the "Desert (Asia Minor) Scheme". I wanted to see the colors used on a tighter pattern. This diagram was the result. Not too bad...

Gray / Blue Scheme

Not to beat a dead horse (or get confused with the "Blue / Gray Scheme" above), but I found I liked the lighter, more gray colors in a combination of blue and gray as much as the richer ones I already did. So, I created this diagram to see the more washed out colors on the airframe.

Gray Glop (Light) Scheme

Both the USAF and the US Navy had a standard scheme they termed "Gray Glop". It uses the "Ghost" colors in a tighter pattern than what is found on the standard "Ghost Scheme". It was used on A-4, F-5, and T-38 aircraft.

 

Gray Glop (Dark) Scheme

The colors for this are one of several variations used by NSAWC on their F-18 aircraft. Some of the aircraft in US Navy fleet squadrons have also had this scheme applied. Notably, there was an F-18 from VFA-97 for which TwoBobs recently released decals.

 

Green (Jungle) Scheme

Toward the end of my work, I realized I had very few schemes that used green colors. There have been a number of all-green type schemes over the years. I decided to create one to see how it looked. Again, I was not disappointed.

 

Green / Gray Scheme

Maintaining the same colors as the "European Scheme", I wanted to see a tighter camouflage pattern. The US aggressor establishment does not tend to create a lot of dark schemes such as this, but I needed to try out the colors on the Rafale. The aircraft does well in this scheme.

 

Desert (Asia Minor) Scheme

This is the classic "Desert (Asia Minor) Scheme" as found on many aircraft. Most of the Century Series aircraft had a specialized "Asia Minor Scheme" developed for them, although I do not think any (except possibly the F-104) ever wore it. This is also the scheme that was delivered to several Middle Eastern nations on their F-5 aircraft. The F-14 aircraft that went to Iran also used these colors.

Desert (Israeli) Scheme

I toyed with doing an Israeli Scheme from the beginning of my project. When Steve posted the images from the Israeli Model Show that included a "What If.." Rafale in Israeli colors, I could not resist doing one in my set. I based the pattern for this scheme loosely on that of the F-15I. The Kfir pattern would have been easier to adapt, but it did not appeal to me because it has too much brown for my taste.

Now, imagine the brown area on the tail extended down some extra distance and a huge sand scorpion applied...

S.E.Asian Scheme

I could not help myself on this one. This scheme and variations of it have flown in air forces from nations all over the world. While the US aggressor units do not seem to use this scheme very much, I just had to see what the lines of the Rafale would look like in the scheme. I was not disappointed.

 

Ghost Scheme

After creating the "S.E.Asian Scheme", I wanted to try some more blue and gray schemes using the same camouflage pattern. Swapping colors, I changed the "S.E.Asian Scheme" into the traditional "Ghost" scheme worn on USAF aggressor F-5 and T-38 aircraft in the beginning of their aggressor programs.

Grape Scheme

After creating the "S.E.Asian Scheme", I wanted to try some more blue and gray schemes using the same camouflage pattern. Swapping colors, I changed the "S.E.Asian Scheme" into the traditional "Grape" scheme worn on USAF aggressor F-5 and T-38 aircraft in the beginning of their aggressor programs.

Flogger Scheme

Both the USAF and US Navy have had numerous schemes that use these colors.

I created this particular diagram to see a more open pattern using the "Flogger" colors. I liked the effect.

Gray / Tan Scheme

VA-126 and VA-127 (later VF-126 and VF-127) had several schemes that combined tans with grays in the camouflage. Most of these were on A-4 aircraft. With my disatisfaction of the "Tiger Scheme" in these colors, I decided to try the colors on a more normal pattern. I very much like this scheme.

European Scheme

This scheme is the classic US camouflage where the brown in the "S.E.Asian Scheme" has been swapped out and replaced with dark gray.

Blue Splinter Scheme

Inspired by the NSAWC Tomcat I completed a couple years ago, I wanted to see the Rafale airframe decked out in the same sort of splinter camouflage. NSAWC also applied the same type of splinter scheme to a couple F-18 aircraft, one of which TwoBobs created decals so it could be built.

Tan Splinter Scheme

Swapping the colors on the "Blue Splinter Scheme" rendered this tan version. NSAWC did the same thing on a couple F-18 aircraft. In my opinion, this is one of the most pleasing schemes to look at out of all the schemes I came up with durring this endevour. This will likely be my choice for building when the time comes.

Tan Tiger Scheme

This was the first tiger scheme I designed. These schemes have shown up quite a bit on F-5 aircraft from VFC-13. The colors for this scheme are taken from the colors used on the original brown/tan F-18 aircraft used in VF-127. VF-126 used a scheme similar to this scheme on an A-4 Skyhawk, but with a slightly lighter shade used for the dark stripes.

Blue Tiger Scheme

My first "Tiger Scheme" was a basic tan and brown scheme. Following the lead of VFC-13 and their F-5 aircraft, I started doing some swapping of colors in the basic "Tiger Scheme". This all blue version was my first alternate attempt from the basic tan scheme. I liked the contrast and the break-up of the airframe that the scheme causes. While I have rendered it with a light colored bottom, making a wrap-around scheme would be an easy matter with just mirror-imaging the top-side camouflage onto the bottom.

Gray / Green Tiger Scheme

My first "Tiger Scheme" was a basic tan and brown scheme. Wanting to try another VFC-13 variation of the "Tiger Scheme" for their F-5 aircraft, I took their same approach and created this gray and green tiger. Making the more prevalent wrap-around style camouflage would merely involve applying the top-side camouflage to the bottom.

Gray / Tan Tiger Scheme

VA-126 and VA-127 (later VF-126 and VF-127) had several schemes that combined tans with grays in the camouflage. Most of these were on A-4 aircraft. I liked the color mix and wanted to try one on a "Tiger Scheme". It did not achieve the look I was trying for, but it was interesting none the less.

 

      

Artworks and all text Copyright © 2002 by David W Aungst.