COBI Rafale C Set 5802

COBI's Rafale C is a 1:48 model built from 400 blocks, under original Dassault Aviation licence. The wheels fold, the ailerons move, the canopy opens for the included pilot figure and the armament is movable. A display stand with a nameplate is supplied. All markings are printed; no stickers.

Omnirole

Dassault does not call the Rafale multi-role. It calls it omnirole, and the distinction is real rather than marketing.

A multi-role aircraft can do several jobs, but it is configured on the ground for the one it is about to do — bombs for a strike, missiles for air defence, a reconnaissance pod for a survey. Changing job means landing and changing the load.

The Rafale was designed to carry all of it at once and switch mid-flight. A single aircraft goes out with air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground weapons and its own targeting and jamming systems on board, and the pilot can be tasked to attack a ground target, break off to intercept an aircraft, and go back — without anyone touching the pylons.

The reason France wanted that is arithmetic. The Rafale replaced seven different aircraft types in French service: the Jaguar, the Mirage F1, the Mirage 2000 in several versions, the Super Étendard and the Crusader. A small air force cannot afford a specialised fleet for each task, so it bought one aircraft that would not need reconfiguring between them.

The C

C is the single-seat air force version. The M is the carrier aircraft and the B the two-seater; all three are close to identical from outside, which is itself unusual — most navalised fighters look visibly different.

In the COBI range

Set 5901 is the Rafale C at this scale with 551 pieces, MICA, Meteor and AASM Hammer weapons and a newly designed vertical stabiliser. This is the earlier and simpler version of the same aircraft.

Specifications

Pieces: 400 · Figures: 1 pilot · Scale: 1:48 · Licensed by Dassault Aviation · Display stand and nameplate · No stickers