KIT:

Matchbox 1/72 Mystere IVA

KIT #

PK 47

PRICE:

Long OOP - Bought at a swap meet

DECALS:

Two aircraft

REVIEWER:

Scott Van Aken

NOTES:

 

HISTORY

 
 In August 1951, the Service Technique de l'Aéronautique (Technical Service of Aeronautics) requested that Marcel Dassault build an experimental prototype, more advanced than the Mystère II fighter and able to reach Mach 1. The aircraft, called MD452 Mystère IV 01 (with a Rolls-Royce Tay turbojet), was only intended to test a new wing. The prototype flew on September 28, 1952 in Melun-Villaroche. The firsts tests revealed a superior aircraft, despite being underpowered.
In December 1952, a significant American mission, of which the famous pilot Chuck Yeager was part, came to try the French fighters in order to choose a model for NATO financing. Mystère IV A is selected. In April 1953, thanks to basically American funding,  the Secrétariat d'Etat à l'Air ordered 225 aircrafts financed with the help of NATO Military Assistance Program.
Mystère IV A proved to be a great success. Strongly armed, reliable, robust and easy to control. A long time after the appearance in service of the supersonic fighter Mirage, it remained the plane for young pilots coming out of the Ecole de chasse school.

A series of 411 Mystère IV A was produced, including 242 for the Armée de l'Air. The first 50 aircraft were equipped with the Tay British turbojet, the following had Hispano-Suiza Verdon turbojets (French development of Tay). At the height of its production, 25 aircraft per month came out of the Mérignac factory.

Mystère IV A was adopted by India and Israel, which used it at the time of various conflicts First of the 59 examples delivered to Israel ensured to this State the control of the sky during the Suez conflict, in October 1956, against the famous Soviet MIG 15.

Eventually, six fighter squadrons were equipped with Mystère IV A starting from the end of 1954. (2nd, 5th, 7th, 8th, 10th and 12th). It also equipped the Groupes Ecoles GE 312 and GE 314 as well as the CEAM and the CTB Test centers. Operational for nearly thirty years, the final withdrawal of last Mystère IV A happened only in November 1982 after the 8th squadron changed over to the Alpha-Jet for advanced training.

 

THE KIT

Who could escape the allure of a Matchbox kit. Those colors, those decals, those windowed boxes. Also, the lack of detail, possibly even panel lines made by the mad trencher. There were things that set many on the road to scale models as a full-time hobby. This is one of those kits.

Face it. Matchbox was willing to kit those aircraft that others were afraid to touch. For this, we can all be quite thankful. I think that this eccentricity as well as the colored plastic was a conscious marketing effort by the originators of the company. To offer what was then unavailable is a strong allure. I know that I bought a bunch of kits from them for that very reason. It also didn't hurt that they were true slammers and could be built in a very short time. The lack of major detail made that all possible!

This one is molded in a lovely light blue and light grey color. Most panel lines are raised. There is no wheel well detail, though they are full wells. There is also no cockpit detail beyond a rather generic bang seat. There is a two piece canopy, though it is designed to be glued in the closed position. Under wing things are relegated to two small fuel tanks. At least that is what they look like, though they may also be rocket pods. I'm really not sure.

As with all of these Matchbox kits, the painting guide is somewhat unique. It is provided separate from the building process and shows what various bits and pieces need to be painted. Colors are generic. There are markings for two planes and the back of the box shows them in color. These are repeated in the instructions and the first one is the box art plane from EC 2/12 in 1955. This plane is overall bare metal with a red spine. The other is for a desert camo version of the Israeli Air Force. The decals are a bit thick, but will stick like limpets once applied. They are crisply printed, and I can tell you from experience that the whites are a bit transparent.

 

CONCLUSIONS

These kits were designed to pull pocket money out of kids and as such are perfect for someone's first glue kit. They are not so terrible that more experienced modelers wouldn't enjoy them, just be prepared for a lack of finesse!

Kit courtesy of me. Below is a photo of this kit built in the 1980s.

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