SMB-2 Super Mystère French version 1/48 Special Hobby

1/48 scale aircraft of the Special Hobby brand under the reference 48238S.

MB2 LATE

The Super-Mystère B2 is the culmination of a long line of fighters from the Dassault Ouragan. The project was due to a personal initiative by Dassault, which decided to give the Mystère IV a new wing. The study resulted in a 45° swept wing and the central part of the fuselage was lengthened, resulting in the Super-Mystère B2. It was the first supersonic aircraft to be put into series production in Western Europe and to enter service with the Air Force; it is equipped with the SNECMA ATAR 101G reactor. The aircraft is armed with 2 x 30 mm DEFA cannons and could carry 2 Sidewinder missiles and an offensive payload. A basket of 35 retractable 68 mm rockets was installed for a time before being abandoned. In total, nearly 180 units were built. 

SMB2 equipped three fighter wings, the 5th, 10th and 12th, from May 1958. In November 1977, the last SMB2 of the 1/12 Cambrésis fighter squadron completed its final flight, thus completing 19 years of good and loyal service within the Air Force. The French SMB2s were engaged during the Algerian war, operating in occasional detachments from mainland France. Israel ordered 36 Super-Mystère B2s in 1958, including 24 new examples, and in 1967, several SMB2s were leased to the Air Force. They were in service with the 105 "Scorpion" squadron. The SMB2s were first designated Sambad, then renamed Sa'ar (storm) after repowering by IAI, with the Pratt & Whitney J52 engine. Israeli SMB2s participated in the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973, shooting down a few MiG-21s. Between 1976 and 1977, 21 Israeli Super-Mystère B2s were sold to Honduras, which used them until January 1996.

This kit is based on the HI TECH version offered by SPECIAL HOBBY, including a new set of various armaments: missiles and bombs of 250 kg and completed with a choice of additional tanks. In addition, the kit is enriched with 3D printed parts including wheels with sagging tires, open airbrakes, ejection seat, joystick, weapon carrying structures, etc. The decals offer decorations for the Air Force in the colours of the GC I/12 Cambrésis and III/12 Cornouailles, in camouflaged late liveries. There are also decorations camouflaged in the Israeli colors of the Tayeset 105 "Scorpion" squadron.

Model to build and paint.

Manufacturer: Special Hobby
Scale: 1/48