Heller 1/72 Saab JA 37 Viggen

I bought a Viggen kit when visiting the aviation museum in Ängelholm this summer, excellent shop by the way, and now it´s time to put it together. The kit is the JA 37 Interceptor version with built in 30mm canon and Heller made an extra sprue with canon, pylons and Sidewinders for this kit. Unfortunately my kit was badly warped and required a lot of super glue to get strait. It also had a fair share of sink marks. I used superglue and accelerator to fix these too. I saved the ejection seat from my failed Viggen project and that was the only "extra" I put in to this kit so the cockpit looks a little bare on close examination. Well I will save my money for the Tarangus upcoming 1/48 scale kit. I´m using Gunze H335 and H332 for this model and these are fair matches for Fv colors 032M and 033M. I took some care not to erase too many panel lines when sanding and pre-shaded the lines before painting.

Update 2015-02-15

I finished the Viggen in October 2013. I was very pleased with the outcome. In the spring of 2014, I decided to scrap most of my models, partly to redecorate our home and partly to make room for new models. Unfortunately, I was a little too eager to clear out my models and threw out the Viggen along with a few other models I now regret that I scrapped. Well shit happens, but I can always build theme again. I did saved some pictures of the Viggen.

A trio of Gladiators

The Swedish air force bought 55 Gloster Gladiators in the 1930s and these were designated J8 (Bristol Mercury IX engine) and J8A (Mercury VIII engine) in the Swedish air force.

Up until now one the best 1/72 kit of the Gladiator was Heller one and it has been hard to find recent years. The other two is the old Airfix kit from the 1960s and Matchbox/Revell kit. But in the recent month’s two new kits has hit the hobby shop shelves, a new tool from Airfix and an “Easy Assembly” kit from HobbyBoss. I was a little curious to see how these kits would compare, and if the old Heller is still holding up.

Let´s start with the new Airfix Gladiator.

I´ve got the latest issue with skies and markings for the Swedish volunteer force in Finland (*).  At first glance the parts looks a bit crude but no worse than any other new offering from the firm and the kits usually turns out nice once painted. You get some different option like skies, weighted or non-weighted wheels and two or three bladed propellers. The parts match my scale drawings perfectly. The decal sheet is just fantastic with crisp stencils and perfect color. Apart from the Swedish markings you have the option of a RAF machine from 605 Squadron.

(*) Note the “Jolly Roger” markings were not worn in combat. On the return to Sweden the original Finnish blue swastikas had to be painted over but instead of just paint it over in black they added a cool skull and bone.

Next up is the HobbyBoss.

This kit has gotten some criticism on the forums but I don’t think it´s too bad actually. The parts are crispier than the Airfix but some of the parts look simplified. The parts matches my drawings with one exception, the front of the fuselage were it meets the engine cowling doesn’t look right. It´s minor flaw but it´s noticeable. The decal sheet is nice with two options but there are no stencils, just basic markings. As usual Hobby Boss makes a nice simple model but it doesn’t have any edge to make it worth buying over Airfix at the same price point. It will however be a perfect kit for first timers or a short weekend project.

The classic Heller kit.

This kit actually holds up rather well despite its age. The parts are finely molded with thin raised lines and the canvas covered parts are very well done, much better than both Airfix and HB in my opinion.  This kit also comes with optional skies and the same F19 marking as Airfix. The low mark of the kit is the wheels and propeller, the wheels are missing the hubs and the propellers are crudely molded.  The decal sheet gives you five options, all Swedish(*). Two planes from F8 with pre-war style crown markings (lacks the yellow ring), one from F19 with skull and bones, one from F10 with ghost marking, and finally one machine from F9. I’m actually itching to build this one and with some left over parts from the Airfix kit I’m sure it will turn out nicely.

(*)In the 1980s Heller re-boxed many of their kits for the Swedish market with Swedish decals and instructions.

Fujimi 1/72 MIG 21 Bis

Finally I have managed to build a model!

It’s the Fujimi MIG 21Bis in Finnish markings. I haven’t made any research in to the subject so it’s strait from the box; however I used the painting instruction from Eduard´s kit.

The kit went together nicely with just a touch of filler. As with most old kits, there were a couple of sink marks and I filled these with super glue and sanded smooth. (I am using the super glue filling technic more and more and it´s really speeding up the build process.) I used Gunze acrylics for airbrushing and Vallejo for detail brush painting. The decals were not of the best quality and I should have skipped the stencils as they silvered badly. Well It´s most noticeable in photographs or on close up inspection so I don’t worry too much about it. I finish the model with a dark wash and a coat of GW Purity seal.  I don’t know how well the Fujimi MIG 21 holds up to the more modern kits out there but it´s look ok to me.

Note.  The flash exaggerates the colors a bit so in reality the colors are darker.