This is a model of the SAAB Viggen. This fighter interceptor is of 70's
vintage and is getting
a little outdated by the more modern jets. Numerous upgrades have kept it
up to date, but
it's service life is coming to an end. It is unique as it was the first
modern jet to incorporate
front canard wings. It also has the capability of fairly short take offs
and landings allowing ii
to take off and land on highways. This is a good capability in the
European war scenarios.
This is the old Hasegawa kit and the fit was so so. I had to do a lot of
fiddling on the wing to
fuselage joint to get it right. The cockpit detail was minimal and I had
to do some
scratchbuildong on the instument panel and control stick and ejection seat
to spruce it up a
bit. I was going to leave the canopy closed, so I did not go overboard in
this area. The
decals provided were for the prototypes, so I used the leftover decals
from the Gripen to
turn this one into an operational aircraft. I also scratchbuilt all the
missiles for this aricraft
from sprue and sheet styrene. The under fuselage missile rails were also
scratchbuilt per
some reference photos I found on the web. Finally I simulated the engine
vanes as no
details were included. The current two tone grey paint scheme was used. I
rate the kit a C+,
but it is one of the few ones of this unique plane still made.
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