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Kinetic 1/48 Kfir C2/C7 - build review


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PLEASE READ: I'll keep updating this first post, like an article, so if you see add a post with an update look here again at the bottom

I won't write a in-box review because the hyperscale guy already done so, but I have my own impressions as long as I build it.

Be forgiving with my english :D

My first impression was really good, Cartograf decals designed by Isracast :D, shame it's doesn't give the option for a C2 with three-tone desertic camouflage which differs from the desertic C7 in the base color and design.

It's a shame the error on the supersonic fuel tank (about 14mm shorter), but with a pen with that diameter is not hard so extend them is trivial.

What bothers me about the kit is the panel's inconsistency, some a properly moulded but some are only "suggested", this proven to be a major issue later on, I noticed this on a Greek F-16C I built before but wasn't so bad. Also the plastic is too soft and grainy, this makes a nightmare to rescribe it, sometimes you feel you're not making a line but a groove tearing the plastic apart.

I think Kinetic still behind Tamiya, Hasegawa and even Academy and Trumpeter in those field.

I start this thing as soon as I got home from the post office. The building process is fairly standard, cockpit and wheel wells where built and painted I did not have pictures of that yet. In the meantime all the parts of the intakes where painted, and assembled, two good things about them, first is you won't find any ejector pin marks on any of them and second they go down up to the compressor face, you won't see any of that but it's fine to know the went the extra mile designed that.

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Dry-fitting the wing parts I noticed that some sanding was in order to make a propper fitting, nothing bad.
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We open some holes on the wings to install pylons later on. When you glue the wings and the fuselage togheter the show starts!, on the upper side everything goes brilliant, Kinetic guys added (comparing with Eduard/HB/Heller kits) some tabs to avoid a gap where fuselage meet the wings, good one Kinetic. But when you turn the model around you start to notice the misalignment between the parts, I thought some pressure while the parts dry should be enough I left the parts to dry overnight but surprise surprise!, parts moved and I got a horrible step, damn!, next time I'll add some tabs and give a cyanoacrilate dot to keep parts from moving while liquid cement dries.

Intakes where glued overnight to together with the wings and fuselage so same problem here.

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Moving on, I rather take my time aligning parts than gluing without much test-fitting to avoid putty and rescribing, now I have no escape. Once sanding and filling was done I had to rescribe the missing panels, and hell went loose, what a crappy plastic! I remember thought, this is the weakest point of this kit IMHO, plastic comes off in little chunks instead of fine swirls or dust, so you end-up with awful lines. At this moment I decided to rescribe as I could and pray that the pylons cover most of the problems up. I wanted to do a clean Kfir so the peculiar landing gear was clearly visible, so I hope pylons not spoil the view.

Canards where a problem too, I you leave the locating tabs on you won't be able to properly locate them, also some filling and sanding here.

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You might get the impression I don't like the kit, but I like it a lot, I was really hoping for something better in terms of molding and fitting, that's true but the kit it's really really nice, and I already bought two more to make a C1 and an Ecuadorian C7.

May 27:

Before start painting took care of some details here and there, some panels are not perfect but they're hidden and/or decals and/or washes will cover those minor defects. Some missing bits and peaces like air scoops and IR finder where glued into position, and the model was ready to be painted.

Did some research because I was not convinced with the sand color, both Kinetic and Isradecal says that the sand color is FS33531. FS33531 is Gunze H-313, also Gunze H-318 (radome) is very close it, both are a bit too light to my eye, I painted my Nesher with it H-313 and looks spot on but on the Kfir I was not so sure. Not being comfortable with the idea of testing the colors on the Kfir model I grab my half built 1/48 Revell EF-2000 EuroBoringToDeathFighter and spayed the israeli scheme, having done that I was convinced that the paint selection is fine (H-318 Radome, H-312 Green and H-310 Brown).

I'm not fan of the preshading, but after watching a video of a 1/32 Sufa (almost same colors but the green) I was decided to give it a try.

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One hour later the three colors where sprayed in two stages, the first was to get the hang of the paint and "draw" the scheme in the model.
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In the second stage I improved the edgles of the colors trying to mimic the almost hard edges on the real thing.
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Using a very diluted mixture of ~80% white and 20% radome I unevenly post shaded the paintwork, the idea is to break the uniformity of the colors making the airplane a bit more "live". Over the panel lines used a 99,75% diluted :P Gunze "Tyre Black", again it's almost invisible. I really like the result.

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The underside was painted with Gunze H-307, should have used H-308 but I ran out of it, but I have a card painted with both 307 and 308 but my estimation is that the former a 3% darker, not really much. Kinetic instructions instruct you to pain the wheel wells and the inner face of the landing gear doors should be painted white, but Isradecal book shows them in the same color as the underside, in this case H-308. The only thing I painted white was the landing gear, I did it so.

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I only have to post-shade the underside and it's decal time!!!.

June 6:

Lot done since last post, the postshading on the under side is finished and all the zillion decals are in place, it's a lot of work but not as bad as a modern Phantom kit, I did it in two 1hs decaling sessions, Cartograph decals are lovely, but just to be on the safe side under each decal I put a drop of Klear, with that not even the hardest Revell decal gets silvering.

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In the meantime I assembled and painted all the weapons, about 20 of them since I couldn't make mi mind on what to load, I must say that Kinetic Snakeyes are the best I ever encountered, better than the ones in the Hasegawa weapons set or in the HobbyBoss kits even when they're not trouble free, also I grab two Mk.117 US bombs and a Sidewinder L since in my references some Kfirs used both.

When I was about to paint the Rafale's I realized that Kinetic did not give any reference to any color of any brand (as with the mk.20's bombs). I must say that this is not the only problem with Kinetics intructions, also in the color paint guide they show a mk.82 bomb with a regular tail and not a snakeye, not a big deal but is not the only one.

Also I did not decided yet what fuel tanks I'm going to use so I paint them all :D

Once I finished with all that I did the weathering with oils which I found the easiest to work with and they give you the most control and the best result, on the down side (or not) they may take a couple of days to dry and you can remove some paint if you gloss coat is not thick enough.

Next time will come the final reveal.

Hope you like tit

saludos

Edited by dergrunepunkt
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I had a look at one tonight and thought much as you did, that it looks ok in the box, certainly better than their F-16's. but reading what you have written is giving me second thoughts on getting one.

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thanks for all your comments on the kit!

looking very nice!!!! looks like the by far best kfir kit in 1/48 at the moment!

By now it is, I m looking forward to see the AMK one, really hope it doesn't cost USD60!!!

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Looks good Luis - mine's approaching paint this weekend too.

Which paints are they ? I'll be using the Gunze paints but they look good too.

I can only echo your comments, it's a nice kit, with some slight fit problems but nothing horrendous.

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Looks good Luis - mine's approaching paint this weekend too.

Which paints are they ? I'll be using the Gunze paints but they look good too.

I can only echo your comments, it's a nice kit, with some slight fit problems but nothing horrendous.

Pete, I explain all that in the fist post, look bellow 27/05. I like this kit a LOT, even with the fit issues. I been looking at the AMK Kfir test shots and I think I like this a bit more, but until I build both I can't really say.

That makes me think I did not make it clear enough :P, write the updates in the first post.

cheers

Edited by dergrunepunkt
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That makes sense now - I generally just skip to the bottom :banghead:

Thanks Luis.,

lol, Dont worry it was my fault, I did not made it clear that I was doing this in a unconventional way :oops:

Edited by dergrunepunkt
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Did you have any trouble with the fit of the nose? It looks lile the nose of my kit is meant to fit another plane as the diameter at the join is roughly 2mm bigger than the fuselage.

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Did you have any trouble with the fit of the nose? It looks lile the nose of my kit is meant to fit another plane as the diameter at the join is roughly 2mm bigger than the fuselage.

There is supposed to be a step on the bottom. Check your references to see what I mean.

Jens

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There is supposed to be a step on the bottom. Check your references to see what I mean.

Jens

I believe it's a vent for the nose radar.

Michael

Edited by MicahelSatin
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