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Tarangus JA 37 Viggen 1:48


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It works for Eduard......

From what I gather this kit is around £60. Sorry, but to me that is a ridiculous price if it's got such faults, that could have easily been avoided by the manufacturer.

Saying some Hasegawa kits are that price isn't an excuse either, as they definitely are extremely overpriced!!

And you think adding resin will make it any cheaper?
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- Back from Telford last week with the last Tarangus product in my bag, I take the opportunity of this topic to gives you some words about AM transkit

I have 5 Airfix old Viggen kits for which I bought every availalble transkits , from Maestro of course but not only and I 've made some test to see which one could be adaptated to the Tarangus..

I began with the nose cone from Maestro .

052_zps19ef2a2e.jpg

- No fit

-Then the Neomega cockpit

055_zps3db78541.jpg

- The back is too broad, don't even try the tub

- Then the rear parts un usable too - the Maestro diameter is too large and the exhaust fairing externaly lacks details but the inside is beautiful

064_zps6287d579.jpg

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- On the other end the Tarangus fairing seems to have the curvaous shape too proeminent and the two canted rows of small holes are missing

For the wheels I have contemplated the use of F4 B wheels their tickness looks good but the diameter seems too important

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- I didn't even try the engine fan inside the fuselage nor the wheels wells.It is obvious that the Maestro transkits have been tailored for the Airfix/Esci VIGGEN, but nothing prevent from using the numerous external wing loads and probbly the RAT
- About the the Tarangus kit,it is not that bad, I particularly like the fuselage extension specific of the JA version, I would have like the flying surfaces separated from wings and canard as they are seen dropped on most of the planes on the ground .It could have been an attractiv model had not been the cost...
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- Back from Telford last week with the last Tarangus product in my bag, I take the opportunity of this topic to gives you some words about AM transkit

I have 5 Airfix old Viggen kits for which I bought every availalble transkits , from Maestro of course but not only and I 've made some test to see which one could be adaptated to the Tarangus..

I began with the nose cone from Maestro .

Interesting ... :hmmm:

Ok, we know the ESCI/Airfix kit isn't great so that begs the question, did Maestro tweak the AM for ESCI/Airfix kit rather than stick to scale, ergo the ESCI/Airfix kit was badly underscale? Or is the Tarangus kit overscale? (unlikely)

Neil

Edited by neilscrim
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Interesting ... :hmmm:

Ok, we know the ESCI/Airfix kit isn't great so that begs the question, did Maestro tweak the AM for ESCI/Airfix kit rather than stick to scale, ergo the ESCI/Airfix kit was badly underscale? Or is the Tarangus kit overscale? (unlikely)

Neil

- Can't tell you more.....

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And you think adding resin will make it any cheaper?

Not saying it will make it cheaper, I'm saying it's overpriced for what it is.......I wouldn't pay £60 for a kit that needs so much extra work. And in this case "needs" is the correct word. Not "would make it better", this kit looks like it needs these extras.

The reason they can charge such high prices is

a) it's the only show in town (like this Viggen)

b)a "supposed" superiority of the brand (i.e. Hasegawa)

Edited by Devilfish
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I agree with you Devilfish - the kit is overpriced. Even Hasegawa would sell it cheaper if they had it. I actually hoped they will release the Viggen after the Draken - at least the Draken appeared to be a success to me so why they did not add the Viggen is beyond my understanding.

I also daresay Tarangus would sell so many more Viggens if they would cut the retail price by 30- 50% that they do more profit in the end. I still have my Viggen on preorder as I know from the Tarangus Lancer that it will be hard to get the kit cheaper in due time. Even though the kit is not up to current standards (see what Airfix does lately) in my eyes Tarangus is more a limited run kit producer than other new companies like Kitty Hawk (based on what I saw on the internet - I have never seen a kit from them right before me).

So I will end up with one Viggen instead of two or three - which is a good thing as my stash is mental already (really - I should see a doctor...).

And yes - it irks me that aftermarket stuff will obviously come on top.

Rene

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi gang, just to add my ten cents worth. The Viggen is my favourite jet fighter period, an absolute monster of an aeroplane and one I've wanted a high tech model of for a long time. I've been sent this kit to build for Airfix Model World magazine at the moment and having thoroughly researched the aircraft I must say I'm a bit disappointed at the errors in the kit. As well as the canard elevon shapes and super skinny main wheels mentioned there is a problem with the fin too. The pitot is in completely the wrong place and the leading edge angle is incorrect..I think the best way to show what I mean is here,

DSC_0165-001_zps92595dd3.jpg

Not very scientific I know but it does show what I suspected when I first saw the model at Telford. The kit has the two leading edge sections at different angles whereas they should be virtually parallel which leads me to think that the fin cap is also too narrow. I'm not just going by drawings but by photos too,

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Sweden---Air/Saab-JA37C-Viggen/1583086/L/&sid=b359a52062c43bcf41bd0b883931bd06

The best way to see the pitot misplacement is to follow the line down from the end of it down to the fin fold fairing below and you'll see that the kit has it almost vertically above whereas it should be further forward...(sorry if this all seems minor but I just want to point out the things needed to be done to make an accurate JA-37)...

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Sweden---Air/Saab-JA37D-Viggen/1844461/L/&sid=b359a52062c43bcf41bd0b883931bd06

Don't get me wrong overall it's a good kit, and for a short run the parts fit is excellent, great reheat unit detail, etc but with my extreme interest in the type and considering the retail price and gestation period it's a bit of a puzzle as to why these basic errors exist in the first place....just my thoughts..

I'll explain all in the article...

We may be living in a 'golden age' of modelling but I've never seen so many shape errors in so many new kits....maybe we should rethink CAD and go back to Mk.1 eyeball and a slide rule !.... :coolio:

Melchie...

Edited by general melchett
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Hmm... I must say that I've missed that fault. Since I decided to go for the AJ version I didn't bother to look at the JA fin.

I think you're right about the placement of the pitot.

I see that you have the Björn Karlström "Flygplansritningar". I must warn you that these are known to be less than accurate...

I never use them other than look at the often nice pictures in this series.

However, looking at the pics in your post I agree. There is maybe something wrong with the fin.

Here is a pic of a fin from a JA 37. Helpfully this one is decorated with a nice line already so we don't have to draw some red lines in Paint... :pilot:

336_zpsf4a8957e.jpg

I'll check my own references and come back later...

Andreas / Rudolf_Filip

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I went for my surplus JA 37 fin and spent a few minutes slopping some paint on it.

I don't think it looks that bad.(The fin, not the paintwork!)

What do you think?

The pitot needs replacing, it's a bit on the thick side...

DSC_1196_zpsa439c92f.jpg

Andreas / Rudolf_Filip

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Ok, we know the ESCI/Airfix kit isn't great so that begs the question, did Maestro tweak the AM for ESCI/Airfix kit rather than stick to scale, ergo the ESCI/Airfix kit was badly underscale? Or is the Tarangus kit overscale? (unlikely)

Looks to me as though Maestro parts for the Esci Viggen are neither over- nor under-scale. The radome is narrower than the Tarangus kit's nose; the cockpit and tail fairing are wider. What seems more likely is that the old kit has both shape and size errors, and the Maestro parts have been tuned to provide a convincing overall effect without major butchery of the basic parts. Of course, the alternative is that Esci was completely accurate and the Tarangus parts are off. Life being what it is - and with signs of mistakes in Tarangus' kit bobbing to the surface - I shouldn't be surprised to find that both were wrong, in their own special ways.

I still have my Viggen on preorder as I know from the Tarangus Lancer that it will be hard to get the kit cheaper in due time.

That depends how patient you can be. I thought the Lansen was horribly over-priced, but I got one about three years later at more than a third off. The mistakes are still there, but they're easier to live with at that price. Or you could get as lucky as I did in finding an Airfix-boxed Viggen with a heap of corrections at a very fair price. Britmodeller to the rescue again!

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It looks good Andreas, the paint job hiding the angle of the fin well. I agree that the Karlstrom drawings aren't the most accurate, in fact other than factory ones I don't trust any, but the ones I have all show the same thing. Having matched it up to many profile photographs of the fin scaled to 1/48th the pitot is definitely too high. The reference points I used were the hinge point at the top of the rudder, (where you can see that the distance/angle to the pitot is greater) and the vertical line down to the fin hinge fairing.

The main point though is that the kit has the pitot halfway down the leading edge of the fin, (4cms) whereas it's clearly further down than that,

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Sweden---Air/Saab-JA37D-Viggen/0327965/L/&sid=b9ef48d33202accc71c884197d3b7225

I repositioned mine at 3.5 cms from the base which matches all photos and think it looks a lot better. It also gave me a chance to create a new reshaped pitot fairing in resin too to which I'll add the Master metal piece.

I can't show any photos of the model at the moment due to an agreement with Airfix Model World but once it's done I can hopefully include a teaser photo...

(Just to point out that this is not definitive, just my thoughts)...

Cheers,

Melchie...

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You're quite right IPMS !, ESCI got the position spot on !. Whilst I can't show my Tarangus one here's the ESCI/Airfix kit. I've done a lot of work on this one including completely rescribing and reshaping parts, scratch building RAT etc as well as getting hold of most of the Maestro and Neomega parts but put off finishing it when news of the Tarangus kit came about............with its better fitting airbrakes, correct canard shape, wider fin cap and pitot placement it doesn't look too bad now !!!

DSC_0178_zpsfbbd52a5.jpg

DSC_0181_zps9303ca32.jpg

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Well... to be honest...I haven't got a clue...

Great build so far. Why are people so afraid of doing the splinter camo? It's a cake walk in the park for me. Just use my self-patented method and you won't have any problems: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234956710-airfix-148-saab-ja-37-jaktviggen/page-13

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have been very distracted lately. Family comes first!

I haven't forgot the Viggen though.

Here is the front part of my SAAB 37 as it looks right now.

DSC_1282_zpsce49cf87.jpg

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This is more or less straight from the box. I've only added a few pieces of plastic on top of the "glare shield" (unsure of the correct term, the black thing below the windscreen). I'm going to add a HUD and a few details behind the seat and then it's time for installing the seat.

Here is what the cockpit is supposed to look like...

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Not perfect, but my effort will do for this build. I'm thinking about going for a closed canopy. My next one will probably be better.

I guess there will be some useful aftermarket by then. I've heard that Two Mikes is busy...

I must remind you all that my Viggen is going to be an AJS 37 and so these cockpit pics wont be useful if you're building a JA 37.

There have been things happening at the rear end of my Viggen as well.

I've cut and positioned the rudders since they always droop to an angle when the aircraft is parked.

DSC_1289_zpsab8c83c9.jpg

I've added a few details in the engineexhaust that Tarangus missed. Some small pieces of thin plasticard and some foul language later... much better!

DSC_1288_zps7ed281c3.jpg

And how it's supposed to look...

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This build is going very slow...

I don't know why since I'm loving every minute of building this nice kit of one of my absolute favourite aircraft.

Maybe it's because I'm getting lost in all the small details. It's hard not to when you have the real aircraft to play with? :hmmm:

Rudolf_Filip / Andreas

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Great work Andreas.

I look forward to your updates, however frequently they come. It's also good to hear that you're enjoying the build - I daresay the moments spent at your desk are few and far between.

cheers,

Andrew.

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