CT Modeller Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 JF-17 Thunder 26 Squadron Pakistan Air Force – Peshawar Air Base 2014 I don’t often think about Pakistani stuff when it comes to modelling. However, having seen the two 26 Sqn JF-17s at Farnborough in 2010 I was moved to invest in a Trumpeter 1/72 kit. And a really nice modern kit it is too. It feels like a 1/48 kit reduced to 1/72 size – or at least that’s the impression when you see the level of detail included in things like the undercarriage wells, cockpit interior, etc. The original looks like a cross between an F-16 and a Grippen and is a genuine ‘4th generation’ jet from a joint Chinese / Pakistani project, with advanced aerodynamics, fly-by-wire and digital avionics. It is supposedly called a ‘JF-17’ to show that it’s one-up on the F-16! Be careful if you build one though. The kit is very ‘Chinese’ rather than ‘Pakistani’. I found that the Pakistani version has a Martin Baker Mk.16 seat rather than the Chinese seat in the kit. A pity, because most of the usable PE in the kit goes on the seat! I say ‘usable’ because much of the PE provided is supposed to make up the engine exhaust nozzle, but mine was in the bin in no time and I opted for the easier (and actually better looking) plastic nozzle. The JF-17 uses the same engine as the Mig 29 so there may be some resin stuff out there somewhere also. There is also some very fine PE for the HUD, which I did use. The instructions give the undercarriage legs and wells colour as ‘dark blue-grey’ which I found is OK for the Chinese version, but white seems the predominant colour for Pakistani machines. The stores are all Chinese also. I didn’t find this out until I had completed mine, but Pakistani drop tanks are Mirage III/V – like, with different fins from those in the kit. I used the Caracal decal sheet – and very nice it is too. It provides the only source of the 26 Sqn ‘Black spider’ fin markings displayed at Farnborough. Overall a very enjoyable project. 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 very nice Chris. Bring it along to next club night. Would like to see it in the 'flesh'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luis pacheco Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Looks great. Perfect paint job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Nice work, looks great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Very nicely finished. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike DeTorrice Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 A wonderful build of this extremely interesting fighter ! The excellent images show this one off very well. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raguk Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Dont see many of these built up,cracking finish! Thabks for posting Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfa1983 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Really nice looking model and definitely something not seen too often Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kampartiger Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Yes,a very pleasing looking product from China and every angle of it reminds us of the F16 (The Lockheed Martin guys should be happy..i think!) and to just imagine,just across the strait,there's the Taiwanese IDF which looks like the slimmer next of kin to the JF17!Anyway the Thunder is bound to be a popular export(Friendship price anyone?) since combat jets nowadays are really really expensive.The price tag of just a single F16 can build a lot of schools in most third world countries!To CT Modeller,that is n awful nice Thunder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TME3 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Oh my gosh... what a beautiful job...! That is a smart looking finish on an unusual subject... well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Very nice indeed, I can see this appealing to a lot of 'What If' modellers aswell (m'self included !!). Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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