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TIm's Hasegawa Kfir C2 - COMPLETED


theplasticsurgeon

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Joining you with this Hasegawa kit.

Very reminiscent of an Esci 1/48 Kfir that I built whilst at school.  It's those triangular recognition panels.

Hasagawa_Kfir_Box.jpg

Costing me $4 at Yeovilton Model Show in 2011.

Might be a slowish start, I'm busy with MiB projects.

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Tim,

 

Welcome, good to see a Kfir in the mix, that desert colour scheme can be quite a challenge!

 

Thanks to Antoine for posting the link to his Kfir build, always useful to learn from others.

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So here are my previous Mirage builds:

An Airfix 1/72 Mirage 2000 - from about 1989ish

Airfix_Mirage2000C.jpg

 

Italeri Mirage 2000D - for some reason I really loathed this kit.

Italeri_Mirage2000.jpg

 

Airfix Mirage F1, from about 1977 - highly enjoyable build.

Airfix_Mirage_F1.jpg

 

Heller 1/72 Mirage IV.  A kit I'd never seen completed prior to finishing this one.

Heller_MirageIV_photo2.jpg

 

And finally my Italeri Kfir C1 in US Navy Agresson scheme

Italeri_F21_Kfir.jpg

Edited by theplasticsurgeon
Photobucket correction,
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Nice collection Tim, thanks for sharing them with us, I particularly like the Mirage IV because, as you rightly point out, you don't see many of them.

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Welcome back Tim, I thought you'd forgotten us, should have realised you were another victim of the PB debacle.

 

Hopefully you'll be able to crack on and make some progress, like the choice of scheme too!

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Ooh, that's nice, an old Hasegawa kit being built -nostalgia galore for me. I built the Hase Kfir when I was a teenager, with the big triangles and everything. For some reason I thought then it was the best kit I'd ever seen. I remember the detail, though raised, was exquisite. I also rather liked the brown plastic.

 

Excellent choice; following with interest!

 

Jay

 

 

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So what is a Kfir? Where did it come from?

Mystery surrounds the answer to these questions.

After the 1967, Six day war, Israel was in desperate need to replace 60 Mirages that it had lost.

It turned to France, and placed an order for 50 Mirage 5s, that it had helped to develop.

The 50 aircraft were built and ready for delivery, when in 1969 the French government placed an arms embargo on Israel.

Part of the story has Israeli agents acquiring plans for the Mirage though espionage means.

Another part has the French Air Force receiving the 50 new Mirages - to replace 50 used Mirages, which were dismantled, crated and secretly shipped to Israel.

Reassembled the aircraft were known as Neshers.

The numbers don't add up, so it's likely some Neshers were originated in Israel.

Israel was keen to reduce dependency on the Atar engine, considering both the Rolls Royce Spey, but ultimately selecting the General Electric J79, which would go on to power its Phantom fleet, so a hybrid aircraft was developed - this was the Kfir.

There were a lot of engineering changes, the rear fuselage is wider and shorter - and that air intake on the tail.  

Additionally, the Kfir C1 had small solid canards on the intakes. These generate a vortex over the wing to increase lift - see my model C1 a few posts back.

The C2 version that I'm building is more recognisable for its aerodynamic canards.  These are not moveable control surfaces like on a Viggen.  

The C2 also has a dog-tooth wing leading edge for even better aerodynamic advantage.  

Short lived as an air superiority fighter, a Kfir scored a single kill in 1979, soon after being replaced by F-15 Eagles.

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Looking sharp..! Interesting story on the Neshers - didn't know about the story of an enduring France-Israel Mirage connection. That would have been a win-win situation for both.

 

I've read (on escadrilles.org I think) that Armee de l'Air Super Mysteres were overhauled in Israel late in their service life, so perhaps there's some meat to the story.

 

Jay

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Yes it's a convoluted and twisted tale, the 5F I'm building is one of the supposedly impounded aircraft which as we all know now was just smoke and mirrors.

 

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Tonight - airbrushed upper surfaces with X812 US Army Sand - nearest match I've got.

Sand.jpg

Yesterday, wake after funeral of an acquaintance - so a bit sad.

 

Edited by theplasticsurgeon
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Tim,

 

You're making great progress and putting many of us to shame!  Keep up the good work.

 

Condolences on the passing of your acquaintance.

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