Saab SH-37 Viggen - Completed

[Hewy]

Just had a read through this,  got to say I'm interested , it  should be a stunner

[Arniec]

Great start Rich. I will be watching.

 

Cheers,

Edited March 15, 2019 by Arniec

[trickyrich]

9 hours ago, Christer A said:

The canards doesn't droop at power off, they are automatically lowered during start and landing. It's a sort of nose-wing flap that is set by the mechanics depending on the loadout used.

During flight, these flaps are not part of the normal control surfaces.

Arrr thanks for that info, what I had read somewhere else was wrong, they reckoned they dropped when power was removed.

 

So it sounds like they're almost used as a trim feature in flight to help with CoG with weapons load outs besides the additional lift aid during take-off and landings?

8 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

Has there ever been a Swedish camo build or Saab Viggen, Draken or Gripen build. Your pre start prep has my mouth watering for this GB and this aircraft.

im also trying to hold off...got my cockpit parts off sprue ready....

there's an idea, i'd be up for that.

1 hour ago, Arniec said:

Great start Rich. I will be watching.

 

Cheers,

thanks Arnold, were have you been hiding, I haven't seen you for ages.

[vppelt68]

14 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

Has there ever been a Swedish camo build or Saab Viggen, Draken or Gripen build.

Great idea! Maybe even better chance of making it, if it'd be a more allowing like "Splinter Scheme GB"?! Though I was a Saab driver for 16 years, and my 19 years old son now has a 9-3 turbo as his first car, the possibility of pure Saab GB might be too slim. But why not try that too 👍

[Christer A]

9 hours ago, trickyrich said:

So it sounds like they're almost used as a trim feature in flight to help with CoG with weapons load outs besides the additional lift aid during take-off and landings?

Thats just what they are! STOL-performance was a top priority for the Viggen design.

But you're correct in another thing, all control surfaces om SAAB Aircraft droops at rest

[trickyrich]

1 hour ago, Christer A said:

But you're correct in another thing, all control surfaces om SAAB Aircraft droops at rest

nananananah I'm not dropping the rest of the control surfaces, this thing is going to be a big enough build as it is!! 

 

I've spent some time today starting a few things and have realised this isn't going to be a smooth sailing build by any means! The fit is very....well let's say "Special Hobby" and not in a good way and leave it at that. I've also found out that the Airfix/Esci cockpit is wider than this one, so my lovely ejection seat doesn't fit unless I do (and have done) some serious surgery to it! The plastic is VERY soft in a bad way. Plus after some "bin diving" (I accidentally throw out some bits) I found that the small fuselage scoops don't actually fit. And finally I think they used either a random number generator or some sort of Chaos machine to come up with the parts numbering and parts location on the sprue (sort of how those small bit got thrown out), it's way beyond me!!!

 

My resin Skyknight (my second build) will be way more easier that this one even after I was up to my knees in resin dust....opening up bits for intakes and exhausts.

 

Will post some photo's tomorrow....need a wee lay down after today.....

 

 

 

 

[trickyrich]

4 hours ago, vppelt68 said:

Great idea! Maybe even better chance of making it, if it'd be a more allowing like "Splinter Scheme GB"?! Though I was a Saab driver for 16 years, and my 19 years old son now has a 9-3 turbo as his first car, the possibility of pure Saab GB might be too slim. But why not try that too 👍

I've been trying to think of a GB theme that would bring them altogether plus give it a good chance of getting up and I'm a bit stuffed for ideas at the moment.

 

Have we had a Scandinavian GB yet? There's some great choices there and it's bound to be popular....we could have an Ikea section for those not inclined to build models....though 4 months probably wouldn't be enough build time for some of those items!!! 

[Valkyrie]

Brilliant! Aircraft, ships, subs, lots of trucks, cars and furniture. Joking aside I would not have attempted building my sofa had it not been for my britmodelling experiences, DIY stands for Don’t Involve Yourself in my house but everyone was impressed I threw our 7 seater L shape together in a morning with no help and no tantrums, just like building a big model. 

 

Id love to do a Swedish camo Viggen, Gripen and I’m sure I’ve seen a Huey in the scheme...Icelandic air policing units, civilian airlines....could be massive...

 

Your Viggen work is sure to encourage the masses...

[trickyrich]

ok then.... I'll get a post up for a Scandinavian GB, I really do like the idea and it'll probably mean I'll also finally get around to building a Draken.

[Arniec]

On 3/16/2019 at 1:03 AM, trickyrich said:

 

thanks Arnold, were have you been hiding, I haven't seen you for ages.

You are right I have been away for a while. I lost my modelling mojo after loosing my job etc. I am trying to get it going again.

 

Cheers,

[trickyrich]

That's no good, I hope things are settling down for you! A fun GB with friends is what you need to help get the old Mojo back, or at least help to forget life's dramas for a wee bit.

 

Ok I had though I’d already updated this but seems like I forgot…..old age setting in…..well I have done quite a bit, mostly prep work.

 

First up the main wing pylons (inner ones) needed to be replaced as they are the wrong shape.

 

 

Some careful cutting required here, I originally was going to grin them out but this way was much safer and left a nice surface for the replacement to go on to.

 

 

Once removed I decided to use some square brass tube as guides when super-gluing them in place. Right idea but not executed quite right as glue seeped everywhere, not good with super soft plastic. It is lined up correctly, it's just the angle of the camera that makes it look out of alignment....trust me! 

 

 

Got it right the second time. They needed just a touch of filler to finish .

 

 

Not too bad, will tidy them up further before painting. 

 

 

Next up the lower air brakes (nup I I'm not building this isn’t in any sort of order), they were too thick and needed the holes drilling out. Look much better, now if I could only find the other one!!! 

 

 

…and the replacement, not 100% as a couple of the holes are out, but this was the second attempt, hopefully the original will show up sometime.

 

 

Ok back to the wing again, the join between top and bottom of both sides was pretty poor, there was a nasty gap on the leading edge on both sides. I had already done some work on it but as you can see it’s still pretty bad.

 

 

The cause is a strange lip just in from the leading edge on all the parts, you can see it with the change in reflection. This needed careful filing/sanding back, when it’s time to glue I should now have a really nice join.

 

 

Still on the wing I needed to glue closed the main gear doors, these are closed most of the time. These too needed careful sanding back, as they were too large for the opening. A quick coat of primer to check the fit, looks ok.

 

 

The main and nose gear were assembled as much as possible, some detail holes were opened up, plus holes for brake lines etc added. Complex little buggers!

 

 

Everything was then primed and paint aluminium. I’ll give this a coat of clear then continue on with detailing and washes.

 

 

Finally my lovely seemless intake………is rubbish!   It’s a bit too short but more importantly the intake shape at the front is wrong! The width was a little ok, could live with that, but the height was too short, I’d have a 2-3mm lip on the top or bottom! It looks like they used the kit parts but somehow managed to totally stuff up the shape! So I was forced to use the kit intakes….what a waste of money!!! I used some stretched sprue to fill the join gap, it was quite small. One side is done, I just need to tidy up the other side.

 

 

I’m going to fit the intake completely different to how the instructions say as I really want the join between intakes and ducting to be as clean and tidy as I can get (or as close to it). The outside joins can easily be fiddled with and corrected.

 

Lots done so far, next the cockpit, that should be reasonably quick to sort out. 

 

I’m happy with how it’s going so far, it’s definitely not a Tamiya model that’s for sure! Happy enough that I now have a third build in the works! 

[Valkyrie]

This makes me want to build a Viggen, now! Just had a look on Evilbay....out my price range at the moment 😔

[modelling minion]

Great start Rich.

That's a real pain that the aftermarket intakes are so wrong, makes you wonder what they were thinking.

[Mottlemaster]

Looks like a productive modeling session . I guess with us in the Northan hemishere getting longer days and shorter nights = less modeling time you , in the Southern will have more time  .

[vppelt68]

1 minute ago, Mottlemaster said:

I guess with us in the Northan hemishere getting longer days and shorter nights = less modeling time

But that one outdoor modelling session on either of our two non-raining, plus-centigrade summer days is priceless and will give boost for the rest of the year and murky electro-lit nights - unless the armada of a million+ mosquitos makes it intolerable to be outdoors even on That One Day .

[trickyrich]

2 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

This makes me want to build a Viggen, now! Just had a look on Evilbay....out my price range at the moment 😔

with the quality and fit they really shouldn't be commanding that sort of price, the Tarangus model is listed as a special edition and I don't really know why. The Airfix and "new" Italeri are just re-boxed Esci models so best avoid! We really do need a new better manufactured Viggen, and hopefully at a better price.

1 hour ago, modelling minion said:

Great start Rich.

That's a real pain that the aftermarket intakes are so wrong, makes you wonder what they were thinking.

I am too seeing that they looked to have used the kit parts as well. You can get resin shrinkage but not to that level. Plus the first time they tried a test fit they would have see there was an issue, especially at $15 a pop!

1 hour ago, Mottlemaster said:

Looks like a productive modeling session . I guess with us in the Northan hemishere getting longer days and shorter nights = less modeling time you , in the Southern will have more time  .

hmm not really, I just have a job which gives me better time off, though I have to be away a lot more, even time roster, work 15 days away (10-12 hr days no break)then get 13 day at home. Has it's advantages and disadvantages.

[trickyrich]

Righty O chappy’s, back to this one!!

 

Ok first up the intakes, I cleaned up the remaining and moved to the next step. The instruction will have you fit the intakes then close up the forward section of the fuselage then fit the intake openings. This is ok but you’ll be left with some problematic joins in the intakes to fix an little room to do it.

 

I’m going to do this backwards, I’m fitting the intake openings first.

 

 

This will allow me to get a really nice join I the intake and make the job of cleaning it up quite simple.

 

I did some trail fits before I glued the intakes all together and the fit was no better either way……generally it’s not that great at all!

 

As can be seen here with the intakes as one piece there are some gaps to sort out but nothing too problematic. I’ll spend some more time on them before I glue it all up to help tidy up the resulting joins.

 

 

The main gear is sort of done and fitted to the wells. I’ll now added the extra detailing before fitting these unit to the wings. Not how I’d normally do it, but I’m willing to try something new. I’m not worried about the wing joins as I’ve spent quite a bit of time on them already and I know they’ll fit together nicely.

 

 

One thing they forgot to mention in the instruction is that you need to shorten the upper spine section. With this model all you need to do (basically) to make the JA 37 is to add a spacer between the fuselage joins, so the spine is the correct length for this model. However they forget to mention this with this version! Nice little cut line guide....they just needed to tell you its there!

 

 

I’ll start/finish off the cockpit detailing tomorrow and hopefully the U/c as well. With luck I may even get to close up the front fuselage section…….once the intakes are done!

 

Hopefully the the 3 main petals for the thrust reversers arrive soon so that I can start work on the rear fuselage section as well.

[trickyrich]

A sort of productive day today, though not a huge amount to be seen.

 

Spent quite a bit of time trying to remove seems I the intakes, this time where the front opening meet the main intake. I tried using gap-filling primer but it didn’t really work, just need to keep at it with the wet & dry. Am sort of glad I’m doing it the way I am as I just wouldn’t be able to get in and sand the joins if I had followed the instructions!

 

 

There’s still quite a bit to go.

 

I finished off the U/c, it’s not too bad, still not 100% sure I did the right thing fitting it at this stage…..will see!

 

 

With the gear done I could fit it to the lower wing section, and once done the wings could go together. I didn’t follow the instruction here, and……….well this could come back to haunt me later!! But at least I have a nice wing join now.

 

…a photo-bomb by the Su-24…gosh that thing is big….more on it a bit further down!

 

 

The cockpit and ejection seat are about 80% done and I’m not really happy with either. The detail and moulding is quite poor, I really would have liked some AM stuff here….and stuff that fitted. 

 

 

EDIT…just found AM cockpit PE and new seat (that fits) so will replace these items! Plus I’ve found replacement resin Air Brakes and insides, the kit ones I didn’t loose were pretty poor so joy!! 

 

I also did some work on the “Robots” Rb04E’s, should be able to paint them now.

 

 

This is the first chance I’ve had to see her sort of together and get an idea of how big she is.

 

 

 

One day I’ll get around to finishing her younger brother.

 

 

Things will now slow down a bit as I’m waiting on a few key parts now before I can close up things.

 

OK totally off subject now…..

 

After seeing someone else’s build I sort of got thinking I should finish this beast off!

 

 

This is Trumpeter’s basket of    , there’s not a lot correct with this model and it needs a bucket load of AM to sort out….enter Kompletk ZIP, all the bluey coloured stuff is new resin. Complete new nose, now correct shape, new intakes the same….. had a slight issue with warping so I had to rebuild a section. 

 

 

Complete new exhaust section, original was wrong shape and too wide.

 

 

Complete new exhaust units.

 

 

New wheel wells and complete PE set, plus new wheels to go with them as well.

 

 

Don’t want to think how much this all cost, but at least double the original cost of the model!!! So far the build time is at 18 months, may finish her by Christmas!

[Col.]

A Viggen  What a choice Rich! Only one of the most awesome aircraft ever built. Sorry to hear the kit is teasting you though. Often been tempted to add one (that's a damned lie, for one read six) into my own stash but every progress report I've read about it makes me think the ESCI kit I already have will be no more arduoud a task. Hmm, tempting...

Plus some added Su-24 action for an extra measure of awesomeness  Shame about the only bit remaining from the horrible Trumpeter kit is the wing but at least you'll have an accurate model of a cool machine for your efforts.

[exdraken]

Oh yes!!

You sneaky one!

Just bringing in the fantastic Su-24 you started  - when? After the F-111?

 

 

[trickyrich]

 I bought her around the same time as the F-111. Spent bucket loads on the AM stuff as I didn't know how bad she was until after I bought her. Went online to buy some PE for her when I discovered all the Complete ZIP parts...then I read some of the reviews! 

 

Was all down hill from there...and the reviews were being nice! So through a bucket load of money at the AM bit and slowly started to build her. Was planning a build thread, but knew that would gather dust and some members may be dead by the time she's finished! So when builds feel like they're getting really bad I just drag her out and realize they arn't that bad after all!

 

But have the urge to try and get her finished.....this year, so any free time between these 3 builds will be spent on her. I think all the serious work is almost over, finally got the wings one yesterday, been waiting 9 months for this.

[BerndM]

Stunning project and the look of the Viggen in this camo will be rewarding the effort to build this kit.

The Su-24 is awesome as well.

[trickyrich]

as mentioned his build is sort of on hold while I wait for new AM for the cockpit.....plus the exhaust system, hopefully they should be here next week. 

 

Done heaps on the Su-24......my do a cheeky update on it a bit later......

[Christer A]

Oh, so you've ordered the thrust reversers for the Viggen?

Note, it's ONLY the top one that hangs down when the aircraft is at rest.  All three are only deployed closed during braking (and off course reversing!) and is never seen closed during normal operations.

 

For pictures: look here

http://chefsingenjoren.blogspot.com/2011/05/pa-hal-is.html

 

Edited March 26, 2019 by Christer A

[Hockeyboy76]

Oooo, very nice Rich. Loving the extra details.