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Tim's SAAB JAS-39A Gripen - COMPLETED


theplasticsurgeon

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Udercarriage doors, jet-pipe, final aerial, painted pitots - concludes the airframe.

Italeri-Gripen-FP.jpg

Just weaponry left, before I go off and join The Navy.

Italeri-Gripen-FS.jpg

An obvious flaw, port canard is a very poor fit and keeps falling off.

Now secured with a drop of Klear into the pivot hole.

Italeri-Gripen-RP.jpg

Notice my green HUD.  That wasn't mentioned in the instructions!

Italeri-Gripen-RS.jpg

Italeri-Gripen-U.jpg

 

I'm hesitating to call this kit a gem, but it's a very close run thing.  That canard an obvious flaw.

Minor flash on most parts, a result of the soft plastic, thus very prone to surface damage  -  this could be so much better with Hasegawa or Academy hard plastic.

I was quite happy with these grey markings in my kit, but I'm reading that others have more limited options - and no aftermarket either.

Same tool also released by Airfix, Bilek, Revell and Tamiya - I couldn't find any different mainstream manufactured Gripens.

This is about all there is, for those wishing to build a Gripen.  I'm calling it Good - but not Great.
 

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Hi Tim,

 

Can I pick your brains - how much ballast did you put in? The instructions say 20g but that seems an awful lot but then the main gear is quite far forward with a lot of weight behind them!

 

Pete

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10 hours ago, PeterB said:

Hi Tim,

 

Can I pick your brains - how much ballast did you put in? The instructions say 20g but that seems an awful lot but then the main gear is quite far forward with a lot of weight behind them!

 

Pete

The nosecone part is full of plasticine (packed in years ago) - nothing more.

I did consider the ballast conundrum during the build, but by then it was toooo late 😞

thus I was quite relieved with the sit, on fitting the undercarriage  🙂.

 

Edited, all the payload is behind the wheels - but still no danger of tailsitting.

That said I've limited the payload to Sidewinders, Mavericks, and the fuel tank.

 

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Great work Tim, you've brought this Gripen home wonderfully well. All the best for the 'Navy' GB, however as I still have plenty of work to do here I'll might sit that one out for the time being. 

Cheers and well modelled. Dave 

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well done Tim, she's awesome! :thumbsup:

 

Other think the Draken or Viggen are the nicest looking but I think the Gripen should be included, she certainly shows her heritage.

 

A really nice build, I hope you enjoyed it, was great to have you along. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

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