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Heller 1/72 Saab J21A


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This rather unorthodox looking aircraft was designed and built by Saab for the Swedish Air force who were concerned
about being dragged into WW2. The 'pusher' design allowed the pilot maximum combat visibility and the ability 
to mount heavy armament in the nose. To increase the pilot's chances of survival during a bail out the J21 became
one of the first service aircraft to be equipped with an ejector seat. The air-frame was later adapted to
accommodate a jet engine.

Despite being a 1980s kit, everything fitted quite well although the u/c legs and the three part canopy were a bit
fiddly. It is a tail sitter but fortunately there is plenty of space in the nose cone to add weight. 

 

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Great build of the Heller kit, which looks dimensionally very good. It is only let down by the emaciated mainwheels, that are half as beefy as they should be and with a heavy tractor style tyre pattern.

 

The J 21 was never a hit as a fighter, although the attack version, the A 21, fared a bit better as a rocket ground attack platform. And because of the pusher config, there was no prop slipstream to help with the cooling in the radiators that are built into the wing leading edges. On hot summer days, the groundcrew had to spray water into the radiators to prevent overheating. 😉

 

But it makes a really good looking model in the hands of an accomplished builder, as can be seen here.

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

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14 hours ago, SAT69 said:

Interesting airplane and background, very nice build.

Thanks SAT.

 

8 hours ago, Spitfire31 said:

Great build of the Heller kit, which looks dimensionally very good. It is only let down by the emaciated mainwheels, that are half as beefy as they should be and with a heavy tractor style tyre pattern.

 

The J 21 was never a hit as a fighter, although the attack version, the A 21, fared a bit better as a rocket ground attack platform. And because of the pusher config, there was no prop slipstream to help with the cooling in the radiators that are built into the wing leading edges. On hot summer days, the groundcrew had to spray water into the radiators to prevent overheating. 😉

 

But it makes a really good looking model in the hands of an accomplished builder, as can be seen here.

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

Thank you, Joachim. The entire u/c is very fragile on this model, I broke one several times during the build and yes, the wheels are tiny. The fact that the J21 was never adopted by any other countries was an indication of it's limitations.

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Vinnie,

 

Cracking result, you've done well with an old kit! 

 

It just goes to show how good those Heller kits are, if you've got any more kicking around, you may be interested in this year's Heller Classic GB.

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A younger version of me built one of these back in the eighties, and keeps hankering to build another.  You're super little model is doing nothing but help conviince me I should revisit this kit.

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8 hours ago, Wez said:

Vinnie,

 

Cracking result, you've done well with an old kit! 

 

It just goes to show how good those Heller kits are, if you've got any more kicking around, you may be interested in this year's Heller Classic GB.

Thank's Wez. I do have a few more Heller kits under the bench, probably too many for my own good.:evil_laugh:

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21 hours ago, Natter said:

A younger version of me built one of these back in the eighties, and keeps hankering to build another.  You're super little model is doing nothing but help conviince me I should revisit this kit.

Thank's Dave. If you do build another remember to put some weight in the nose before you close it up.

 

20 hours ago, Mig88 said:

Smashing job with the old kit!

 

Miguel

Thank's, Miguel

 

17 hours ago, Wulfman said:

Lovely job on the old Heller !

 

Wulfman

Thanks, Wulfman. It was actually an enjoyable build.

 

13 hours ago, russ c said:

Very cool!

 

13 hours ago, russ c said:

Very cool!

Thank's for your comments, Russ.

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