Bjorn Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 (edited) Is it already March?!? Have I missed the start of the most long-awaited GB in history (well, at least in my opinion...). Well, I better get started then! I have soooo many subjects to chose from (as well as kits in my stash). The prototype? The two-seater? The splinter-camouflaged one? The not-so-common D-version? A recce one? But since I really like the challenge to paint really weathered Drakens, I think this will be my subject: In fact, there are pictures of it showing an even more weathered look than this picture. And i like the orange band behind the radome. This aircraft is preserved at the Aeroseum Museum in Gothenburg (just a few kilometres from where I lived as a child btw), although it was never based there but in Linköping. From my HUGE Draken stash, I picked these items: The decals is a test-shot of Moose Republic Decals new Draken decals, although the large white numbers for the wings are missing - which is no problem for this very subject. So let's get started! Edited June 3, 2023 by Bjorn 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Fint att ha dig med oss! V-P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted March 16, 2023 Author Share Posted March 16, 2023 When I started the build, I discovered that the Aires cockpit in fact was suited for the S 35E recce version. So that made me change plans, switching to a project that I started planning many years ago: A modifyed S 35E from F 11 wing in Nyköping, early 1980s. So I will build this one instead: As you can see, I also have a few photo-etched parts from an earlier build. And I will use the decals that I showed earlier. So let's try this one instead. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpoud117 Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 That is one dynamic box-art! Hasegawa Draken boxarts are pretty neat in general (when they are not pictures/profiles). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted March 20, 2023 Author Share Posted March 20, 2023 And here we go! I started with the compulsory removal of the elevons. These are always drooped on a parked Draken, it is a pity that Hasegawa did not do these as separate parts. However, the removal on the 1/48 one is far easier than on Hasegawa's 1/72 edition. I also cleared the canopy area to prepare it for the Aires cockpit. I added some extra details in the wheel wells, opened the holes for the wing cameras and glued the clear parts. Not much will be seen behind the clear camera parts, but I added a pair of simplified lenses anyway. I also opened the small air intake on the fin and glued small plastic strips that will be cut to create the mesh. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg B Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 Looking good. 50% through the removal of the elevons myself. Got the fuselage prepped for the Aires cockpit and the casting plugs off the resin parts. Even managed to get the etched seat belts on despite Aires best efforts to confuse you with their instructions... I like what you have done with the wheel bays, it doesnt look like its worth the effort to squeeze the Aires ones in, yours look better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 A very good job indeed! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 Nice start!! Great to see you here in the most relevant of all GBs 😉 Need to follow suit.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted March 21, 2023 Author Share Posted March 21, 2023 17 hours ago, exdraken said: Nice start!! Great to see you here in the most relevant of all GBs 😉 Indeed it is! The Aires cockpit after painting. The seat is not finished yet, belts and small decals are missing. One thing about the Draken cockpit (the green ones) is that there is at least three different shades of green. The sidewalls (not so visible here) are pretty bright green, the most of the bathtub and the instrument panel has almost the same, but slightly different shades of olive green. A tip for those building this kit is to attach the rear cone before glueing the body halves together. Doing so, it is easier to get a perfect fit. I also glued the chaff/flare dispensers, part of a 70s modification system, simply called "Apparat 15" (Device 15). It looks as if they do not fit, but the step between the plastic and the resin part is correct. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 Great work on the pit! How well does it fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted March 21, 2023 Author Share Posted March 21, 2023 3 hours ago, exdraken said: Great work on the pit! How well does it fit? Thanks! Aires cockpits can be a challenge, but this one fits really good. The instructions are not perfect, it does not tell you to cut the "wall" behind the seat on the kit part. But if you do that, fitting it is no problem at all. Aires also sell the seat separately, however it does not fit the Hasegawa cockpit since it is too wide. This can be solved by correcting the left side panel that is too long on both the kit and the Aires cockpit. I did that once, the panel is this long: (The sidewall is scratch-built, the kit lacks it on the left side.) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted March 22, 2023 Author Share Posted March 22, 2023 Having built eight of these, I am pretty familiar with the construction... This combined with the fact that this is a great kit with few issues, reaching this stage was a rather fast process. I glues small pieces of plastic to the holes that appeared when I removed the elevons. This part will be more detailed later. Apart from that, the only (minor) issue is a small gap between the fin part and the rest of the spine. This was solved by pressing a thin piece of plastic into it, and sand it into a correct shape. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Great progress! Yeah, the only thing that might be an additional improvement is some full length intakes. Everything else is either a drop in replacement or not really if help, like the rather small Aires elevons... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 3 hours ago, exdraken said: Great progress! Yeah, the only thing that might be an additional improvement is some full length intakes. Everything else is either a drop in replacement or not really if help, like the rather small Aires elevons... True that. And the Aires elevon set is a shame - I bought them once, totally wasted money. Maestro models has a correct set, but if you remove them carefully, there is no problem to use the kit parts. The only good thing is the small photo-etch fret. It is a pity that it is not sold separately. https://www.maestromodels.com/aircraft-types/saab-35-draken/dropped-flaps-for-saab-35-draken.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 Next step was to glue the drooped elevons in place. This is a little tricky, since they shall look just as if they were tied together (which they are not). After some fettling, sanding and after using a little putty, it looked good enough: A small piece of plasticard was used to cover the hole that emerged when the elevons were cut from the wings. I drilled small holes in different sizes just as they look on the original: Next step was primer using Tamiya primer from a rattlecan. I normally use primer before I glue the clear parts, to prevent overspray. This is a great kit, so almost nothing had to be fixed after priming. I sanded it with 2000 grit sandpaper until i got a smooth finish. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter W Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 Beautiful work Bjorn and I wish that I'd read about the Aires ailerons before I purchased them, they really aren't the best of things to fit. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 The additional cockpit and wheel well detailing looks great. Looking forward to your faded camouflage! Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted April 21, 2023 Author Share Posted April 21, 2023 Not much time for model building in April... I hope May will be better so that I can finish this bird. First step in painting was a heavy preshade, this will be a weathered machine: 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 13 hours ago, Bjorn said: Not much time for model building in April... I hope May will be better so that I can finish Any progress is good progress! But good luck finding more time to complete this, it looks like you have a spectacular model in the making. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted April 27, 2023 Author Share Posted April 27, 2023 Underside painted: 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter W Posted April 27, 2023 Share Posted April 27, 2023 Looking good Björn and hope you manage to find some good modelling time to get this one finished. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted May 16, 2023 Author Share Posted May 16, 2023 Finally, I have found time to paint this one! The original had a nice faded look, although the blue had not turned that greenish as it did later in its career. I used Mr Paint colours. The blue is almost spot on, the olive green is in fact olive green 325, used on for instance Lansens. However, Mr Paint's interpretation is far too brown - but then almost perfect for the more brownish Draken green. This is about 1975, before the new stencil type was applied. After a coat of gloss varnish, I used Moose Republics brilliant decals, although there is no S 35E sheet yet (it will follow), all decals can be found on the F sheet. The challenge is to find the right place for the stencils, since it differed a little from other versions, and since the F 11 wing sometimes did not care that much about them as other wings did. A F 11 speciality is that the distance between the two digits on the fin is a little longer than on all other Drakens. Next step is detail painting and more weathering. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted May 18, 2023 Share Posted May 18, 2023 Beautiful. The preshading was very effective five. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted May 24, 2023 Author Share Posted May 24, 2023 (edited) While waiting for some additional decals, I have focused on details. So here is an update. First, ejection seat finished with seatbelts: Landing gears with some added detail: The intakes is a tricky one. Many instructions claims that they should be painted aluminium, which is wrong. They are made of glass-fibre that is painted grey, paint that often was chipped away partly. I painted them in a yellowish green colour (Mr Paint), and after that they were painted with Tamiya Light Grey that was slightly sanded to imitate the real thing. Main gear wheel wells and tail wheel well with its landing gear painted and washed: One thing often forgotten when building the recce version (also by me in my earlier builds...) is the small camera sighting just behind the nose cone. This is not included in the kit, and had to be scratch-built. I also added some detail in the nose wheel well, most visible is the green electrical-something. Edited May 24, 2023 by Bjorn 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted May 29, 2023 Author Share Posted May 29, 2023 A light wash with Ultimate Dark Dirt. Hasegawa's panel lines are brilliant, thin, but deep enough not to cause any problems when washing the model. Not much left now. Which is good, since I have to hurry up to finish this one before the GB ends. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now