Airfix 1/72 Saab Draken

AIRFIX 1:72 SAAB DRAKEN

Reviewer: Paulo Ivo Teixeira (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 4 November 2006

Kit Details:

Airfix Saab J-35 Draken 1/72 scale, kit # 02039.

The Kit:

Sturdy top-opening box, modern update of original 1970s design. From Wonderland model shop in Edinburgh, Scotland, for 4.99 GB pounds in late August 2006.

There are already two excellent reviews of this kit on SMAKR (including by Mark B. himself), so I'll just refer the reader to those for aircraft history, parts breakdown etc. Instead I'll just concentrate on a few issues that I feel have not been addressed by previous reviewers.

(Some things never change though: sprues - admittedly of better-quality plastic than in the days of old - and loose canopy floating freely in box.)

Construction:

First, this kit can't decide what Draken variant it portrays. It has the more curved, single-frame canopy of the later (-F onwards) variants, but also two cannon, which only the earlier variants carried. So the easiest fix is to just fill in the left wingroot cannon muzzle and you are left with a passable rendition of a J-35F.

Second, the kit is a bit too hollow: there are large openings connecting the inside of the intakes and the main fuselage aft of the cockpit. These need to be blocked, othewise you'll be able to see right into the aircraft. I
used UHU Patafix (Continental European blu-tack, though it's actually white), moulded into plates, which I bent at right angles in order to block both the intake and the opening between the intake and the main fuselage; as a bonus they also served as noseweight. I then painted the insides of the intakes (and the blanking plates) flat black (Hu 33). Success: nothing shows!

Third, fit is in general quite good. Exceptions are: there is a step at the nose-to-fuselage joint; small gaps where the outer wings join the inner wings, and around the vents just aft of the canopy and the auxiliary air intakes for the afterburner. It was all taken care of with small amounts of white glue. Fit of the underwing pylons was a bit too tight and required some minor trimming. Also the locating holes for the undercarriage legs need a little widening.

Fourth, there is little by way of detail painting instructions. From inspection of photos I chose silver (Hu 11) for the undercarriage legs and wheels, Revell aluminium (Re 99) for the inside of the undercarriage bay doors, flat aluminium (Hu 56) for the undercarriage bays (for contrast: this is slightly darker than Re 99), and Interior Green FS34151 (Xtracolor X117, it is a matt paint) for the cockpit. The latter appears to have been the standard cockpit colour for the earlier Drakens in Swedish service, and as I was modelling a 1970's machine it looked right to me. The ejection seat was painted silver with an Army Green (Hu 102) cushion, flat black (Hu 33) headrest with a bright red (Hu 19) tab on top, and US Light Ghost Grey (Hu 127) seat belts with silver buckles. Be sure to paint the roofs of the undercarriage bays some way into the fuselage, otherwise you'll see unpainted plastic if you look at the inverted plane sideways.

Fifth, the painting guide only shows a three-view of the aircraft - you are not told how to paint its left-hand side. One obvious solution would be to refer to the box artwork, which APPEARS to show a Draken seen from the left. However, closer inspection reveals that this is actually a mirror image of the box artwork for the earlier releases of this kit, which shows the aircraft seen from the RIGHT. Luckily given the Draken's shape you only need to find out how to paint the tail fin and a small portion of the fuselage between the nose and the air intake, which is no big deal.

Colour Schemes:

Refer to IPMS charts for accurate aircraft colours, as I don't trust Airfix instructions on this. IPMS's recommended colours for the Saab Draken, versions A-F, are blue-grey FS36173/36314 (Hu 175 - or should it be Hu 156, or either?), dark blue FS35042/35045 (Hu 77) and dark olive green FS34086/34052 (Hu 116).

I actually used Hu 106 Ocean Grey (FS36187, close enough to FS36173 and recommended by a Viggen modeller on the Modeling Madness website), Hu 77 and Hu 30 dark green (FS34096), which pretty well match some photos I found on the Aircraft Resource Center website. I was not too happy with Hu 30, as it seemed to dry too quickly. The only other problem, if I can call it that, is that Hu 30 and Hu 77 are both quite dark and it's not always easy to see the demarcation line between the two.

Decals:

Looked good on sheet, but with lots of VERY THICK carrier film. The yellow decals - and that's most of them - are too pale and have spurious white edges: this is particularly noticeable in the checkerboards. The nose roundels also look a bit too big. Final product slightly disappointing as a result.

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