1/48 ESCI Saab SK37E Viggen

Gallery Article by Darrell Murray on Apr 7 2010

 

This is my tribute to Swedish ingenuity and technological achievement, as well as a farewell to a beautiful aircraft from service. The kit, the 1/48 ESCI JA-37 (not the AJ) was in my closet for at least 20 years. I have always loved the Viggen, but I had a special attraction to the funky looking yet very cool 2 seat SK37 version. I always wanted to tackle the conversion, complete with the 4 color splinter camo scheme, but I was always too intimidated by it. About a year ago, I finally rolled up my sleeves to dive in...Knowing that I would not be satisfied with the kit's crude (by today's standards) panel details, I started by completely scribing/re-scribing all of the panel lines with the help of reference from Airliners.net, ARC, my library of World Airpower journals etc...,and some other internet resources. Not are the kit's panel lines raised and simplified, but they are also largely incorrect. Next, I opened up the old 1/72 Matchbox SK37 to reproduce the plan and profile views from the instructions to 1/48 scale, and to get a general familiarity with the layout of the 2 seater. 

Unfortunately, at the time I started this kit, no conversion parts were available, so I made my own 2 seat spine conversion using every reference I could find, and then cast it in resin. I also scratchbuilt and cast the periscopes, extended ventral fin, fairing sections on the rear fuselage (totally wrong in the kit), centerline tank (mine was missing), and the BT-53 laser reflector pods. The kit canopy is wrong, so I corrected it by making my own resin plugs and vacuforming my own single piece canopy for the front cockpit, and likewise for the entirely new rear canopy. I also scratchbuilt the engine exhaust section, rear cockpit, and antennas. I didn't have any up to date cockpit photos, and I read somewhere that these SK37E's had continual avionics upgrades. I decided to modify the front panel to approximate JA37 contemporary standards, and I just used an eduard JAS39D rear panel in the back. No doubt it is incorrect, but it looks decent, and the canopies are glued closed anyway. I like to go for the overall impression in any case, rather than exact replication. I did make a rear cockpit periscope viewing device though, using small cross sections of wire insulation, but it is hard to see.  

The aftermarket items used were:

  • TwoMike's resin- Corrected nose, intakes, canard planes and vertical stabilizer.

  • Maestro Models- Viggen wheels and landing gear (available about 3/4 of the way through the project), U-95 pod and late KB pod.

  • Neomega- front cockpit and rear ejection seat.

  • Eduard- various detail items.

  • Hobby decal- Pitot tube (Tornado).

  • TwoBob's and Flying Colors decals- a mixture of both.

  • MV products- all lenses as always (3 on this kit)

I went through about a dozen versions on the spine before I was satisfied, and spent about $150 in materials as I learned resin molding and casting for the first time:) 

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When it came time for painting, I decided to use Testors Model Master paints, as they are readily available where I live Southern California), and I am very comfortable with them. I mixed my own colors as follows, using my own perception of color as my guide:

  • Black- 4:1 Black with Medium Gray

  • Light Green- 2:1 Lichtgrun with Pale green

  • Dark green- straight from the bottle

  • Tan- 1:1 Dark Tan with Afrika Brown

  • Future- Lots and Lots of it

I sprayed them with my Tamiya Spray-work HG airbrush and my 20 year old Badger 80-2 compressor, using the superb Gator glue Viggen splinter masks. I preshaded the panel lines with flat black between every color. I tried to capture the oxidation and heat distress on the fuselage (clearly evident in many of my reference photos) with artist pencils (gunmetal), and selective use of drybrushing the green areas with insignia yellow, and a little acrylic burnt umber here and there, and a few dabs of various greys. I finished off the whole thing with Testors clear flat and semi-gloss after a good rinse. The most difficult part (other than the resin parts) was depicting the yellow line on the radome. I tried everything- masking, freehand painting, various curved decals, etc... I finally ended up using some yellow electrical tape- just sliced a narrow section of it and after about 20 attempts, It had what I considered an acceptable shape. I know it is too wide and thick, but frankly, I was frustrated and had just about had it altogether, so I considered it done!

I want to thank IPMS Stockholm for the references available through their website, and especially Steve Bamford for keeping this wonderful site up. I have been a daily visitor for years now. Except for a few of my family and friends, nobody has ever seen any models that I have built, and I have been actively modelling for 35+ years. I don't belong to or participate in any modelling clubs, so this is a great  chance to share a little of what gives me some pride and joy with all of you fellow modellers out there. While it is far from perfect, I hope you all enjoy it!

Thanks again to all of you ARC'ers, Stephan Mulberger for your beautiful example which kept me motivated...and especially Steve. Comments and criticism are welcome, just try to be gentle! After a year of on and off work, I think it was worth it!

Darrell Murray

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Photos and text © by Darrell Murray