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:)
Click on
images below to see larger images
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
Click on
images below to see larger images
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