FROG F264, SAAB AJ-37 Viggen, Rovex industries ltd, 1969
The IPMS magazine, Vol.5 No.11, NOVEMBER 1968
NEW AND IN VIEW - Aircraft Kits
HASEGAWA. SAAB AJ-37 Viggen. 1/72 scale. Price 250 yen (Japan)
With this kit, Hasegawa have come completely up-to-date as the Viggen is not scheduled to enter service with the Flygvapnet for some while yet. This is a fascinating model, both on account of the importance of the aircraft and of its peculiar shape, which is accurately represented.
The parts, which are pressed in silver plastic, are neatly moulded, though a good deal of streaking is apparent. The gates which attach them to the sprues are rather heavy, and care is needed when detaching the parts or damage may be caused to them. Surface detail is first-class, and strikes exactly the right balance between visibility and scale effect. The fit of the parts is fairly good, but the fuselage joint line is very apparent and a good deal of force is required to get the wing to fit properly. On the other hand, the fit of the wing and fin inserts is perfect, as is that of the smaller parts. Two large missiles are provided, and with them fitted the model looks most effective.
The decal sheet is of excellent quality and offers the markings of all three prototypes.
This kit is good value for money, and provided that care is taken, will assemble into an excellent model.
***
Modelling world
by James Goulding
Two more from Frog/Hasegawa
SAAB Viggen
The kit of Saab's unusual Viggen makes up in to another very fine and interesting model. There is little to fault in this kit, which is up to the usual high standard of accuracy to be found in Hasegawa-produced models. The only unfortunate aspect of the model is that it is representative of the prototype aircraft, but modellers should not have any major problems in converting it to the production-type Viggen. The most difficult change concerns the outer wing extensions to the main wing.
The transfers are for the first three prototypes. Of these three Viggens, No 2 was the aircraft concerned with testing the armament, particularly the installation of the Rb 04 air-to-surface missiles. These and a drop tank are included in the kit. Price of this kit is 7s 6d.
AIRCRAFT Illustrated, October 1969
Air Enthusiast 1971-11 vol.01 no.06
MODEL ENTHUSIAST
A pair of deltas
Two modern delta-winged combat aircraft added to the stockists' shelves recently are 1/72nd scale kits of the Saab 37 Viggen from Airfix and the McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk from Frog. It would be nitpicking to suggest that the Viggen kit is anything but superb. It possesses almost all the virtues — accuracy, clean pressings, excellent surface detail, easy assembly, a mass of underwing stores, and so on. Its one shortcoming is provided by its decals which are inaccurately coloured and fuzzily printed, and unworthy in every respect of the fine kit that they accompany. At a UK retail price of 34 pence Airfix's Viggen is quite astonishing value.
The other delta results from Frog's policy of re-issuing kits originally produced by Hasegawa, and is one of the most recent versions of the A-4 Skyhawk, though not the most recent. Basically the A-4F model, it can be completed as an A-4H of Israel's Hey I Ha'Avir or an A-4K of the RNZAF, markings for both being provided by the high-quality decal sheet, this kit provides a neat, well-detailed model which we believe to be easily assembled. We say believe advisedly as our review sample suffered severe distortion of its fuselage halves. Unfortunately, it is not entirely accurate in outline as its overall length of 7*05 inches (17,91 cm) scales out at 42'5 feet (12,95 m) which is the length of the /wo-seater. It should, in fact, have a length of 6*7 inches (17,02 cm) to scale out at the correct length of 40*1 feet (12,22 m). A large selection of underwing stores is included as is also the ''avionics hump" vyhich appears aft of the cockpit of the A-4K and is now appearing on A-4Hs, and the box art illustrates the camouflage applied to both Israeli and New Zealand aircraft completely, that of the Israeli Skyhawk, if accurate, being fascinating. Frog's Skyhawk retails at 47 pence in the UK, and in terms of quality is value for money.
| RECENTLY ISSUED KITS |
| Company | Type | Scale | Price |
| Airfix | Saab Viggen | 1/72 | 34p |
| Frog | DH Vampire FB 5 | 1/72 | 20p |
| Frog | Bf 110G | 1/72 | 37p |
| Frog | A-4 Skyhawk | 1/72 | 47P |
| Fujimi | Fw190D | 1/50 | £1-20 |
| Hasegawa | Shin Meiwa PS-1 | 1/72 | £3-75 |
| Heller | Jaguar E | 1/50 | __ |
| Italaerei | Re 2002 | 1/72 | - |
| Monogram | F-14A Tomcat | 1/72 | — |
Air Enthusiast 1971-11 vol.01 no.06
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