Special Hobby 1/48 AJS-37 Viggen

June 6, 2021 · in Aviation · · 35 · 2.6K

This was a long project, it began on March 2020 and finished on May 2021, I have always liked the Viggen with its splinter camouflage, therefore I wanted to do this one with all possible improvements. All of the surface received lines of rivets and the needed details or corrections I could find, except for the canards that have the wrong planform on the kit and I also acquired the resin replacements but for my dismay they were too small for my taste, then I had to use the plastic ones. I used lots of resin and metal extras on this lady, aftermarket decals and I scratchbuilt the details on the landing gear and its bays, the starter exhaust and the cockpit. I also printed the stencils in clear decal paper for the load. As you might imagine the painting and weathering was very demanding also. I hope you enjoy these pictures, I tried to capture the beauty of this lady on them.

Reader reactions:
13  Awesome

31 additional images. Click to enlarge.


35 responses

  1. Anyone who does that scheme (to me, the hardest scheme of all to do) as successfully as you have, has my total respect, sir.

    Beautiful work on this.

  2. A daunting scheme indeed, fantastic build!

  3. Top to bottom, inside and out...all VERY well done. Special.

  4. Truly superb, Ruben. Every detail looks perfectly rendered, from the fine cockpit and wheel well detail to the intricate splinter camo. Obviously you went for maximum accuracy as well with etch and resin extras. No matter how much after-market stuff you can add to a kit, the real quality comes out in how well you finish it. In this case, I can't imagine a better final result and have certainly never seen as good a model of the Viggen to date. I am particularly impressed with the subtlety of the weathering when you had to do so many colors in the camo. It looks like you did an oil wash but also pre-shading for the mottled effect. Your photography is excellent as well, since it reveals so much of your fine work and also shows off the lines of the Viggen to best advantage. May I ask what specific paints and colors you used? I have this one in my stash and yours is the version I would most want to emulate. Thanks for sharing.

    • Actually, since I use flat enamels I prefer to do a post fading technique instead of the preshading, the opacity of the flat enamels covers the preshading too well. I used Model Master but mixed the colors at different rates to achieve the different shades on each color and every batch was slightly different, it is difficult to discern on the pictures but each section has a different variety of shades. I painted horizontal, vertical and cilindrical surfaces with slightly different sets of colors. Black was a mix of flat black and a pair of different sand colors. Dark green was Forest green mainly with Euro I dark green, Medium green was Interior green mostly and Testors flat green. Brown was Dark tan and sand and the Blue gray was Dark ghost gray and some Medium gray, but the weathering process added more variety.

  5. This is a superb build in all aspects, Ruben!
    Congratulations!

  6. This is a wonderful build, Ruben.
    The way you did this scheme is outstanding.
    Also the detailing and additions to this build are superb.

  7. Ruben
    That is a very fine bit of modelling sir. Amazing detail and flawless finish.
    It is a beautiful aircraft and you have done her justice.
    Brian

  8. Simply...WOW!
    Everything looks perfect with this build, Ruben. The camo scheme, colours and shading along with the ordnance, not to mention the wheel wells - like I said, everything!

  9. Awfully nice representation of an aircraft I saw a fair bit of in my younger days. You managed to get a nice bit of detail into the landing gear and nice subtle colour shifts in the splinter camouflage.

    If one wants to better this it would be to get more tonal variation in the brown areas of the splinter camouflage. Vertical/horizontal/hot/cold areas could differ quite a bit on the real aircraft.

    If anyone wonders about the green missiles and rockets, in Swedish air force any weapon with no active charge is painted green and usually labeled BLIND in capital letters. A green Sidewinder with a white head is an inert weapon but have an active head for simulated air combat training. So, Ruben, congratulation to a very varied and interesting load out on your AJS 37.

    Of interest may also be that the Swedish Air force designate their aircraft without a hyphen, so this aircraft would be an AJS 37 Viggen and not an AJS-37 Viggen ;).

    • Thank you for dropping some lines here.

      I like to be subtle on my builds, I want the observer to find the details when getting closer to the subject keeping in mind the on-scale effect. You´re right about the difference on the hot areas of the real airplane, I approached this effect through a warm filter or glaze on the painted areas outside of the exhaust and with blue and burnt tints on the metal areas inside of it but it is difficult to capture the effect with my camera on the pictures. Anyway I´m including some close-ups.

      5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

  10. My compliments to you sir! This an outstanding piece of modeling in every aspect. Words cannot express how impressed I am at the finished product! The photography is excellent, BRAVO!

  11. Dare I say museum quality. The splinter cameo is designed to break up an image so that it blends in with the back round. Modeling a kit so that it has a unified cameo scheme that represents a aircraft that has mass and weight of the real deal is no easy task. This build is easily put in the Gold category.

    Two thumbs up Ruben.

  12. Gorgeous, superb, fantastic!
    I have wanted to build a Viggen and paint that scheme back when I first learned of the Viggen in my teens! Awesome- wish i could make one!

    • Same happened to me, the Viggen has always been one of my favorites, but it has been also neglected by the manufacturers, even this one has a lot of things to correct. But the 1/72 tool has many improvements.

  13. Congratulations, Ruben, you've captured the Viggen fabulously, definitely liked.

  14. Ruben, This looks really nice. I see a lot of the previous comments mention how nice the paint work is and how attractive the over scheme looks, all I can say is, "Yes it it is" !

  15. Profile Photo
    Walt said on June 7, 2021

    Truly stunning and remarkable build. It must have been a labor of love to get through all the added details in the landing gear area, that for most will remain hidden, and mastering that camo scheme. A work of art really well done.

    • You might imagine...

      5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

  16. Yep - love it! This is one of my favorite aircraft and scheme, and even though I have the paint masks to do one, I'm still intimidated by it! Love the paint work on this - not just the splinter aspect, but the weathered look to it. Perfect!

    • Love deserves time and effort.

      5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

  17. Really nice work. You have great patience & skill to accomplish this.

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