Special Hobby 1/48 Saab Viggen AJ-37
Good morning from Viet Nam !
This is my lattest build, the Saab Viggen AJ-37 from Special Hobby. This is actuallu a rebox of Tarangus Viggen with the added of color PE for the cockit.
The fit is good overall, consider the nature of limit run kit. There are some inaccuracies lies within the kit, especiall the tiny main wheels which is too thin. I used several plastic sheets to add the thickness then sand to shaped.
Paint use mostly with Gunze Color, weathering done with Mig and chipping here and there with color pencil
The splinter camo is the hardest paint job I have done up to date. Maestor made a paint mask sheet for this camo, however the fit isn't that good and need a lot touch up to follow.
Weapons are Maverick Missles from Eduard, RBF tags, others are from spare box. Pitot tubes from Master Model ( I think 😀 )
The Saab Viggen will surely stand out from all the F 16,18 etc thanks to it camo and muscle shape. The build was fun but the splinter camo is something I won't try again 😀
Thanks for reading !
This is a awesome build, I love the camo, great job.
Excellent and impressive build Nguyen, I have been putting off picking this kit up for awhile now, having the older Esci kit for so many years. This is the first one I have seen built from either Tarangus or Special Hobby. Well done, thanks for sharing.
Fantastic paint job really sets this model off, these Saabs are really attractive.
Yes...outstanding camouflage scheme, sir...nice work indeed.
Looks great! Coming from Sweden, I've seen quite a few of these planes. You've really hit the splint cammo right on. Congratulations!
Nguyen, this is great! Your painting is superb.
I've long admired the Viggen & think it's a VERY attractive & capable looking jet!
OUTSTANDING!
Numbah One!
Anybody insane enough to attempt that camo scheme and get it as fantastically right as you did will ALWAYS get my vote. This is just superb (and evidence of why I will never do one 🙂 )
Just super.
A real beauty! Love the Viggen in the splinter scheme - I've got a 1/72 kit and set of paint masks to try my hand at it myself, but have been building up the nerve... This is a nice piece of inspiration!
The Viggen in splinter camo. Is there really any other way to paint a J-37? (That isn't boring that is.) Although I do have to admit that the Swedish Historical Flight's J-37 does look good in natural metal the splinter camo is just so interesting to look at. This plane and Polar Lights 1/350 U.S.S. Enterprise Refit are two models in my stash I am absolutely dreading painting and they both have masks! Your SAAB looks "just right". Not too clean, not too weathered. What order did you paint in and how did they have you apply the masks so everything is straight?
Hi Josh,
All color are painted at the same time as I worked by section to section. Left Wing first, black is on then masked off, then the color next to black area get to be painted next. It's a long process and really p**s me off sometimes. There are more than 1 time I want to quite !
Yep, just insane masking to get that camouflage done right, but you nailed it Nguyen, so congratulations on a superb Viggen
As others have commented, a well presented model of a distinguished type.
Hi guys,
Thank you all for your kind words and comments. All of this encouraged me to go on another project and keep me happy all the time.
For those who intend to buy and build this kit, please looking for the Maestro mask set. Due to the complexity of the airframe, the mask won't be fit like a glove, especially the fuselage, hence don't put your expectation so high (like I did) and thought that the mask will cover everything. Having say that, even with a number of time I need to re mask and touch up every lines of camo, the Maestro mask is still consider a must for this build.
There are several after market set for this aircraft, however bloody expensive. Price for all the pylons and correct set put all together will cost even higher than the kit itself. Thus, I use the spare box as an alternative for parts to rectified one of the error. All the errors are discussed somewhere online, the most obvious is the main wheels which I have mentioned above.
At the finishing stage, it horrified me that this one is tail sitter, I used 2 part epoxy to make FOD guard and added some weight to the model, luckily she able to stand properly 😀
Definitely a Goldilocks build. With some strong work in the painting dept. Also, a strong contender for model of the month.Given the complexity and the out come of the cameo.
Two thumbs up Nguyen. Looking forward to seeing some more painting magic in your next build.
Hello Nguyen,
Impressive build and excellent finish. I believe you, when you mentioned that it was giving same headache to get it applied.
Regards, Dirk / The Netherlands.
Amazing build mate! The paint work and camo is stunning.
Hi Nguyen. What a great build & top marks for doing the splinter camo so well. You undoubtedly have a good pair of glasses as well as a lot of patience & courage!