Italeri

1/48 JAS 39 Gripen Twin Seater

Kit Number: 2664

Reviewed by  Randy Colvin, IPMS# 37154

MSRP: $32.95 Background: The JAS 39 Gripen has been a part of the Swedish Air Force since 1997 and some believe it is the best light-weight multi-role jet operating today. With the new twin seater version being fielded now its' role is being expanded. Countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, and South Africa have also been operating the JAS 39 since 1998. It is also in competition with the Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, F-16 and F-18 to be the fighter of other former Eastern-bloc countries. Contents: Italeri does not describe this kit as a "B" model, when it in fact is a "B" model being that it is a two seater. The kit contains 108 flash free parts molded in medium grey and 9 clear pieces that are very clean of any marks. Detail is excellent throughout the entire kit. The decal sheet is printed by Cartograf and includes markings for four aircraft to include Swedish, Hungarian, South African and Czech Republic. The SAAF and Hungarian versions show a false canopy painted in the bottom of the nose but no decal is provided so it will have to be masked and painted if either one of these versions is done. Armament consists of six Sparrow and two Sidewinder missiles and one drop tank. There are only eight steps to the instructions sheet followed by a painting guide for all four aircraft. This is a very elegant looking piece of machinery that will look good in any display case when done. References: www.gripen.com .

Construction Construction began with assembly of the cockpit; this included the seats, instrument and side panels and nose wheel bay. Italeri overly simplified many parts on this kit and the cockpit is no exception. There is no detail on any of the instrument faces or side consoles locations so decals are provided for these areas but the real problem with this is that with the side console decals in place they leave a gap between them and the side walls of the cockpit. The only way to really correct this is to use an after market photo-etch set, which I believe is available. Once this is complete the fuselage halves are assembled and I found no problems with alignment. The instructions recommend adding 20 grams of weight to the nose but I some how missed this step, the good news is that the aircraft is not tail heavy at all and sits just fine. Once the seams were sanded and lines rescribed, the wings and canards were attached and they lined up pretty well with no major problems. I chose not to add the radar in the nose as I was going to have the nose cone closed anyway, so these parts were left on the sprue. The tail cone and afterburner were added at this step along with the windscreen. There is a slight alignment problem with the intakes and care is needed to line them up properly. I decided to add the landing gear struts before painting, which is usually something I don't do, but with the same color (white) used for both the struts and wheel bay interiors it was a no-brainer to mask and paint. The biggest problem I found (and the one that was the most frustrating) was that the wheels (both nose and main) have literally no defined line between the wheel and tire, so good luck with tape or a steady hand. I ended up using a little of both to get the job done. I also sanded my tires down a little to simulate weight. The ordnance provided with this kit is six Sparrows, two Sidewinders and one belly tank. You have a choice to leave off two of the Sparrows or both sidewinders. As far as construction goes, the entire kit was pretty simple, with no serious fit problems. Painting The cockpit was painted in medium gray with black upper portions and instrument panel hoods. The seats look to be the US Navy style that are used in F-18's (I'm no ejection seat expert) which I would think odd for a Swedish aircraft manufacturer, but that's what they most closely resemble in on-line photographs, so that's what I used or a painting guide. The markings I chose to do was the South African Air Force version as it had some color in an otherwise standard (bland) two-tone gray scheme. This aircraft also had a false canopy painted under the fuselage but Italeri provided no decal or template for this so I used the canopy and windscreen as a template and cut it out of masking tape. The aircraft is medium gray overall with a gunship gray "diamond" pattern on top of the wings and fuselage. It looks to be a hard-edged pattern so masking was the answer. I then masked the bottom, leaving the wheel wells exposed, and painted this area white along with the struts. After a little weathering, a coat of Future was sprayed on in preparation for decaling. Some years ago I built the Italeri Rafale and the decals didn't seem to stick very well. I didn't have the same problem with this kit's decal sheet, although I believe they are the same manufacturer. They all went down very nicely and reacted well to Solva-Set, settling down in the panel lines. After a day of decal drying the kit was hit with another coat of Future followed by a wash of water paint, followed by a flat using Model Master Dull Coat. The stripes on each missile were hand painted and then masked off, then each missile was airbrushed white. The decal guide showed a lot more panel lines in the drawings then are actually molded on the kit (again, another short cut). Conclusion This was a decent kit with the exception of the simplicities that Italeri took in the engineering of the molds. The only thing I added was the belts and straps on the ejection seats. I suppose with a $30.00 price tag you might expect a slightly better kit but Italeri did an okay job. It's no Tamiya or Hasegawa kit but it's a lot cheaper than those other manufacturers also. The one thing I must say about the model is that the JAS 39 is definitely one of the sleekest looking aircraft I've seen in a while. I could thank Saab for that but instead I'll thank Italeri because they produce one that I can own. Recommended for any Modern Jet Aircraft fan and for those who just like really sleek looking aircraft. A big THANK YOU to IPMS/USA for allowing me the opportunity to review this kit, and to Italeri as well.

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