Ah yes, the Viggen. To my eye one of the nicest looking aircraft to ever take wing. Add the black/green/brown splinter scheme and it’s just about unequaled in the coolest-looking jet category. That infamous Viggen splinter scheme has long been on my “to airbrush” list and this new kit from Special Hobby is just the motivation I needed. Many thanks, as usual, to Emil the owner of Skyway Hobby Shop for plying me with a never-ending source of new and novel kits. On to the Viggen….

The Saab 37 Viggen (“Thunderbolt”) is a retired Swedish single-seat, single-engine, short-medium range combat aircraft. Development work on the type was initiated at Saab in 1952 and, following the selection of a radical delta wing configuration the resulting aircraft performed its first flight on February 8, 1967 entering service on June 21, 1971. The Viggen was the most advanced fighter jet in Europe until the introduction of the Panavia Tornado in 1981.

Several variants of the Viggen were produced to perform the roles of strike fighter (AJ 37), aerial reconnaissance (SF 37), maritime patrol aircraft (SH 37), and a two-seat trainer (SK 37). In the late 1970s, the all-weather fighter-interceptor aircraft JA 37 variant was introduced. In November 2005, the Viggen was retired from service by the Swedish Air Force, the only operator. It’s replacement was the new Saab JAS 39 Gripen.

The AJ 37 Viggen

The AJ 37 was typically equipped with a total of seven hardpoints, three underneath the fuselage and two under each wing, a further two wing-mounted hardpoints could be optionally fitted but this facility was rarely used. Various munitions could be carried such as several types of rockets: the 135 mm M56GP 4 kg armour-piercing, the M56B with 6.9 kg of high explosives, and the M70 with a 4.7 kg HEAT warhead.

The AJ 37 was designed to carry two RB 04E anti-ship missiles on the inboard wing pylons with an optional third missile on the centerline pylon. The RB-04 was a relatively simple cruise missile that was further developed to become the more capable RBS-15, also integrated on the Viggen. An optional load consisted of two RB 05 air-to-surface missiles on the fuselage pylons. The RB 05 was later replaced by the television-guided AGM-65 Maverick: Swedish designation “RB 75” missile. In a ground-attack role, a combination of unguided 135 mm rockets in sextuple pods and 120 kg fragmentation bombs on quadruple-mounts could be used. Other armaments include explosive mines, and 30 mm ADEN cannon pods on the inboard wing pylons each with 150 rounds of ammunition.

Self-defense measures included various ECM systems, as well as either the AIM-4 Falcon (Swedish designation “RB 28”) or AIM-9 Sidewinder (Swedish designation “RB 24”) air-to-air missiles. At one point, the AJ 37 Viggen was under consideration to carry both nuclear and chemical weapon, although the Swedish government did not adopt these munitions.

The Viggen was designed to be simple to maintain, even by conscripted flight line mechanics with limited technical training. A single Viggen could be maintained by a team of five conscripts under the supervision of a single chief mechanic. Standard turnaround, including refueling and rearming, took less than ten minutes to perform. An engine replacement took four hours. Over the long term, the Viggen required 22-man hours per flight hour of maintenance work at the depot level, and nine-man hours per flight hour at the front line.

By the mid-1980s, Swedish Viggen fighter pilots, using the predictable patterns of Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird flights over the Baltic Sea, managed to achieve radar lock on the SR-71 on numerous occasions. Despite heavy jamming from the SR-71, target illumination was maintained by feeding target location from ground-based radars to the fire-control computer in the Viggen. The most common site for the lock-on to occur was the thin stretch of international airspace between Öland and Gotland that the SR-71 used on the return flight. The Viggen is the only aircraft to get an acknowledged radar lock on the SR-71.

Retirement

By 1994, the replacement of the Viggen by the later and more advanced Saab JAS 39 Gripen was in progress, the type being progressively phased out as greater numbers of Gripen aircraft were delivered. On November 25, 2005, the Swedish Air Force formally retired the last front line Viggen. A few aircraft were kept in an operational condition for electronic warfare training against the Gripen at F 17M in Linköping; the last of these Viggen flights took place in June 2007.

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 16.4 m (53 ft 10 in)

Wingspan: 10.6 m (34 ft 9 in)

Height: 5.9 m (19 ft 4 in)

Wing area: 46 m 2 (500 sq ft)

Empty weight: 9,500 kg (20,944 lb)

Gross weight: 16,000 kg (35,274 lb) (AJ37 17,000 kg (37,479 lb))

Max takeoff weight: 20,000 kg (44,092 lb)

Powerplant: 1 × Volvo RM8B afterburning turbofan, 72.1 kN (16,200 lbf) thrust dry, 125 kN (28,000 lbf) with afterburner

Performance

Maximum speed: 2,231 km/h (1,386 mph, 1,205 kn) at 36,100 ft (11,003 m)

Maximum speed: Mach 2.1

Range: 2,000 km (1,200 mi, 1,100 nmi) internal fuel only

Service ceiling: 18,000 m (59,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 203 m/s (40,000 ft/min)

Armament

1 × 30 mm Oerlikon KCA cannon with 150 rounds

6 missile stations for 2 RB71 Skyflash (only JA37), 4 AIM-120 AMRAAM (JA 37D), or 6 AIM-9 Sidewinder or 4 rocket pods (135 mm, 5.4 in).

U95 ECM pod (JA 37D).

(Edited from Wikipedia)

In the Box:



As is the norm when I review a Special Hobby kit I state up front that this has been my favorite kit manufacturer for many (many) years. As usual, I’ve endeavored to be as unbiased as possible for this review but man this is another nice kit from the folks at Special Hobby 🙂 Guess I blew that, huh.



In a rather large lidded box are 7 sprues of grey styrene, one clear sprue, one fret of color PE, and one decal sheet with markings for 3 airframes.

The initial response is the size: this is going to be a pretty big kit when assembled. Parts layout and engineering are conventional and the parts count seems low for such a large model. As usual for Special Hobby the inscribed panel lines and surface details are as good as those found on some big production kits (Tamigawa). That said there’s a bit of flash to deal with and extra time will have to be spent cleaning some of the smaller components: par for the course for a limited-run kit.

Assembly begins with the pilot’s office and there is ample detail here right out of the box starting with the 20-piece ejection seat complete with a colored PE harness: very nice.

The cockpit tub is augmented with color photo-etch side panels and a 5-piece color PE instrument panel. This will be a very convincing cockpit when complete.

Model Paint Solutions Scribing Tools

The completed cockpit along with the engine intake ducting and nose wheel well are then captured between forward fuselage halves. Of note is the inclusion of the large fan blade that will be visible through the engine intakes when assembled.

Next up are the rather prominent thrust reversers that are visible within the engine burner can. The three petal-shaped reversers can be posed in one of three positions: fully open, ground position (partially open), and fully closed. The assembled thrust reverser is then trapped between the rear fuselage halves and the forward (cockpit) and rear (engine) sections are then joined thereby completing the fuselage.

The main wheel wells are separate parts that are added to the full-span lower wing halve. This is offered up to the completed fuselage followed by the left and right upper wing halves: simple and straightforward. The single-piece left and right engine intakes, the halved nose cone, and the horizontal stabilizer-elevator are added next followed by the multi-part canards largely completing the airframe.

The distinctive main gear with its tandem wheel arrangement is nicely replicated with each assembly (left and right) being comprised of 11 pieces not including wheels and tires. The kit contains no wing hard points or ordinance. Two different centerline drop tanks (one with three fins, one with four) are provided. The instructions show either tank being fitted however the three-finned tank is apparently appropriate for the AJ variant. (Editors note: Special thanks to “Swemer” for sharing his knowledge on the drop tank versions).



Of note is the option to build the small, wind-driven, emergency generator that’s located on the port fuselage just in front of the leading edged of the wing deployed or closed.

The canopy is nicely molded, crystal-clear, and can be posed open or closed. Three PE rear-view mirrors that affix to the inner rear frame of the windscreen are included: nice. With the canopy open the nicely detailed cockpit will be easily appreciated and add to what will be a very convincing build.

Color and Markings:

The decals, by Special Hobby, are crisply printed with good color density and registration. Markings for three airframes and stencil data is provided as follows:

A) AJ 37 Viggen, 7-62, s/n 37062, call sign Gustav 62, F7 Wing, Såtänus, 1990’s.

B) AJ 37 Viggen, 7-22, s/n 37022, call sign Gustav 22, F7 Wing, Såtänus, 1973.

C) AJ 37 Viggen, 15-10, s/n 37051, F15 Wing, Söderhamn, 1978.

Airframe Stencils 1

Airframe Stencils 2

Conclusion:

This Viggen is yet another beautiful kit from Special Hobby and one that I’m just dying to begin. Being a limited-run kit there’ll be occasional flash and some test fitting of components but the result will be a very detailed model of one of the more distinctive and beautiful aircraft to come from the Saab line. Well done, Special Hobby—Highly recommended!

–John Miller Review kit provided by my retirement fund, again.

↓More Special Hobby Viggen Pics Below↓

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