JAS-39D Czech Air Force no. 9820 - Decennial - WIP
A two-seat Gripen of the Czech Air Force with a special livery for the 10th anniversary of the use of these machines.
Kit is from Chinese manufacturer Kitty Hawk. The picture on the kit box shows a Swedish JAS-39D.
The relatively small cardboard box contains a really large number of parts.
As an addition to this kit I bought the decals for the anniversary machine. Without them, painting would be very difficult.
I also bought a set of PE parts for this kit.
I added PE parts for the side instrument panels to the painted cockpit tub.
I added PE parts for the side instrument panels to the painted cockpit tub.
I assembled both pilot seats from kit parts. And I started adding PE parts to the assembled seats. Most of them are still missing.
I assembled both pilot seats from kit parts. And I started adding PE parts to the assembled seats. Most of them are still missing.
I continued to assemble the nose of the aircraft with both cockpits. Using PE parts with side instrument panels required some modifications.
The instructions in the kit say to glue the plastic parts to the cockpit side panels. However, these parts are too thick and would partially cover the side instrument panels when glued. Therefore, I sanded them as thin as possible. I then glued the parts to the side walls of the cockpits.
The instructions in the kit say to glue the plastic parts to the cockpit side panels. However, these parts are too thick and would partially cover the side instrument panels when glued. Therefore, I sanded them as thin as possible. I then glued the parts to the side walls of the cockpits.
First, I glued the assembled forward landing gear shaft and cockpit tub into the front of the fuselage with the PE parts of the nose side panels glued on.
I glued the dashboards assembled from PE parts to the sanded parts of the dashboard from the kit. Then I glued the top covers to the dashboards.
In the nose of the plane (in front of the cockpits) I put a weight of modelling compound and glued the tip of the fuselage.
The instrument panels and pilot seats are not yet complete and are added to the fuselage without gluing just for photography.
The instrument panels and pilot seats are not yet complete and are added to the fuselage without gluing just for photography.
I added etched seat belts to the painted seats. This fun took me two whole hours. Compared to the Italeri belts, Eduard took more care with the Kitty Hawk belts and they look much better. Although the black dots on the belts, which probably represent the stitching on the belts, could have been omittedy.
I glued the assembled main landing gear shafts to the bottom of the wing.
I glued the assembled main landing gear shafts to the bottom of the wing.
I glued a PE instrument panel into the hole in the starboard side of the fuselage.
Into the rear hole of the APU I glued a grille, assembled from PE parts.
This air outlet is poorly molded on my model. A piece of it is missing. But even if it was whole, it's still the wrong shape. I'll remove it later and replace it with a new one with the correct shape.
After gluing the bay for the main landing gear, I glued the upper wing sections to the bottom of the wings.
I glued the leading edges to the glued wings. Kitty Hawk has all the control surfaces in his kit as separate parts. This makes them easy to adjust to the desired position.
When the Gripen is on the ground, the leading edges are in neutral. So I didn't take advantage of the control surfaces deflection option in this case.
When the Gripen is on the ground, the leading edges are in neutral. So I didn't take advantage of the control surfaces deflection option in this case.
The kit contains a nicely crafted engine. After assembling the engine I painted only the inner surfaces. I did not paint the nicely rendered outer surfaces of the engine. It's unnecessary work. Once the hull is closed, the outer surfaces of the engine will not be visible.
I glued the assembled engine into the fuselage. Finally, I glued the fuselage halves together.
I glued the assembled engine into the fuselage. Finally, I glued the fuselage halves together.
The kit contains a nicely crafted engine. After assembling the engine I painted only the inner surfaces. I did not paint the nicely rendered outer surfaces of the engine. It's unnecessary work. Once the hull is closed, the outer surfaces of the engine will not be visible.
I glued the assembled engine into the fuselage. Finally, I glued the fuselage halves together.
I glued the assembled engine into the fuselage. Finally, I glued the fuselage halves together.
Comparing the rear of the fuselage with the photo, you can see that the front APU opening is too far forward on the model. It needs to be moved back 1 mm.
The rear APU opening is fine.
The rear APU opening is fine.
I moved the front hole of the APU back 1 mm and added details according to the photos.
I removed the poorly shaped air outlet on the right sideyr and made a new one out of brass pipe.
After finishing the modifications, I glued the prepared wings and nose to the rear of the fuselage.
After finishing the modifications, I glued the prepared wings and nose to the rear of the fuselage.
A joint photo of Italeri's single-seat Gripen with this two-seat version from Kitty Hawk.
I filled the small gaps between the glued parts with putty and after it hardened I sanded the joints with fine sandpaper.
I filled the small gaps between the glued parts with putty and after it hardened I sanded the joints with fine sandpaper.
The Gripen's instrument panel covers are covered with a padded "carpet". I marked its surface with thick paint, which I applied with a fine sponge .
I placed the instrument panels and pilot seats in the cockpits without gluing just for testing.
Kommentarer
20 10 December 2023, 23:06
Ludvík KružíkDuring the construction of the single-seat Gripen, I got to the stage where I will seal and sand the surface of the aircraft several times. To take advantage of the time waiting for the sealant to set, I decided to start building a second Gripen. This one will be a two-seat "D" version. And the aircraft will be again with a special paint, this time for the 10th anniversary of Gripen operation in the Czech Air Force.
So I will alternate between building a single-seat and a two-seat version of Gripen according to the current status.
11 December 2023, 00:29
Ludvík KružíkWelcome, Sergei, I'm still putting together the construction documentation. But I'll start building the model soon.
11 December 2023, 19:33
Ludvík KružíkWelcome J35J!
The audience is gathering and I haven't started yet. I'll have to do something about that. 😉
12 December 2023, 13:19
Ludvík KružíkI started construction today. I assembled both seats and started modifying the cockpit tub. I'll take some pictures tomorrow.
12 December 2023, 21:52
Ludvík KružíkThe front part of the fuselage with the cockpits are almost assembled.
14 December 2023, 22:48
Ludvík KružíkThe main components (front fuselage with cockpit, rear fuselage with engine and wings) are assembled.
After the glue dries, I glue the assemblies together.
12 January, 22:51
bughunterAnother interesting project from your bench! The tail painting is beautiful so this will be also a nice livre on the model 👍
14 January, 22:32
Ludvík KružíkBughunter, painting on the vertical tail surface was the reason I chose this machine.
Fortunately there are decals to paint the vertical tail surfaces. It would be difficult to create this paint at home.
15 January, 21:29
Ludvík KružíkI glued the wings and nose with cockpits to the rear of the fuselage. Gripen looks like a plane now.
15 January, 21:52
Ludvík KružíkI sanded the small gaps filled with putty. I'll fix a few minor mistakes and then spray Gripen with sufacer.
23 January, 23:36
RandoA double delta build! I missed this. How is it putting together the Kitty Hawk? I've heard they're generally kind of notorious to put together. Although I think what would really keep me from building one is how ludicrously expensive they seem now that the company folded.
24 January, 00:05
Ludvík KružíkWelcome, Rando!
Kitty Hawk is coming together pretty well. Compared to the Italeri kit, Kitty Hawk is much better to assemble. You can't avoid working with the putty, but it's not a tragedy. It's just minor gaps between some of the parts.
As for the high price of the kit, I got lucky and managed to buy the Gripen on sale for almost half the price.
24 January, 00:49
