MPM Best Choice 1/48 JAS-39C Gripen
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Overview
First entering service in 1992, the Saab JAS-39 is the first fourth
generation fighter to take to the skies. Since then, the Saab team has
tried to promote the aircraft for export, but problems with export licenses
kept it in Sweden for many years. Recently, though, the JAS-39 has broken
out of its Scandinavian home, entering service first with the Czech Republic,
and more recently with Hungary and South Africa. The JAS-39 will undoubtedly
garner more sales in the future as other nations around the world look
for inexpensive and effective replacements of their ageing fleets. For
more information, I highly recommend browsing the Gripen
website.
The Kit
This is not a new-tool 1/48 Gripen, for those who were hoping for just
such a beast. Rather, this is the decent Italeri JAS-39 kit with a plethora
of additional resin updates/details. Additionally, there are a couple
of nice photoetch frets, and a nice decal sheet providing markings for
the Czech JAS-39Cs. Thrown all together, and you have the beginnings of
the perfect JAS-39 model. With this many aftermarket parts in the box,
though, the instructions need to be clear, and in this case, MPM has gone
above and beyond what we normally expect. Printed in several colors, the
instructions clearly identify the different media used, as well as what
needs to be removed, where to glue, and what to paint. This greatly simplifies
things, but this still will be a complex build.
Starting with the main pieces, the instructions have you remove a few
pieces from the fuselage and wing. These include the rear airbrake housing,
the fuselage antennae, the rear portion of the tail antenna, the instrument
panel hood, and the rear canopy bulkhead. With that initial chopping out
of the way, attention then turns towards putting all of this stuff together.
Of course, the first stop is the interior. With a combination of prepainted
photoetch and resin, this will make up into a very nice looking cockpit.
Moving to the outside, there is quite a bit of parts replacement going
on here. The resin air brake inserts are far better than the kit ones,
and by taking care in cutting out the originals, it would not be too tough
to achieve a flawless fit. The exhaust is a complete replacement from
the kit part, and it looks much better, with finer detailing throughout.
Large one-piece inserts replace the kit main wheel wells, and these too
are much better than the kit parts, being deeper and more detailed. Moving
around the exterior, new details include a replacement nose probe, a new
vacuformed canopy, photoetch missile rail details and antennae, and replacement
resin gear doors. All told, this is definitely a multimedia build, one
which will look quite nice when finished.
Once the main assembly is done, attention turns towards finishing. As
this upgraded kit also updated the plane to a JAS-39C, your marking options
are opening up. While this kit provides a comprehensive decal sheet for
all the Czech AF examples, it will not be long before the JAS-39C is seen
in Hungarian and South African markings. For now, though, you are restricted
to the Czech examples, and the decals are quite thorough, with all the
numbers and full stenciling.
Conclusion
This is an excellent upgrade of the Italeri JAS-39 kit and a must-have
for Gripen fans. However, you had better move quickly, as there are only
a limited number of these produced, and they are going fast. And unless
South Korea decides to replace its F-16s with JAS-39Cs and Academy comes
out with one, this is probably the only 1/48 kit we’ll see of this
plane, so go for the Best Choice and pick up this MPM release.
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