DONE @p.2 +++ 1:72 Saab A 35 G “Draken”; Svenska Flygvapnet (F6), Karlsborg 1974

[Old Wombat]

 

[su27rules]

 

[Pellson]

That is a lot to carry indeed..

Strong girls these Swedes 

Valkyries. 

[Dizzyfugu]

That is a lot to carry indeed..

Strong girls these Swedes 

Valkyries. 

No, these fly in Macross! 


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom JAS.1A/VF-1A "Valkyrie"; aircraft "24 Red" of the SVF-15; Sweden, 2005 (Whif/modified Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Dizzyfugu]

Sorry, nothing new here - the Bombdraken has been finished and waits for the photo session, but I have been busy lately and lack the right mood. Pls. be patient. 

[Gondor]

Not a problem being patient about this build, as it's a Dizzy build we know there that like busses there will be another one along in a minute 

Gondor

[Dizzyfugu]

Photo session finally done (in the meantime I have finished another small aircraft project... ), with some nice scenic shots.

[ysi_maniac]

I love your work as usual. 

I have in mind to build 2 RW projects around Draken: the one powered with J79 and a more advanced attack version with increased wingspan and canard controls. For these projects I have reserved a pair of airfix models. Is Airfix model better than Revell's?

Thanks.

[Dizzyfugu]

IMHO not really, even though, IIRC, the Airfix kit has the long tail with the wheels and a seat and a pilot. But the rest is not stellar, though.

I also have a highly modified "H" on the agenda, which will see other wing tips, canards, bigger radar and other changes. But the recent Gustav experience limited my enthusiasm to tackle it in the near future... 

[Pellson]

I have in mind to build 2 RW projects around Draken: the one powered with J79 and a more advanced attack version with increased wingspan and canard controls. For these projects I have reserved a pair of airfix models. Is Airfix model better than Revell's?

The kit to get is really the newer Hasegawa one (>>THIS<<). The Airfix is (much) too flat, the Revell is as discussed and the Heller has gotten the nose profile totally wrong. So Hasegawa it is.
There are several editions covering Finnish, Swedish and Austrian Drakens, and there is a commemorative 2-in-1 edition from when Austria retired their Drakens that'll cater for your needs in one box.

There are a few interesting sketches of the J79 powered version, the JA35 fighterbomber version with a bigger radome and the Mod 4 version discussed above in that book that is currently locked in with the covidinfected family. But eventually I'll get at it, and then I can post some pics.

[Gondor]

The kit to get is really the newer Hasegawa one (>>THIS<<). The Airfix is (much) too flat, the Revell is as discussed and the Heller has gotten the nose profile totally wrong. So Hasegawa it is.
There are several editions covering Finnish, Swedish and Austrian Drakens, and there is a commemorative 2-in-1 edition from when Austria retired their Drakens that'll cater for your needs in one box.

There are a few interesting sketches of the J79 powered version, the JA35 fighterbomber version with a bigger radome and the Mod 4 version discussed above in that book that is currently locked in with the covidinfected family. But eventually I'll get at it, and then I can post some pics.

That's the exact boxing that I have in the stash. I will get around to it some time 

Gondor

[Dizzyfugu]

Finally, it's done. And despite the crappy basis the result looks much better than expected (or feared):


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr



Some background:
The Saab 35 Draken ('The Kite' or 'The Dragon') was a Swedish fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of the Saab 35 Draken started in 1948 as the Swedish air force future replacement for the then also in development Saab 29 Tunnan dayfighter and Saab 32B Lansen night fighter. It featured an innovative but unproven double delta wing, which led to the creation of a sub-scale test aircraft, the Saab 210, which was produced and flown to test this previously unexplored aerodynamic feature. The full-scale production version entered service with frontline squadrons of the Swedish Air Force on 8 March 1960. It received the designation Flygplan 35 (Fpl 35; 'Aeroplane 35') and was produced in several variants and types, most commonly as a fighter type with the prefix J (J 35), standing for Jaktflygplan (Pursuit-aircraft), the Swedish term for fighter aircraft.

The Saab 35 Draken was known for, among other things, its many "firsts" within aviation. It was the first Western European-built combat aircraft with true supersonic capability to enter service and the first fully supersonic aircraft to be deployed in Western Europe. Design-wise it was one of, if not the first, combat aircraft designed with double delta wings, being drawn up by early 1950. The unconventional wing design also had the side effect of making it the first known aircraft to perform and be capable of the Cobra maneuver. It was also one of the first Western-European-built aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in level flight, reaching it on 14 January 1960.


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Draken functioned as an effective supersonic fighter aircraft of the Cold War period. Even though the type was designed and intended as an interceptor, the Draken was considered to be a very capable dogfighter for the era, and its large wing area allowed the compact Saab 35 to carry a relatively high payload, too. In Swedish service, it underwent several upgrades, the ultimate of these being the J 35 J model which served until 1999. The Draken was also exported to several countries and remained operational in Austria until 2005.

In Swedish service, the Saab 35 was replaced by the Saab 37 "Viggen". Development work on the new type was already initiated at Saab in 1952 and, following the selection of a radical canard delta wing configuration, the resulting aircraft performed its first flight on 8 February 1967 and entered service on 21 June 1971. However, being a radical and new design, the service introduction of the Viggen – esp. of its initial version, the AJ 37 fighter-bomber – was not without teething troubles, and in the late Sixties the Swedish Air Force expected an attack aircraft gap in its line-up. The former A 32 A Lansen attack aircraft were reaching the end of their airframe lifetime and were simply outdated, even though it was still needed as an anti-ship attack platform for the indigenous Rb 04 guided missile, so that Saab suggested an interim solution: the conversion of seventy of the 120 produced J 35 D fighters into dedicated attack aircraft, with the designation A 35 G (Gustav).


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Saab A 35 G was heavily modified to make it into a fighter bomber aircraft. Compared to the fighter versions the outer wings where completely redesigned and the aircraft featured 9 hardpoints in total. Airframe and landing gear were strengthened to cope with an increased payload of 10,000 lb (4,540 kg) vs. the fighters' usual 6,393 lb (2,900 kg). Several airframe components were restored or replaced to extend the life of the aircraft, and the landing gear featured low-pressure tires for a better field performance on improvised/dispersed airfields.
A wide array of ordnance could be carried, such as bombs of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) caliber, MERs with up to six 100 kg (220 lb) bombs each, pods with unguided 75 mm or 135 mm rockets, single 14.5 cm psrak m49/56 high-explosive anti-tank rockets and, as a new weapon, the indigenous guided Rb 05 air-to-ground missile. This had been developed for the AJ 37 "Viggen in 1967 and was roughly comparable with the American AGM-12 Bullpup, but had some unique features. The Rb 05's supersonic speed was deemed necessary to reduce the threat of surface-to-air missiles, and it allowed the missile to be deployed against slow/large aerial targets, too, making it a dual-purpose weapon. Consequently, the Rb 05's fuze could be set by the pilot to impact mode for ground targets, or proximity mode for attacking air targets such as bombers.


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The missile had a maximum range of 9 km (5.6 ml) and would usually be launched after a high-speed attack run on very low altitude and a climb to 400m for launch. Since the RB 05 was roll-stabilized, the aircraft did not need to be aimed straight at the target when launching and could immediately descend into terrain cover again, and this also made it possible to attack aerial targets from unusual angles and flight paths. Tracking the flares on the missile, the pilot would then visually guide the missile (the missile's engine was smokeless as to not obscure the view) with a small manual joystick towards the target. Guidance commands were transmitted to the missile via a jam-proof radio transmission link.

The A 35 G kept the J 35 D's two 30 mm ADEN cannons, and a limited air defense capability was retained, too: the Gustav could carry up to four IR-guided Rb 24 (AIM-9B Sidewinder) AAMs, in addition to the Rb 05 in air-to-air mode. However, the aircraft lacked any air intercept radar, and had instead a Ferranti LRMTS (laser rangefinder and marked target seeker) and a counterweight installed in the nose, which resembled the S 35 E photo reconnaissance version's nose, just without the windows for the side-looking cameras. For its attack role, the A 35 G received a new inertial navigation system, new altimeters and a ballistic computer from Saab called BT-9Rm, which worked with both bombs and rockets and even allowed for toss bombing. The Gustav Draken was furthermore fitted with electronic countermeasure (ECM) systems, a RHAWS and chaff and flare dispensers in their tail cones to improve its survivability over the battlefield.


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Gustav conversion program was accepted by the Swedish government in 1968. Work started in early 1969, the first revamped aircraft reached the operational units in late 1971. However, since production of the AJ 37 was starting at the same time, only 61 aircraft were eventually re-built from existing J 35 D airframes (one prototype and sixty production aircraft). Västgöta Wing (F 6) at Karlsborg was the first squadron to receive the A 35 G, replacing its A 32 A fighter bombers, the other unit to operate the type was Skaraborg Wing (F 7) at Såtenäs.

Among Sweden's Draken fleet the Gustav was easy to recognize because it was the only version that carried the new "Fields & Meadows" splinter camouflage as standard livery. Service of the A 35 G lasted only until the early Eighties, though: as more and more AJ 37 all-weather fighter bombers reached the Swedish frontline units during the Seventies, the interim attack Draken, which was only effective under daylight and more or less good weather conditions, was withdrawn and either used for spares in the running J 35 J modernization program or directly scrapped, because many airframes had, suffering from the special stress of low-level flight operations, reached the end of their lifespan.


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Another factor for the quick withdrawal was the disappointing performance of the type's primary weapon, the Rb 05 missile: Its manual joystick steering in the cramped Draken cockpit (to be operated while the pilot was expected to fly at low altitude and evade enemy fire!) presented a number of problems, and the Rb 05's ultimate accuracy was, even under ideal conditions, on the order of just 10 meters (33 ft), greater than desired. Targets like tanks or even ships were hard to hit with this level of scattering, combined with imminent danger for the pilot, and the air-to-air mode was even less effective. On the more modern Saab 37 the Rb 05 was therefore replaced by the Rb 75, a license-produced version of the American TV-guided AGM-65 Maverick "fire and forget" weapon. TV and laser seeker heads for the Rb 05 to improve the weapon's accuracy and handling had been planned since the early Seventies, but were never realized.


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr



General characteristics:
    Crew: 1
    Length: 15.35 m (50 ft 4 in)
    Wingspan: 9.42 m (30 ft 11 in)
    Height: 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in)
    Wing area: 49.2 m² (530 ft²)
    Airfoil: 5%
    Empty weight: 8,175 kg (18,006 lb)
    Gross weight: 11,500 kg (25,330 lb)
    Max takeoff weight: 13,554 kg (29,845 lb)

Powerplant:
    1× Svenska Flygmotor RM6C (license-built Rolls Royce Avon with Swedish EBK67 afterburner)
          turbojet engine, 56.5 kN (12,700 lbf) thrust dry, 77.3 kN (17,240 lbf) with afterburner

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 2,150 km/h (1,335 mph, 1,168 kn) at 11,000 m (36,089 ft), clean
                               1,430 km/h (888 mph, 777 kn) w. two dop tanks and two 454 kg (1.00 lb) bombs
    Range: 1.120 km (605 nmi; 696 mi); clean, internal fuel only
    Ferry range: 2,750 km (1,480 nmi; 1,710 mi) with four external 500 l drop tanks
    Service ceiling: 20,000 m (66,000 ft)
    Rate of climb: 199 m/s (39,200 ft/min)
    Wing loading: 231.6 kg/m² (47.4 lb/ft²)
    Thrust/weight: 0.7
    Takeoff roll: 800 m (2,625 ft)

Armament:
    2× 30 mm akan m/55 ADEN cannon with 100 rounds per gun
    9× hardpoints with a total capacity of 4,500 kg (10.000 lb)




1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Saab A 35 G "Draken"; aircraft "02 Red" of the Svenska Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) Västgöta Wing (F 6); Karlsborg Air Base, 1974 (Whif/modified Revell/Mistercraft kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


What a horror trip! The paint scheme itself was/is challenging enough, but modding the crappy vintage Revell kit into something more presentable was already a fight in itself. However, I like the outcome. "Fields & Meadows" suits the Draken with its huge and flat upper surface well, and while the Gustav conversion did not take much effort the "mud mover" ordnance under this Mach 2 fighter really looks strange and makes you wonder what this is. A nice what-if model, despite its blurriness!

[Old Wombat]

 

Really effective camo scheme!

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you. And it suits the Draken well, too!

[zenrat]

Good job Dizz.