1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; Hungarian Air Force, 2009

Dizzyfugu · August 03, 2022, 11:28:17 PM

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
Following Hungary's membership of NATO in 1999, there were several proposals to achieve a NATO-compatible fighter force. Considerable attention went into studying second-hand aircraft options as well as modifying the nation's existing MiG-29 fleet. In 2001, Hungary received several offers of new and used aircraft from various nations, including Sweden, Belgium, Israel, Turkey, and the US. Although the Hungarian government initially intended to procure the F-16, in November 2001 it was in the process of negotiating a 10-year lease contract for 12 Gripen aircraft from Sweden, with an option to purchase the aircraft at the end of the lease period.
As part of the procurement arrangements, Saab had offered an offset deal valued at 110 per cent of the cost of the 14 fighters. Initially, Hungary had planned to lease several Batch II Saab 39s; however, the inability to conduct aerial refueling and weapons compatibility limitations had generated Hungarian misgivings. The contract was then renegotiated and eventually signed on 2 February 2003 for a total of 14 Gripens, which had originally been A/B standard and had undergone an extensive upgrade process to the NATO-compatible C/D 'Export Gripen' standard. At the same time, the need for an advanced jet trainer as a replacement for the Hungarian Air Force's last eight MiG-21UM aircraft became more and more imminent. The Gripen two-seaters alone could not cope with this task and were operationally too expensive to be used as trainers, so that Hungary requested an additional offer for a small number of Sk 90 trainers from Swedish surplus stock.

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Developed under the designation FSK900, the Saab Sk 90 was a replacement for the Saab 105 (also known as Saab Sk 60) transitional trainer, light attack and reconnaissance aircraft. The FSK900 was a conservative design, with a configurational resemblance to the Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet, even though the FSK900 was overall bigger and heavier, and the two machines could be easily told apart at a glance.
The Swedish Air Force accepted Saab's design, leading to a contract for two nonflying static-test airframes and four flying prototypes. Detail design was complete by the end of 1993 and prototype construction began in the spring of 1994, leading to the initial prototype's first flight on 29 July 1994. The first production Sk 90 A, how the basic trainer type was officially dubbed, was delivered to the Swedish Air Force in 1996.
A total of 108 production Sk 90s were built until 1999 for Sweden in several versions. The initial Sk 90 A trainer was the most common variant and the basis for the Sk 90 B version, which carried a weather radar as well as more sophisticated avionics that enabled the deployment of a wider range of weapons and other ordnance. However, this version was not adopted by the Swedish air force but exported to Austria as the Sk 90 Ö. Another variant was the S 90 C (for "Spaning" = reconnaissance); a small number was produced with a set of cameras in the nose for the Swedish Air Force, where it replaced the ground attack/reconnaissance Sk 60 Cs.

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In service, the Sk 90 was regarded as strong, agile, and pleasant to fly, while being cheap to operate. But despite its qualities and potential, the Sk 90 did not attain much foreign interest, primarily suffering from bad timing and from the focus on domestic demands. The aircraft came effectively 10 years too late to become a serious export success, and in the end the Sk 90 was very similar to the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet (even though it was cheaper to operate), at a time when the German Luftwaffe started to prematurely phase out its attack-capable variant and flooded the global market with cheap secondhand aircraft in excellent condition. Furthermore, the Saab Sk 90 had on the global market with the BAe Hawk another proven competitor with a long and positive operational track record all over the world.

Beyond Hungary, potential Sk 90 buyers were Malaysia as well as Singapore, Myanmar, Finland, and Poland. Austria eventually procured 36 Sk 90 Ö in 2002, replacing its Saab 105 fleet and keeping up its close connection with Saab since the Seventies. A late operator became the independent Republic of Scotland in 2017, with a dozen leased secondhand Saab Sk 90 A trainers which were later purchased.

The Swedish Sk 90 offer for Hungary was a 10-year lease contract similar to the Gripen package, and comprised five refurbished Sk 90 A trainers from the first production batch, which had been stored in Sweden for spares. The Hungarian Sk 90 deal also included an option to purchase the aircraft at the end of their lease period. In parallel, to save maintenance costs for the relatively small fleet of a completely new/different aircraft type, an agreement with neighboring neutral Austria could be arranged to outsource major overhauls to the Austrian Air Force and its newly established Sk 90 Ö service base at Linz – a deal from which both sides benefited. However, to improve flight safety over Austria's mountainous terrain during these transfer flights, the Hungarian Sk 90 As had a simple navigational radar retrofitted with a small radome in their noses. Otherwise, the machines were basically identical with the original Swedish aircraft.

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The aircraft were flown under civil registration from Sweden to Hungary between April and September 2005. To keep the distance to their Austrian service station short, the machines were not allocated to the 59th Air Regiment at Kecskemét Air Base, where the Hungarian Gripen fleet was based, but rather to the 47th Air Regiment at Pápa Air Base in Northwestern Hungary, where the last Hungarian MiG-21UM trainers had been operated. These were fully retired in 2008.
Beyond their primary role as advanced/jet conversion trainers, the Hungarian Sk 90 As were also intended to be used for tactical reconnaissance duties with Orpheus pods with daylight cameras and an infrared line scanner, inherited from the Italian Air Force, as light attack aircraft and ─ armed with gun pods and air-to-air missiles ─ as (anti-tank) helicopter hunters. Reflecting these low-level tasks, the machines received a tactical camouflage in green and tan, similar to the former MiG-21s, instead of the Gripens' all-grey air superiority scheme.

While the Hungarian Air Force operated its total of 14 Gripen and 5 Sk 90 aircraft under lease, in 2011, the country reportedly intended to purchase these aircraft outright. However, in January 2012, the Hungarian and Swedish governments agreed to extend the lease period for a further ten years. According to Hungarian Defence Minister Csaba Hende, this agreement represented considerable cost savings, so that the running business model was retained. The service agreement with Austria could be extended, too.

One Sk 90 A was lost in a landing accident in May 2016, and two Gripens had to be written off through accidents in the meantime, too. To fill these gaps, Hungary signed a replacement contract in 2018 to come back to its full fleet of 14 Gripen, and the Sk 90 A fleet was expanded to seven aircraft. These new machines were delivered in 2019.

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

General characteristics:
Crew: two pilots in tandem
Length incl. pitot: 13.0 m (42 ft 8 in)
Wingspan: 9.94 m (32 ft 7 in)
Height: 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in)
Empty weight: 3,790 kg (8,360 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 7,500 kg (16,530 lb)

Powerplant:
2× Williams International FJ44-4M turbofans without reheat, rated at 16.89 kN (3,790 lbst) each

Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,038 km/h (645 mph)
Stall speed: 167 km/h (104 mph, 90 kn)
Range: 1,670 km (900 nm; 1,036 m) with two 450 L (99 imp gal; 120 US gal) drop tanks
Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 51 m/s (10,000 ft/min)

Armament:
No internal gun; five hardpoints for 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) of payload and a variety of ordnance,
including AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and a conformal, ventral gun pod (not used by the Hungarian
Air Force, instead, UPK-23-250 pods with a fixed twin-barrel GSh-23L cannon and 200-250 rounds
were carried under the fuselage and/or the inner wing hardpoints)

The kit and its assembly:
This additional member of my fictional Sk 90 family was actually finished before I started the S 34B Hunter conversion, but my aching back postponed the photo shooting. Inspiration came spontaneously when I studied information concerning the MiG-21. I came across the Hungarian trainers and wondered with what they could have been replaced after 2000 – and "my" fictional Sk 90 came to my mind. I also had a suitable decal set in store, so I dug out a(nother) Hasegawa T-4 and created this whiffy Hungarian variant.

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The kit is the old/first T-4 mold; Hasegawa did the T-4 twice, and both kits differ considerably from each other in their construction. The first one has a fuselage consisting of two simple halves with separate wings attached to it; the later mold features a separate cockpit section and a single dorsal wing section, so that the wings' anhedral is ensured upon assembly.
The air intakes are also different: the old mold features ducts which are open at their ends, while the new mold comes with additional inserts for the intakes which end in a concave wall, making them hard to paint. The fin of the old kit consists of two full halves, while the new one has the rudder molded into just one half of the fin for a thinner trailing edge. The same goes for the wings' upper halves: on the new mold, they comprise the full flaps and ailerons, while the old kit has them split up, resulting in a marginally thicker training edge. However, you can hardly recognize this and it's IMHO not a flaw.
Personally, I prefer the old kit, because it is much more straightforward and pleasant to build – even though some details like the main landing gear struts are better on the new mold.

The (old) kit itself is relatively simple and fit is quite good, even though some PSR was necessary on almost every seam. The only mods I made are additional emergency handles on the seats (made from thin wire), and I added an Orpheus recce pod under the fuselage with an integral pylon, left over from an Italeri F-104G kit. The OOB underwing pylons were used, together with the original drop tanks.

Painting and markings:
The prime reason for a Hungarian Sk 90 was the paint scheme, and the fact that I have a sweet spot for Hungary in genarl. The livery was adapted from the late Hungarian MiG-21bis, a more or less symmetrical pattern consisting of a yellowish light tan and a bluish dark green, with light blue undersides. It's actually a very simple paint scheme, and my adaptation is a free interpretation, since the T-4's layout with shoulder-mounted wings is quite different from the sleek Fishbed with mid-mounted delta wings.

Finding good color matches was not easy, because pictures of reference Hungarian MiG-21s show a wide variety of green and brown shades, even though I assume that this is just weathering. I found some good pictures of a late MiG-21UM trainer with an apparently fresh paint job, and these suggested a hard contrast between the upper tones. With this benchmark I settled for Humbrol 63 (Sand), and Modelmaster 2091 (RLM 82, Dunkelgrün). The undersides were painted with Humbrol 47 (Sea Blue Gloss), since they appeared rather bright and pale in reference pictures.
The cockpit interior was painted in medium grey (Revell 47), the landing gear and the air intakes in white (Revell 301), very conservative. The Orpheus pod was painted in light grey (FS 36375, Humbrol 127) to set it apart from the light blue undersurfaces. The drop tanks were painted in green and blue.

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

National markings, the large orange "47" decoration and the small emblems on nose and fin came from a Mistercraft MiG-21UM decal sheet. The tactical code in red, etched with white, was created with single digits from a Hungarian Aero Decals (HAD) sheet for Mi-24s, reflecting the aircraft's (fictional) serial numbers' final three digits.
Finally, after some light weathering and post-shading (for a slightly sun-bleached look, esp. on the upper surfaces), the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Saab Sk 90 A; "(90-)041" of the Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Légierő) 47th HRE (Harcászati Repülő Ezred/Combat Air Regiment); Pápa Air Base, Western Hungary, 2009 (Whif/Hasegawa kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Number four in my growing Sk 90 family, and certainly not the last one. A quick and simple project since the model itself was built almost OOB, and the "old" Hasegawa T-4 is really a simple build. However, I am amazed (once more) how much potential a T-4 travesty bears: even in Hungarian colors and markings this whif looks disturbingly convincing. The green/brown/blue paint scheme suits the aircraft well, too, even though it looks a lot like an Alpha Jet now, and there's even a Su-25ish look to it?!

Wardukw · August 04, 2022, 01:15:53 AM

Another wonderful build from the artist known as Dizzyfugu

Love it Thomas

Old Wombat · August 04, 2022, 05:30:21 AM

That looks really nice, Dizz!

NARSES2 · August 04, 2022, 06:14:35 AM

That's really attractive Dizzy

I've always had a "thing" for Hungarian markings as well

Dizzyfugu · August 04, 2022, 06:33:53 AM

Thank you all very much!

Gondor · August 04, 2022, 07:12:42 AM

Very nice. The Windscreen and canopy remind me of a Hawk which then makes me wonder what a Hawk 200 nose would look like on that airframe

Gondor

Dizzyfugu · August 04, 2022, 07:14:10 AM

Well, I have plans for something into this direction...

frank2056 · August 04, 2022, 08:04:27 AM

That's very nice! I wonder how long it'll appear in an "authoritative" book on Hungarian aircraft...

The weathering is very good. Is the white line on the canopy a decal or a carefully painted line?

Dizzyfugu · August 04, 2022, 08:32:45 AM

Quote from: frank2056 on August 04, 2022, 08:04:27 AM
Is the white line on the canopy a decal or a carefully painted line?

Thank you. That's 0.5 mm generic white decal stripe material on the windscreen and 1mm on the canopy (with an 1.5 mm black traverse).

su27rules · August 04, 2022, 08:57:46 AM

comrade harps · August 06, 2022, 05:23:10 AM

Neat

DogfighterZen · August 07, 2022, 03:52:30 PM

Looks very good, Dizzy!

Dizzyfugu · August 08, 2022, 02:34:56 AM

Thank you all very much, glad you like it.