Hi
I wanna build a Saab viggen in 3 tone splinter camo. Does the Hasegawa Viggen come with recessed panle lines?
Sorry, had a look on the panel line query but cant find the answer. Someone on the forum will know the answer.
While looking found this review on a rather stunning splinter viggen;
I think most of the Hasegawa 1/72 offerings all have recessed panel lines. Their 1/72 Mig 25 I’m working on right now has recessed panel lines too.
my kit #609 has raised lines, but even 200 grit sandpaper should remove them with a couple of passes.
Brian
Yeah, what Brian said. Just remove the raised lines and do a bit of rescribing. In fact, in 1/72 scale, most panel lines wont be seen anyway. Scale viewing distance is, like, 50 feet or so in 1/6 scale and only major lines are readily seen.
The whole engraved line thing is overdone, IMHO. Most aircraft only hint at all but the major joints, especially at scale distances. Here’s some examples of what I’m saying
In these examples, you are seeing the Viggen from what is, for our purpose, practical scale viewing distance. Now, take a look at the panel lines. You barely see them at all. What you do see are many different panels, right? Each panel has weathered or “aged,” if you will, just a little differently from it’s mates, and so you make out distinct panels. What you do not see are a bunch of out of scale trench lines running across the plane’s surface.
This is why I say you’d do better in all but the largest scales to work on preshading, post-shading and pastel application to develop these distinctions between panels. Again, IMHO.
Besides, all that will matter only a little on a splinter Viggen. You will have your hands full just getting the camo pattern applied neatly! Fortunately, the Swedes take good care of their service aircraft and only minor weathering is needed, unless you want to depict a weatherbeaten museum bird, as seen here. The one change here is to the wings leading edge. I gather they rarely stay black for long and always show a distinct bare-metal wear.
There was an article on this splinter subject in FSM at least 20 years ago, as I recall. In that piece, the splinter job was done to the crappy, old 1/48 scale ESCI kit. It was enough of a challenge to warrant a place in the mag, if you get my drift.
Take heart, my friend. You can do this. Be judicious with the panel lines and all will be well. Check out the link to that 1/72 Heller in the above post. It is a very good reference for doing a splintered Viggen. Very good
I hope to see your Viggen one day soon.
Hear, Hear! My sentiments exactly! Many of the kits I see today are as far on the engraved panel line pendulum swing as Aurora kits used to be on the Rivet end of the pendulum swing. Moderation is such a fine thing, Methinks.
Note:
#1: 200 grit sandpaper is far to coarse to use on plastic to remove raised panel lines. Try 400 wet/dry sandpaper to remove the lines and finish sand with 600 wet/dry paper. You may find that even 400 paper cuts too quickly, so go slow and check frequently. Sanding with wet paper helps to prevent sanding residue build-up in the paper and gives a smoother surface.
#2: The Hasagawa Viggen is an old kit from approximately the mid 1970s and it does have raised panel lines. It fits very well and is a nice representation of the aircraft. Given the scale I would leave the panel lines alone. The paint and clear coats will almost hide them.
As for the splinter scheme and the Hasegawa kit, there is a fly in the ointment, because the Hasegawa kit (and the Airfix 1/72 kit) are of the prototype with the straight spine. I don’t think they wore the splinter scheme, at least I have not seen them in that scheme, but were natural metal. The Heller kit and the ESCI 1/48 kits have the humped spine. The Heller kit also has parts for the recon nose and the two seat trainer.
And unless I miss my guess, the ESCI kit is a real dog, like so many of theirs from that period. That leaves the Heller as the front runner, eh?
My mistake…about how I said my Hase Mig-25 I’m working on has engraved panel lines, I realized it doesn’t. In the process of filling and sanding seams, they’re gone now.
Well, it’s both the best and the worst in 1/48, since there is no other in that scale. Airfix reboxed the ESCI plastic some years ago, too. I have five of them and I swear I’m gonna build them all. I have trial fit them and from that standpoint they are one of the better ESCI kits, I think. The shape around the inlets is a bit off but fixable, and the JA-37 attack version is missing 6 inches or so of scale length, but only a nut like me would notice that, because the short place puts a space between the canard and the wing on that one version…
Most of the time it IS the fussy nut in all of us that balks. But some of those ESCI kits were flat out dogs and I tend to shy off from them. I still have an Alpha Jet that keeps me from sleeping nights. It lurks on the shelf and whispers to me at night like some succubus in plastic:
“Just try to finish me, David. Just tryyyyyyyy…”