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Tarangus are still new offering expensive limited run type of kit nothing like KH.

Hoosfoos having worked within the hobby and been an aeroplane maniac for 45 years I know a very limited produced fighter done by the Swedes has as much chance of outselling a Mirage IIIE as the earth freezing over tomorrow.

The Mirage IIIE and its derivatives where flown in combat which guarantees sales.

Users of the MiragevIIIE

Australia,Brazil,France,Chile,South Africa(also saw combat),Argentina(massive combat usage) and I could go on for another three lines.

Just take a look around the forums at what people want..nowhere in sight is a Grippen..sorry there are to many aircraft which have been flown by numerous air forces with large combat histories to be done before another Hyundai of the sky..

I hope they sell for the sake of people waiting for FAR more popular and significant aircraft in the history of aviation..

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There is? I didn't realise someone had released a second 48th Gripen, because in talking about a good Gripen kit in 1/48th there's no way you can mean the Italeri kit and keep a straight face! whistle.gif

Well this people are in the same boat as those that insist: why would you need the new tools Revell Eurofighter Typhoon or the Acadegawa F-22 or the Revellogawa F/A-18E&F when you have the Italeri Typhoon, F-22 and Super Hornets? And did I mention those people that think the Panda or Italeri X-35 is the same as a production F-35?

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Good looking drawing, hope to see it in plastic soon and sell tons.

OT, I find this "better have done X instead of Gripen" comments really destructive. It is something to say "I wish you work on X, too" quite something else to say "why would you have even bothered with Gripen you should have done X, duh...".

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No matter what new kit is released there will be people who are:

A. Excited

B. Disappointed

C. Indifferent

I might have chosen a different subject, but I'm looking forward to this one nonetheless!

Steven Brown

Scale Model Soup

You are spot on with that one.

I'm disappointed as its rare that a new manufacturer showing huge promise like KH comes along.

I'd hate to see them run out of steam(or money) releasing kits of basically a very small service number(sorry you Swedish dudes) aircraft.

I would love someone from KH to explain why a Grippen I'm sure they didn't base it off popularity contest.

It seems the late gen Euro fighters carry none of the appeal of the early ones IE the F-1 or Mirage III. Maybe KH are single handedly taking on world opinion of planes that look like flying Hyundai's that they are really cool.

Hope it works out for em....but chances are they will still look like a Hyundai tomorrow..

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You are spot on with that one.

I'm disappointed as its rare that a new manufacturer showing huge promise like KH comes along.

I'd hate to see them run out of steam(or money) releasing kits of basically a very small service number(sorry you Swedish dudes) aircraft.

I would love someone from KH to explain why a Grippen I'm sure they didn't base it off popularity contest.

It seems the late gen Euro fighters carry none of the appeal of the early ones IE the F-1 or Mirage III. Maybe KH are single handedly taking on world opinion of planes that look like flying Hyundai's that they are really cool.

Hope it works out for em....but chances are they will still look like a Hyundai tomorrow..

Problem is you don't sound disappointed, you sound bitter. Everything you say about the modern Euros is, in reality, nothing more than an opinion. They certainly DO seem popular around various forums as subjects (and a new tooling doesn't hurt to boost any subject's popularity!). And with five current and one soon to be users, along with other marketing possibilities, the Gripen is hardly "limited" in it's appeal, is it? SO while you continue bemoaning the fact that KH have chosen a subject that YOU don't approve of, to someone like me who IS interested in the subject, and would like a decent kit of it, it seems like a savvy marketing move.

So I'm happy, anticipating a nice kit of a subject I believe will prove popular and a good seller, and you're not. No worries, someone will announce another new tool in the next day or two and the whole cycle can start again! Dollars to donuts if Tamiya announce a complete Mirage III/V/50 series tomorrow someone will beat their chest in agonised despair that it's not a Mirage IV, based on their own desires and nothing more.

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Well, I am sorry that so many of you really dislike the aircraft my country has built through the years. The complaints in this thread and in the thread regarding the Sk 60 is hinting that the only really interesting aircraft to come out of Europe since the days of the mighty Spitfire is the Mirage III. Well, I have a Mirage III from Eduard in my pile, it looks nice, so why not build that one, or the Hobby Boss kit, that has also received quite a good reception?

As for the Mirage F-1, isn't it on the way from Kinetic or some other manufacturer?

I know a lot of people, my self included that is thrilled by this news, so dear Kitty Hawk, there are people out there appreciating your work!

Now, about work.. I have a few whishes if I may:

1. Do your research carefully. You´re portraying a 39C (with a 39D to come, I hope?). The 39C is used by Sweden, South Africa, Hungary, Czech Republic and Thailand. It is going to be used by Switzerland before the arrival of their 39E's if all goes according to plan. While all the users are using the same version, they are not the same. Some of them are re-built 39A's, and some countries use different types of antennas. Small details, but it would be extremely nice if the kit and the instructions would cater for this. The CAD-image shows two different sets of blade antennas on the fin for example, the blade antennas for the ILS (I think it is) is EITHER placed on the large "canoe" close to the top of the fin, OR on the fairing on the leading edge a bit further down, not on both. I think the South African and Thailand Gripens have them mounted in the lower position, everybody else in the upper..

2. Weapons & pylons. I see there are Sidewinders, Amraams, Rb 15's and Bk 39's on the CAD-model. Sidewinders have more or less been replaced by IRIS-T's on the Swedish aircraft, and I think the same goes for South Africa and Thailand. So while the Sidewinder is a valid option, I´d like the IRIS-T to be included as well. The AMRAAM pictured is the wrong version for a Swedish a/c. We're using a version with the unclipped fins.

The Rb 15 anti shipping missile, has an aerodynamic fairing covering the air intake while hanging on the pylon. The Italeri kit lacks this fairing. It would be nice if it was included if the Rb 15 is included as an option.

In "real combat" over Libya the Gripen carried two drop tanks, the huge SPK39 reconnaissance pod, a Litening III pod, two AMRAAM´s and two IRIS-T's. The Litening III pod is used for almost all kinds of mission. It´s good for ID'ing other aircraft from a distance, so it is also used for air policing.

There are two kinds of pylons used, the old "Swedish" and the newer NATO-compatible versions. In the Libya mission, the two inner pylons were old "Swedish" ones, just used for the drop tanks, while the outer pylons were the NATO-kind. The AMRAAMs was mounted on Chobham MML-launchers (don´t know if there is any LAU-number on them) that had the BOL chaff dispenser to the rear (http://www.cobham.com/media/33483/cob_m04_mml_datasheet_uk_fa.pdf). The two NATO-pylons had BOP flare launchers mounted.

I made a drawing of the setup a while ago, it is based on a few photographs, and might not be 100% correct. But I deemed it good enough for any possible attempts of scratch building from my side:

NATO-balk-med-BOP-B_rev1.png

This leads me to number three..

3. Countermeasures. The 39C has four integrated chaff/flare launchers, they are mounted in the wing root on the opposite side from the APU (Right side, the APU is the thing requiring those trap doors on the left side). Three of those launchers are facing up, one is facing down. It would be nice if you could engineer the kit so that the builder gets the option of use them or fair them over.

As mentioned above, more chaff and flare can be carried on the launchers and pylons.

PLEASE NOTE that the small "hump" that is located above the APU, there the APU trap-doors are, it is NOT on the other side, where the flare launchers go. I see on the CAD-image from the right side, that you have included it here, which is wrong.

Well, that was a few points for starters. I could get you guys in touch with some real experts if you like. I think they would only be happy to help out with reference pictures and help.

I have collected a few images of Libyen-bound Gripens that I could share with you, KH, "under the table" since I do not hold the rights to them.

Best regards

Erik G

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Thank you Erik for your constructive comments. I hope that KH will take them and the ones of the Gripen knowledgeable people into account.

Edited by Laurent
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hope you like this

Glen

Oh yes, very welcome! :woot.gif:

So there, yet another opinion posted in this thread (if someone actually is counting).

Thank you Erik for your constructive comments. I hope that KH will take them and the ones of the Gripen knowledgeable people in account.

What Laurent said! :thumbsup:

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
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Interesting comments. It's only natural that some modelers are disappointed in the choice of a Gripen and you have the right to express that here.

This should be obvious, but if you're one of the disappointed chaps it's important to remember that this is one model among many that Kittyhawk will (I hope) be releasing over the course of many years. For example, I have no interest in Meng's Me-410 but am thrilled with their F-102. I'm sure we'll get a good Mirage III series some day, if not from Kittyhawk then from one of the other companies. All good things to those who wait!

I'm excited about Kittyhawk being a new presence in the hobby, and they will be giving us a lot to look forward to in 2013.

Steven Brown

Scale Model Soup

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The problem is that if 10 out of 9 modellers on ARC say they rather want something else, there is a chance that KH or any other manufacturer, listen, and stops the project at the CAD stage and produces something else. If they stop working on the Gripen just because a few modellers on this site rather have yet another Mirage III, I will be quite sad.

Also, if I should start producing kits, and show the general public that "ta-daa, I will be producing a brand new Eurobomber Mk 4" and all I ever get is disappointment over the fact that I made the "Eurobomber" and not the "Amerifighter 16C Block 62", or that I made the "Amerifighter" and not the "Nakagawa 56" or why the hell I did a stupid A/C like the "Nakagawa" and not the Messerschmitt Bf 109 I´d start producing only Bf 109's or maybe quit.

Of course everybody is entitled to an opinion, but one does not HAVE TO express that opinion all the time. Sometimes it might be better just to realise other people have other opinions, and if they get the kit they like, be happy for them instead. I see a lot of kit news of aircraft I am not particularly interested in, but I am happy for those who have waited, and now will get the kit of their dreams. Why not say "Oh, a Gripen, nice. Could we have the Mirage 4000 when this is done, please?" instead of "Oh, only suckers like the Gripen, give me a REAL aeroplane instead.. booh booh booh.."

It is a bit more respectful to people with a different taste in aircraft.

When you DO loudly express your disappointment over an aircraft that I have been waiting for, you will have to live with the fact that I have to raise my voice in defence of the chosen subject, as I am now.

I am very happy to see the Mirage F1 being made. I will probably not build it, but I think it deserves a nice kit. The same goes for a lot of other aircraft. I would like a decent kit of the early, and really early Harriers too, but I don´t believe that just because a manufacturer is releasing a Gripen kit next year, a good Harrier kit will never ever materialise. It probably will eventually.

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I'm very please of that new announcement. a newly tooled grippen is very welcome! ...i might not have the time to build it in the next year... but in time, i'll get it!

i'm also very happy of KH road-map of models... first release was very uninteresting (F-94 is to me, an absolute bore) but it's getting more and more interesting! mostly the Mirage F-1

i really hope KH will do more European subjects in the future!

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I'm very please of that new announcement. a newly tooled grippen is very welcome! ...i might not have the time to build it in the next year... but in time, i'll get it!

i'm also very happy of KH road-map of models... first release was very uninteresting (F-94 is to me, an absolute bore) but it's getting more and more interesting! mostly the Mirage F-1

i really hope KH will do more European subjects in the future!

ohhhh....but the next is a Russian.. :bandhead2:

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While the Gripen isn't a subject that catches my eye, I still hope Glen sells a million of them. Then there will be a better chance of me getting kits of one or more other subjects that are on my wish list. He's already gonna cost me a fortune next year as it is!

Ben

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ohhhh....but the next is a Russian.. :bandhead2:/>

Russia is partly in Europe!

and you couldn't please me more than with a Soviet/Russian subject!(i just don't expect to be please every day!)

look at my avatar picture!

anything Russian will be bought as soon as it shown up!

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