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Saab JA37 Viggen metallic color


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I recently picked up the Tarangus 1/48 Saab JA37 Viggen. I'm pretty torn between which scheme to paint it. While I like the four tone green, brown, and black pattern with sharp edges, I feel the surface details will not be as visible, even after a panel line wash. I am leaning towards the metallic finish that I have seen on some photos, with a black radome. However, pictures are scarce, and also I am not sure if the aircraft with metallic finishes were in actual Flygvapnet service. I am still digging around for references and wanted to drop a line here to see if anyone has some insight into this aircraft and its paint schemes. Thank you,

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They sure did service in the NMF finish. The aircraft were delivered NMF then painted by the Air Force. However, before getting an appointment at the paint barn they flew in their aluminium finish. I know of one JA 37 used by the Air Force Test Center that never received any paint, and retained its NMF finish until retirement.
The famous "Gustav 52" AJS 37 flown by the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight was however painted during most of its career, but was stripped of paint during refurbishment before its new civilian service.

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Found a few bare metal pics Googling JA-37 but they were all actually AJ-37s. There were definitely bare metal JA Viggens. I don't think there were many. I found one decal set that have decals for a bare metal JA by Moose Republic Decals:

http://www.mooserepublic.se/product/ja-37-viggen-148/

Most JAs were painted in the light grey scheme, some in the 4 color splinter. If your goal is to show off surface details then I would think the grey scheme would be effective for that too, though there is something very attractive about a bare metal Viggen.

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Thank you both for your replies. Yes.....something is really striking about a NMF Viggen. I am drawn to the splinter camo pattern as well, but like I said, I feel a lot of the surface detail will be lost with the darker colors. The grey scheme does look good too, but for the eventual Gripen that will be parked next to it on the shelf, they will look almost identical. I am still learning a lot about this aircraft. The August 2016 issue of Combat Aircraft Monthly has a very good piece on it. 

 

Sigh......decisions of the modern day modeler 😅

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Late in it´s career you had those weather beaten finishes with bleached and stained paint. Parts in contrasting finishes, like NMF parts on a green aircraft och green parts on a grey one and so on.

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