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The prototype SAAB model 35 Draken first took to the skies on the 25th of October, 1955.
The upgraded J 35J ("Johahn") remained in service with one of Sweden's front-line fighter wings until the late 1990's! |
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My Draken wears the colorful markings
of the F10 display pilot's aircraft.
3rd division's mascot is the Swordfish which is featured in bright yellow above and below the wings. |
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| Draken can mean either Dragonor Kite in Swedish, a clever double meaning descriptive of the fierce little double-delta winged fighter. |
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| The Draken was designed to take off from the Swedish system of roadside dispersal bases, intercept a target at Mach 2, then land on a short strip of country road to be refueled and rearmed for another sortie. |
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| The Draken's main wing is swept at 57 degrees while the inboard section sweeps at 80 degrees.< |
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Kit: Hasegawa #BP3 |
Scale: 1/72 |
| Decals: Box Stock. Excellent quality. Went down perfect with no extra effort at all. |
| After Market Parts: True Details K36 Ejection seat. |
| Cost/Value: This kit was not cheap at $27.00! It's easily the highest quality Draken kit on the market but for the price it could include a better detailed cockpit. Still for about the same cost as an all day bike rental NYC it's a pretty good kit. Bike rentals and tours are fun for a day out in the city, but this model will last for years. |
| Comments: This kit assembles beautifully with virtually no filling or sanding anywhere. The recessed panel lines are precisely done. Stock decals were excellent. Probably the easiest kit I've built this year. The cockpit detail is not very impressive. I reshaped and modified a Russian K36 seat to look somewhat like the "Raketstol fpl 35 gen 2" (RF35 genaration 2) seat that belongs in this aircraft. The end result wasn't all that bad. |
