Matchbox 1/72 Saab J29 F Tunnan by speedgraflex

[speedgraflex]

THE KIT

RoG produced Matchbox kit in 2-color plastic with one clear canopy sprue and decals for 3 versions from 1983.

HISTORY / PHOTOS OF AIRCRAFT

The Saab 29, colloquially called Flygande tunnan (English: “The flying barrel”), is a Swedish fighter that was designed and manufactured by Saab in the 1940s. It was Sweden’s second turbojet-powered combat aircraft, the first having been the Saab 21R; additionally, it was the first Western European fighter to be produced with a swept wing after the Second World War, the Me 262 having been the first during the war. Despite its rotund appearance, from which its name derives, the J 29 was a fast and agile aircraft for its era. It served effectively in both fighter and fighter-bomber roles into the 1970s.










MY PLAN

This will be a brush painted project. Side note: this kit was a gift from forum member Marius aka Bolleken. Many, many thanks, Marius.

[Stikpusher]

Looking forward to this project of yours Bruce! So if this was the second Western aircraft with swept wings, it must have pre dated the F-86.

[speedgraflex]

I also want to thank you for your help choosing this subject from amongst my menagerie of kits, Carlos. I'm going to take photos of sprues. I think I'll fill the deep fuselage trenches then draw the panel lines on top of the various shades of white-grey-aluminum colors in patches. Cockpit first, though! Let's not jump ahead too fast or too far.

[keavdog]

Oh boy she is a pudgy bird! Not familiar with this plane so looking forward to your build and comments. I've yet to build a Swedish plane but I've always liked the three crowns markings.

[speedgraflex]

Indeed, she is pudgy! Thank you so much for following along, John! Here are sprues:

[LyleW]

Cool! I’ve seen pic of this gal, but no builds. This will be good.

[speedgraflex]

Thanks for following, Lyle! I’ll detail the building approach as it seems online there are only a handful of Matchbox version builds and all are basically an overview of the kit’s strengths and weaknesses.

AM Pitot tubes are available but I’ll scratch mine from brass. I did search for a vac form canopy online. If anyone reading knows of one exists, let me know. I’m thinking about showing the canopy in its open position.

All right, cracking on! Have a look at the first sections of the instructions. FYI graphic design and box art are credited to the Tudor Art Agency; according to their owner Matchbox only supplied the plastic, they did all of the rest. Box art artwork is by Ross Wardle, who is perhaps best known for automobile art. He did paint a half dozen of covers for Matchbox.





Note: During the "Matchbox" Golden Era in the 1970s, under the creative direction of Derek Stowe (who became Creative Director in 1973), the Tudor Art Agency secured a massive historical footprint by handling the packaging artwork for Lesney's Matchbox model kits.

[Stuart]

WOW! Look at that HIGHLY detailed cockpit - and those panel lines. Pure accuracy right there. Just bung it all in a bag with a tube of glue, shake it up and there you have it - one J29.

Seriously, it's a 1/72 Matchbox kit, what's not to love Looking forward to seeing what you do with it Bruce. I'm not sure if I've built this one, but I have built many many Matchbox kits over the years and enjoyed them all.

The J29 is an interesting little aircraft - I've seen one loads of times where I used to live, as the local museum had one - it's not a bad looking bird but I can see where it got it's name.

[speedgraflex]

Haha, thanks for your thoughts, Stuart! I didn’t build any Matchbox kits growing up as these were expensive imports—and back in the days of yore the hobby shop I used to visit kept them locked up with their Corgis. My earliest impression of Matchbox kits will always be somewhat distorted by seeing them through a sheet of plexiglass.

Moving to the present, I’m still debating how much I’ll keep of the exterior details. Do I dare fill in those heavy trench lines or do I dare keep them? After all, this will be a brush painted build; I intend to get very creative with grey washes over light grey enamels. The only polished surface I see on the original craft is the leading edge of the wing itself. All the rest has an almost powdery natural patina.

[BlackSheep214]

She's certainly a fatty bird.