V-14 STRIKE FIGHTER

A Dangerous Aircraft

This aircraft began life as a 1:48 scale model kit of the SAAB Viggen. After assembling the cockpit and installing an appropriately scaled pilot from elsewhere, the fuselage halves were sanded smooth and ready to be joined. The kit wings were discarded and new ones were cut from 2mm thick sheet styrene. They were “pinned” to the fuselage with thin brass tubing and cemented with Araldite. Car putty filled in the gaps and faired the wings into the sides of the fuselage.

Drop tank halves, two different sorts, were glued to the upper and lower surfaces of the wings, while the pair of vertical stabilisers on each wing came from a 1:72 scale aircraft, as did the nosecone. 1mm sheet styrene was carefully cut to fit the spaces between the stabiliser pairs and the main vertical stabiliser on the fuselage. The engine intakes were fashioned from sheet styrene.

Much puttying was applied, sanded back and re-applied to fill in the spaces between fuselage and the wings, as well as gaps in the fuselage itself, some being backed by plastic sheet before the addition of putty. After achieving a smooth surface overall, the model was sprayed with grey primer.

 

The overall colour, Strato Grey, was sprayed onto the model, followed by the masking of the upper surfaces, in order to spray the underside in Winter White. Details consisted of car pinstriping, pencil lines and generic decals. Weathering was handpainted on and numerous clear coats of varnish sealed the surfaces of the model.