Kit: No. 3
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Marivox, Dösvägen 58, 226 54 Lund, Sweden, 46-46-305634. Available from Squadron Mail Order, 1115 Crowley Dr., Carrollton, TX 75011-5010, 972-242-8663.
Price: $26.98
Comments: Injection molded, 96 parts, decals.
Few realize Saab's pioneering line of Drakens, Viggens, and Grippens began with an awkward-looking, piston-engined reconnaissance bomber: the Saab 17. Designed in 1937, the all-metal monoplane saw service in several variants and in several air forces through the mid-1960s.
Marivox's 1/72 scale model of this obscure but historically significant design boasts cleanly molded pale gray and clear styrene parts with fine recessed scribing.
Provided are engine, cowling, and undercarriage, and equipment options for recon, bomber, floatplane, and target-tug variants. Nice touches include separate control surfaces and a complete cockpit interior. The cloudy cockpit canopies and side glazing were scuffed and required buffing and a bath in Future floor polish to enhance clarity. All surfaces have a fine pebbly finish which must be polished if you choose a natural-metal finish.
The beautifully printed Techmod decals provide markings for 16 different Saab 17s: Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Austrian, and Ethiopian. Marivox pictures 10 in color box-top profiles, with the remaining six as black-and-white side views in the instructions.
The instructions' confusing exploded-view drawing has dozens of arrows and insets showing construction options. Follow them carefully. Humbrol and Xtracolor paint matches, technical specs, and capsule histories in Swedish, English, and German also are provided.
Aside from deciphering the drawings, assembly posed no problems, and most parts fit well. The rear machine gun and anti-rollover truss are overscale. Some parts, such as the RDF loop, pitot, and main-gear retraction struts are delicate and difficult to remove from the sprues. The beveled cowl flaps look great.
Polly Scale paints matched to color photos and recommended Humbrol shades were used throughout. I used the decals for the Swedish-trained-and-equipped Danish Brigade in 1945. Though beautifully opaque, the thick decals required lots of setting solution and considerable prodding and poking to get them to conform to surface details.
Except for the undersize rear canopy portion and slightly short landing-gear pants, the finished kit accurately captures the original's distinctive contours. Air Enthusiast No. 33 was my primary reference for this project.
I spent about a dozen hours on my Saab 17. Good fit and easy construction make it a great weekend project for modelers of modest experience.
- David L. Veres