Conceived during the late 1960s as a trainer and a light attack aircraft, the Dornier /Dassault-Breguet Alpha jet served France and Germany well in its time. It is still being used by several other countries around the world.
Kinetic’s kit comes in a large 15" x 10" x 15⁄8" end-flap box with attractive artwork of two Alpha jets. The side of the box has five small color photos of parts of one of the Canadian Alpha aircraft. Inside the box are individually bagged gray styrene sprues, clear parts, a small fret of photoetched metal, and decals with markings for three aircraft: an Alpha Jet E of L’école de L’Aviation de Chasse (French air force fighter school), coded 314-LE, tail code E 169, 1977-85; QinetiQ Alpha Jet A No. ZJ645, a British trainer during the late 1990s; and Discovery Air Defence Services Alpha Jet A No. 040, coded C-61TA, based with 3 Wing at Canadian Forces Base Bagotville, Quebec, Canada.
The 16-page assembly booklet includes: a brief history of the Alpha jet; a symbols key; a list of recommended tools; a parts map; paint index; and instructions for ordering replacement parts. Four-view drawings show color-and-marking details printed in black on a black surface — almost impossible to see.
Assembly begins with the cockpit. In Step 1, each seat comprises six parts. I translated cockpit color callout numbers to English: white, silver, black, buff, and light gray. The gunsight is shown in Step 1, but assembly using the photoetched-metal lens frame is described in Step 3. The photoetched-metal safety harness was easy to bend, paint, and attach with super glue.
By Step 2 you must choose the version you’re going to build (and, consequently, your colors and markings). I picked the Canadian Alpha Jet A.
Some drilling is required for antenna installation. However, I suggest delaying all antennas until after painting and decals to prevent breaking and losing these parts while handling the model.
Assembly options include open or closed canopies and dive brakes, alternate tailpipes, flaps raised or lowered, and landing-gear doors open or closed. Those door attachments are fragile; installation should be delayed to make the model easier to handle. Take care to keep track of the small parts according to the chosen versions.
The tires are molded in halves and come with separate wheels — my favorite system for painting them. The complex main landing gear legs come in four parts each; let the glue dry before moving on.
There were fine molding lines everywhere; I spent a lot of time sanding and scraping for fit. I had the canopy of my model on and off at least six times trying to get the parts to sit right.
The paint scheme on the Canadian version was the most difficult part of this project. I used Floquil, AeroMaster, and Testors Model Master colors. The Model Master French blue I used looks a little too dark. Instructions call for gloss light blue FS35180, a color I was unable to obtain.
The decals, printed by Cartograf, were as good as they get. I applied the decals to a thin coat of Testors clear gloss and used Micro Sol to settle them down and eliminate silvering. Then I sealed the decals with AeroMaster semigloss clear.
This kit took 38 hours, much longer than I anticipated. The model is just a bit small in length and height for 1/48 scale, but the wingspan is 2.25 scale inches too wide according to published dimensions.
I would rather have a box with a removable lid for safe parts stowage during assembly, and the scribed detail is slightly heavier than the state of the art, but, overall, Kinetic’s kit makes an excellent model. Parts fit is good and the finished model is really cute. I’ll keep it.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the April 2014 FineScale Modeler.