Two Mikes Resin Accessories

 1/48 Saab JA/AJ/37 Viggen Corrected Nose
product # 48-016

Review by Tom Stewart on Mar 20 2009

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The history of the ESCI / Airfix Viggen is well documented.  It shows its age and it lacks the accuracy or finesse of more recent toolings.  Until Trumpeter or one of the other mainstream manufacturers decides the Viggen is deserving of their energies it is the best we have.  Then along come Two Mikes Resin Accessories and we now have a reason to get those kits out of the loft and create some more accurate renditions of a much neglected jet. Airfix – we need a reissue.  

Two Mikes venture seeks to correct some of the more obvious errors in the basic kit.  While we wait for a whole raft of resin to create that winning model, here are three of their newly released resin sets to get your mouth watering. All the sets are packed in sturdy clear plastic cases.  Each set is accompanies by a full colour guide with colour details of the real aircraft for reference.  

The accuracy of drawings of the Viggen is questionable and I have not attempted to measure things against the few profiles I possess because of this.  All my considerable photographic references do however show that the Two Mikes sets more accurately capture and represent the aircraft.  A search on the Internet will uncover a wealth of references.

The corrected nose is produced in grey resin and addresses the issue of the nose profile being too long and too sharp.  Two Mikes have reduced the length by 3mm and the front end has a rounder taper.  The resin insert will fit into the kit with little work other than filling and sanding the joint and the addition of a more correctly scribed diagonal joint between resin and kit.  The surface on my sample is rather rough in places and will need some sanding and finishing creating a smooth radome surface.

Finally

All the Viggen update sets from Two Mikes will be welcomed by Viggen enthusiasts around the globe.  They will go a long way to help creating a very accurate and attractive representation of the jet.  I look forward to the additions that Two Miles have planned for the Viggen:  Corrected fin and rudder; new foreplanes with separate control surfaces; new weapons pylons; new wing flaps; new wheel wells; new wheels; new thrust reversers and engine fan section; new RAT and a vac former a new canopy and windscreen. Will there be much of the kit left after all this?

Thanks to Two Mikes Resin  for supplying the sets for review.  This resin set is available through http://www.twomikesresin.com/. 

Tom Stewart

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Photos and text © by Tom Stewart