Heller 1/72 Saab J 29 Tunnan

HELLER 1:72 SAAB J 29 TUNNAN

Reviewer: Mark B (SMAKR Webmaster) (smakr@bigpond.com)
Kit Built + Review Submitted: 30 January 2003

Kit Details:

Heller "Echelle 1/72" #260 - Saab J 29 "Tunnan"

Aircraft History:

Initially, the Saab 29 was developed as a straight winged fighter with the De Havilland Goblin turbojet powerplant. But after the second world war, following on from captured and available German researched technology, the type was revised with 25° swept flying surfaces. It then first flew in 1948 and was given the apt name of Tunnan (barrel) when it entered service in 1951.

The Tunnan had a shoulder-set wing, tricycle landing gear, and a pressurised cockpit with ejection seat. The first aircraft reached operational units later in that same year, and production of 661 aircraft, of different variants, continued until 1956. The Tunnan remained as Sweden's main air defence asset until 1958 when it was replaced by the more fighter looking Saab 32 Lansen.

The main variants included the J 29A fighter; J 29B improved model with increased fuel storage; A 29B attack version; J 29D experimental version with a reheat system; J 29F improved version of the J 29E and an A 29F attack version of the J 29F. The main two variants used (and depicted in this kit) were the J 29E improved fighter version with reheated engine from the J 29D and saw toothed outer wing panels and the S 29C photo-reconnaissance model with an automatic six camera installation and the outer wing panels of the J 29E.

The Kit:

I've been after this kit for many years and had not come across it on the Hobby Shop shelves. Being aware of this, one of our SMAKR readers from the USA, Jon Hudak, sent over a surprise package with the kit inside! So many thanks to Jon since otherwise I may not have had this kit in my collection! I've written an Inbox Review for this kit, so for a more comprehensive look under the lid, feel free to click on that link.

Boxed in one of the now familiar 70's era style of packaging, with Heller Echelle labeled on the box, and a big Heller stamp on one of the fuselage interiors just forward of the cockpit, the kit contains a plastic bag with all the parts inside, which are four sprues of 40 metallic grey flash free parts and a single sprue of 5 transparencies which are a touch on the thick and distorted side, typical of a kit now in its third decade. The surface detail is typical of Heller from that era, nothing to write home about but adequate for the scale, with raised panel lines and etched control surfaces.

Instructions:

A single A4 double sided sheet is the instructions, written in French. One side has the one step assembly process (reminds one a bit of the early limited run kit style of instructions) which is pretty easy to follow in spite of the mass of parts, arrows etc in the one diagram, and two small inset diagrams for cockpit profile/assembly and main gear. This is flanked by Overview of aircraft, text list of parts (which is handy) and a running text commentary on construction. Painting information is also given for the parts, all of which is in generic name, and French of course. On the reverse side are two diagrams showing the side and split upper/lower profile views for decals and markings. A small table provides Heller paint range information.

A second sheet is also supplied which contains the same text information on the main instruction sheet (ie: history overview; text commentary on construction; parts list; Heller paint table, etc) in English and German. While it does not tell you that Noir in French is Black in English, you can check the names off the respective Heller tables and their Heller number in French and English to work that out. Except for "Gris Bleu" which is on the UN version, but not quoted on either table, but obviously means Blue Grey. It's worth noting to actually read the suggested order of construction since it helps decipher where parts are attached to on the main diagram, and could avoid getting into a tricky situation later.

Construction:

Since the construction phase is covered essentially by one diagram (although small inset diagrams for main wheel and cockpit profiles are provided to assist in positioning) its best as mentioned above to follow the order suggested in the text commentary on the supplementary sheet. This starts in the cockpit and the kit provides a cockpit tub with rudder pedals moulded at the front; into which is affixed a reasonable looking ejection seat and control column. A main instrument panel and rear radio deck web are also provided. The main panel has some small and basic dial representation but the side consoles are flat. Matt Sea Grey was used as the interior colour with the other components painted as suggested on the Heller/Humbrol cross reference chart on that supplementary sheet. Seat harnesses were added from masking tape and a little bit of stretched sprue to busy up the sidewalls. A basic jet pipe is also installed in the fuselage before bringing together.

The fuselage halves go together very well, but a touch of filler is needed and subsequent sanding just to blend in the join lines. I recommend also clamping the overscale upper fuselage antenna mast (it's already incorporated on both fuselage halves) or cutting it off the halves and adding your own thinner one later. It had a tendency to prize apart. I used a file later to thin it down a touch. At this point in time the instructions suggest you make the choice on whether you are doing the Swedish Air Force J 29E or the UN S 29C, since a different lower forward fuselage section is provided for each version. I chose the J 29E and fitted the lower section which has some join lines that need removal afterward, and a general sanding to blend it into the airframe. Unfortunately, it is easy to remove some of the raised panel line detail while you are at it! Landing lights were also installed into the small hole provided in front of the nose wheel bay.

The air intake and nose ring are separate, and these are joined together and installed through the hole in the nose. It pays to ensure the trunking is perfectly straight against the nose ring and dry fitting this small assembly against the nose. I found a slight running over with the excel blade was needed to get a decent fit. The fit is not perfect and subsequent sanding is needed to fully blend the ring into the nose, although I think you can get away with the fit as is, without it looking too bad.

The main wheel bays detail is pretty sparse although some vertical structural like lines are there, but nothing in the nose bay. The gear doors all fit well, but as always do a test fit first to gauge the fit and if anything needs a touch of trimming. The instructions say to glue Part 31 (upper radio deck web) into the rear of the main canopy. I wasn't sure if there was a certain way to do this if one wanted an open cockpit, and you may need to consult reference photos for some clue. Since I was opting for a closed cockpit, I affixed this part as directed, although I can't see why you couldn't just glue this part to the fuselage at the rear of the cockpit (with a test fit of the canopy to ensure it fitted around it).

The one-piece tailplane has a slit through the middle where the tail fin sits, and a locating pin either side, and is added last according to the instructions but I elected to fit it at this point. This fits very well but make sure you check it is drying at the correct angle, as though it has locating pins, it is easy to have it off centre. An exhaust collar is affixed on the rear of the fuselage under the jet pipe for the UN version, for the sake of the review I test fitted this (as I was doing the other version) and found it was unlikely to go on without needing some filling and sanding afterward. The main canopy comes in two pieces, and fits quite well to the fuselage, with the windscreen installed first.

The wings are simply upper and lower halves each side, with pitot probes already moulded onto the wing upper halves, so one has to be extremely careful not to knock these off while putting the project together. Guess what, I didn't - that must be a first! A mid wing rib is separately added to the saw tooth section but the instructions are a bit vague in exact placement so reference photos need to be consulted. There are a pair of underwing tanks to add if one wishes to, with the pylon moulded integrally with one of the tank halves. These are butt joined to the lower wing, but there is a faint outline on the wing matching the shape of the pylon so you know exactly where these can be affixed (these lines will need to be sanded off if you are not affixing the tanks). I am aware that Rb 24 Sidewinders were carried but not sure if it was on this variant. The main wing assemblies are then fitted into alignment slots in the fuselage and fit well. A bit of hobby glue was used as filler around the roots.

That pretty much concluded the construction side of things with a model which is not as 'fall together' as some Heller kits I have had, but then only very minor things to have to overcome anyway. The model then received a coat of primer with the various blemishes and any other small gaps taken care of, before the natural metal finish was applied.

Colour Schemes:

Two examples can be built from the kit, a Swedish J 29E from Froson, Ostersund in overall aluminium and a United Nations S.29C, Congo, in upper Blue Grey and Olive camouflage over aluminium undersides. I'm not a big fan of UN aircraft in my collection, so the J 29E got the nod.

Decals:

The sheet is small and contains only roundels, unit badges and codes. The colour is sharp but the yellow on the Swedish crowns do encroach over the black outline a smidgeon. Shouldn't be too many problems in applying them, but mine have aged somewhat (as can be seen in the image below) and some yellowing was apparent which had to be removed (see tips page for more info - Ed).

The decals were brittle and a little bit beyond repair. I salvaged the unit badge and serials from the kit but had to raid the spares box for the H (which I ended up painting on with some careful and very painstaking masking!) and Swedish roundels since these were no good from the kit. The ones I used were okay, but the serials had to be applied with tweezers because they were ready to curl into themselves given a moment alone. It was also an extremely hot day (about 41C) while decaling so this might have affected things too.

Accuracy:

The information from the instruction sheet for the real aircraft dimensions matches the J 29E quotes from the Complete Book of Fighters I generally use as my main source of reference. The model measures out to span 152.3 mm (152.77) and length 141.9 mm (141.94) with the actual accurate scale measurements in brackets, and these are essentially the same as quoted on the Heller instructions, so very impressive as far as dimensions are concerned. I don't have a great deal of Tunnan reference material, but it looks the part and is convincing enough a replica for me.

NB: I have some new comments on accuracy with my rebuild of this project in 2009 Airfix Tunnan review.

Overall Recommendation:

It's a kit I have been after for some time and was very glad to have received it as a surprise gift in the mail, as it is the only option I am aware of in injection moulded plastic for this aircraft. It's a typically 70's Heller very straight forward build with only minimal filler provided, and most parts fitting without any real concerns. The end result is a convincing Tunnan replica that is very accurate in scale dimensions, with only perhaps the usual lack of detail for a kit of this ilk the main criticism... and a better decal sheet. Otherwise, certainly highly recommended!

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