Tamiya 60759 - 1:72 JAS-39A Gripen

Plastic model kit of the Saab JAS-39A Gripen fighter in 1:72 scale

Tamiya 60759 depicts the Saab JAS-39A Gripen – a light, single-engine multirole fighter designed in Sweden. The distinctive canard-delta layout, with foreplanes and a delta wing, gives the aircraft great agility, while the JAS designation (fighter, attack, reconnaissance) underlines its versatility.

The kit is based on Italeri tooling offered under the Tamiya catalogue in the War Bird Collection. It allows you to fit underwing stores and fuel tanks, while the decals finish the aircraft in Swedish Air Force colours.

What's in the box:

• Plastic sprues with fuselage, wing, foreplane and fin parts
• Underwing stores and fuel tanks
• Clear canopy parts
• Waterslide decal sheet for Swedish Air Force markings
• Illustrated assembly instructions

Model specifications:

• Scale: 1:72
• Item number: 60759
• Manufacturer: Tamiya
• Assembled length: approx. 196 mm, wingspan: approx. 117 mm
• Skill level: beginner/intermediate

Note: glue, paints and modelling tools are not included. The model is intended for self-assembly.

Building the model:

Assembly is approachable, but the tooling needs dry-fitting of the fuselage halves and the air intake. Paint the cockpit before closing the fuselage and add the foreplanes and underwing stores last, after painting.

Swedish Air Force Gripens usually wore a uniform grey finish. Lay the decals over a gloss coat to prevent silvering, then finish with a satin varnish. The instructions provide paint references.

Tools you'll need:

• Modelling nippers for removing parts from the sprues
• Hobby knife or scalpel
• Files and sandpaper for cleaning up sprue-gate marks
• Plastic cement (e.g. Tamiya Extra Thin Cement)
• Brushes of various sizes and modelling paints (acrylic or enamel)
• Panel-line wash to emphasise detail and recesses
• Gloss varnish for the decals and a satin coat to finish
• Optional: self-adhesive canopy masks

About the aircraft – Saab JAS-39 Gripen:

The Gripen was developed as a modern, economical-to-operate fighter for Sweden, able to operate from short and improvised runways. The canard-delta layout and a digital flight-control system gave the aircraft great agility in a relatively compact size.

First flown in the late 1980s, it entered service in the 1990s and became the backbone of Swedish fighter aviation. Thanks to its versatility and low operating costs, the Gripen has also found operators outside Sweden.

Original aircraft specifications (JAS-39A Gripen):

• Length: approx. 14.1 m
• Wingspan: approx. 8.4 m
• Height: approx. 4.5 m
• Max take-off weight: approx. 14,000 kg
• Powerplant: 1 Volvo RM12 turbofan (licence-built GE F404), approx. 80 kN with afterburner
• Max speed: approx. Mach 2
• Armament: Mauser BK-27 27 mm cannon; air-to-air and air-to-ground underwing stores
• Crew: 1
• First flight: late 1980s, in service: from the 1990s

About the manufacturer – Tamiya:

Tamiya Corporation is a Japanese model company founded in 1946 in Shizuoka, regarded as the heart of Japan's model-making industry. It launched its first injection-moulded plastic kit in 1960 and over time became one of the most recognisable brands in the hobby, known for precise tooling and a broad range of accessories: paints, glues, tools and brushes. Alongside its own-tooled models, Tamiya offered a range of 1:72 aircraft in its War Bird Collection based on Italeri tooling – this kit belongs to that group. Today the company operates in dozens of countries and remains a benchmark for the whole of scale modelling.