Cockpit assembled and pilot sitting comfortably. (Albeit with no feet - I don't think this was strictly necessary in this case, but it often makes it easier to get his knees under the control panel)
The instructions call for Dark Ghost Grey on the upper surfaces of the aircraft. The grey decals should be darker than the paint. Looking at the shade of the decal sheet, the decals looked lighter than the paint appeared in the bottle. I decided to to a quick test, painting and varnishing a patch of the Dark Ghost Grey (from AK) and then using parts of the the anniversary decals I was not going to use to check. I tried this on the inside of the wing. The decals were lighter, which would look wrong. I tried another couple of greys and ended up with Vallejo Sky as being lighter than the decal, bu
The Gripen is a no nonsense, practical fighter aeroplane that happens to look stunning. Its air show performances are impressive, but it is the low maintenance and quick turnaround dispersed operation from highways that are really clever. The latest versions are designed to make the actual flying as easy as possible, allowing the pilot to concentrate on the mission goals. I lived in Sweden for a short time and got to both visit the Gripen production line and experience the rather surreal feeling you get when a deserted road you are driving on suddenly widens into a multi-lane highway for no readily apparent reason.
When I decided it was time to 'do' a Gripen the cheapest price I could find was for the starter kit, complete with paints. I liked this idea as it would have ensured the 'right' grey. When my order arrived, it was actually the standard kit, so I got the cheaper price but was on my own for the paint. I'll do the plane in flight, in standard Swedish livery, ignoring the Swedish Airforce anniversary scheme. I bought a couple of Gripen pilots, so one of them will be used. Overall it's a pretty straightforward kit with a simple scheme so I'm hoping for a quick build.
