RE: JAS-39 Gripen Owners/Build Thread
I bought the SM white gelcoat version since I wanted to do a sport paint scheme. I also purchased all the SM options including the air kit, gear door cylinders, fiberglass (not kevlar) fuel tanks, hardware kit, landing gear, brakes, and the tailpipe. My initial excitement upon receiving the kit was quickly damped when I discovered that the model had been damaged in transport. While the box was lined with wood panel reinforcing, the fuselage, right wing, canopy, and tailpipe had been damaged either by the parts shifting around during transport, or by customs inspectors, or some combination of the two. I took some photos of the damage and sent them off to SM to see what they wanted to do about the damaged kit.
My first impressions were that the plane fit together quite well. The main spar slid in place, the wing alignment pins engaged the fuselage with just a bit of encouragement, the fin slid into place, and there were minimum gaps between the fuselage/hatch and the nose/canopy. The gelcoat looked good (other than where the plane was damaged). The landing gear looked very solid. Overall, I was quite impressed with the plane.