Here's the extensive background courtesy of the kit instruction book along with some photos I've picked off the internet along with one of my own
Overview
Introduction
There are not too many countries with the ability to develop a supersonic fighter. Sweden has belonged to this elite group from the very start of the supersonic era thanks to the Saab (Svenska Aeroplan AB) company founded in 1937. By the dawn of the jet era, Saab only developed three production piston engine aircraft. These were the reconnaissance/light bomber B17, the medium twin engine bomber B18 and the J21 fighter, which was later developed into the first Swedish jet, the Saab J21R. But the plane with the real impact on the jet era was the J29 Tunnan, the first production western jet with a swept wing. This was achieved thanks in part to access to German wartime aerodynamic research data. The Saab J29 Tunnan made its maiden flight in September 1948 and was produced in fighter and fighter-bomber versions.
Saab J29 Tunnan
A demand for more effective and more powerful air-to-ground abilities, as well as the need for an all-weather interceptor, led to the development of the Saab 32 Lansen. The Lansen was the first Swedish aircraft capable of reaching sonic speeds, although it was only a transonic, not a supersonic, aircraft. The supersonic era was entered with its successor, the J35 Draken.
Saab J32 Lansen
When defining their first supersonic aircraft requirement, the Swedish Air Force did not leave out the doctrine of the versatility of multiple take-off and landing areas using parts of highways and other suitable roads and strips. Also required was the ease of maintenance, and a refuelling and re-arming turnaround time of ten minutes in the field. This, in itself, places high demands on designers, who, led by Erik Bratt, decided to use a delta-wing concept. Some of the drawbacks of this configuration were solved with an innovative ‘double-delta’ wing with different angles along the leading edges: the inner section with 80-degree sweep and outer section with 57-degree sweep. The inner section is an integral part of the fuselage and, alongside the air intakes, it houses many of the aircraft devices.
The double delta wing was a very revolutionary concept, so it was decided a scaled down test model, the Saab 210 Lilldraken (Small Dragon), should be built. Only after 1,000 flying hours of testing, when aerodynamic calculations were confirmed, were the first three Draken prototypes ordered. The first one made its maiden flight on October 25th 1955, powered by an engine without afterburner. The second prototype followed and thanks to the installation of an afterburner, it broke the sound barrier for the first time.
Saab 210 Lilldraken
The first pre-production plane made its maiden flight on February 15th 1958. It began a production run of ninety J35A (Adam) aircraft. These Drakens were powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon 200 with 67 kN of thrust and armed with two 30mm ADEN M-55 cannons with 150 rounds per gun. Also, up to four Rb-24 (AIM-9 Sidewinder) missiles could be carried. The first J35A entered service during 1960.
Saab J35A Draken
The last 25 ‘Adams’ manufactured had a lengthened rear part of the fuselage due to a change in the afterburner chamber from the Type 65 to the Type 66. They were also equipped with a retractable double tail wheel to allow pilots to perform short take-offs with a nose high attitude without running the risk of damage to the rear part of the fuselage caused by contact with the runway surface. Both mentioned upgrades became standard on the J35B (Bertil) version with 89 aircraft produced. The ‘Bertil’ solved a great disadvantage of the preceding ‘Adam’, as the latter was only a day/good weather interceptor capable of only rear hemisphere attacks. New for the J35B was the S-7 fire control system and the domestic PS-03 radar, allowing head on attacks as well. The combat value of the Draken was raised by the possibility of carrying a wider variance of ordnance, including air-to-ground unguided Bofors 135mm rockets, unguided air-to-air 75mm rockets and also a variety of bombs up to 500kg.
Saab J35B Draken
The development of the Draken proceeded through the two-seater J35C (also known as the SK35C) to the more powerful J35D (David). More power came from the RM-6C engine with a maximum thrust of 76.81kN. As the engine needed more air, the intakes were changed. More fuel was also required, so the internal tanks were enlarged by 600l. The firing system was upgraded to the S-7A type. The prototype of the J35D took off for the first time on December 27th 1960 and 91 ‘Davids’ were manufactured. The J35D was the first Draken capable of reaching speeds over Mach 2, while its predecessors only managed Mach 1.8. From the J35B, a reconnaissance version designated S35E (Erik) was developed. Instead of radar, OMERA Ska-16B and KSa-24 cameras were installed in the nose. This Draken also sported a new, one-piece canopy.
Saab SK35C Draken
The ultimate version of the Draken was the J35 (Filip), powered by an RM6C engine with 78.48kN of thrust. The ‘Filip’ got a more convex, one-piece canopy than the S35End upgraded firing system capable of firing radar-guided Rb-27 missiles (Hughes GAR-3A Falcon) on fuselage pods and infra-red guided Rb-28 (Hughes GAR-4 Falcon) missiles. The firing system was supplemented by an S71N IR sensor. As the take-off weight rose with the ‘Filip’ version, the left cannon was deleted. The J35F was the most numerous of all versions, with 208 being built, first appearing with units during 1965.
Saab J35F Draken
The J35F Draken became the base for further development of avionic equipment, which led to the modification of 66 aircraft to the J35J (Jens) standard. They were introduced at the time when the Swedish Air Force was completing the transition to the J37 Viggen as a stop-gap solution until the new JAS-39 Gripen became available. The only user of the ‘Jens’ was F-10 Wing from Angelholm flying the type until December 1998.
Saab J35J Draken
Denmark
With the Draken the Swedish aerospace industry recorded some export successes. The first buyer was Denmark, ordering 46 J35XD (Export Denmark) Drakens in 1968. These aircraft had 40% more fuel capacity, strengthened body and modified outer part of the wing. Danish Drakens were also capable of carrying unguided AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-ground missiles. The Danish Air Force flew them until 1993.
Finland
Another user of the Draken was Finland, ordering twelve J35XS (Export Suomi) aircraft. These were supplied in parts and assembled by the Finnish Valmet company in 1974 and 1975. The J35XS was similar to the J35F, but had both cannons. Some changes to the avionics and the deletion of the Falcon missile guidance system were also differences in this version. Finland later (1976) bought six used J35FS plus three J35CS and 18 more in 1984. Altogether Finland used 48 Drakens, flying them until 2000.
Austria
The Austrians bought their Drakens in 1985. They were originally J35Ds upgraded by Saab to J35OE standard. Modifications were made to the navigation systems and avionics, and the aircraft also sported the canopy from the J35F. Originally, the J35OE was armed only with cannon, as an agreement of the Allied powers from 1955 forbade Austria from operating any military missiles. This agreement was passed over with silence after some incidents during the war in the former Yugoslavia and Austrian Drakens got the go ahead to carry AIM-9 missles. The J35OEs were used until 2005, becoming the last of the Drakens in active service.
There are not too many countries with the ability to develop a supersonic fighter. Sweden has belonged to this elite group from the very start of the supersonic era thanks to the Saab (Svenska Aeroplan AB) company founded in 1937. By the dawn of the jet era, Saab only developed three production piston engine aircraft. These were the reconnaissance/light bomber B17, the medium twin engine bomber B18 and the J21 fighter, which was later developed into the first Swedish jet, the Saab J21R. But the plane with the real impact on the jet era was the J29 Tunnan, the first production western jet with a swept wing. This was achieved thanks in part to access to German wartime aerodynamic research data. The Saab J29 Tunnan made its maiden flight in September 1948 and was produced in fighter and fighter-bomber versions.
Saab J29 Tunnan
A demand for more effective and more powerful air-to-ground abilities, as well as the need for an all-weather interceptor, led to the development of the Saab 32 Lansen. The Lansen was the first Swedish aircraft capable of reaching sonic speeds, although it was only a transonic, not a supersonic, aircraft. The supersonic era was entered with its successor, the J35 Draken.
Saab J32 Lansen
When defining their first supersonic aircraft requirement, the Swedish Air Force did not leave out the doctrine of the versatility of multiple take-off and landing areas using parts of highways and other suitable roads and strips. Also required was the ease of maintenance, and a refuelling and re-arming turnaround time of ten minutes in the field. This, in itself, places high demands on designers, who, led by Erik Bratt, decided to use a delta-wing concept. Some of the drawbacks of this configuration were solved with an innovative ‘double-delta’ wing with different angles along the leading edges: the inner section with 80-degree sweep and outer section with 57-degree sweep. The inner section is an integral part of the fuselage and, alongside the air intakes, it houses many of the aircraft devices.
The double delta wing was a very revolutionary concept, so it was decided a scaled down test model, the Saab 210 Lilldraken (Small Dragon), should be built. Only after 1,000 flying hours of testing, when aerodynamic calculations were confirmed, were the first three Draken prototypes ordered. The first one made its maiden flight on October 25th 1955, powered by an engine without afterburner. The second prototype followed and thanks to the installation of an afterburner, it broke the sound barrier for the first time.
Saab 210 Lilldraken
The first pre-production plane made its maiden flight on February 15th 1958. It began a production run of ninety J35A (Adam) aircraft. These Drakens were powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon 200 with 67 kN of thrust and armed with two 30mm ADEN M-55 cannons with 150 rounds per gun. Also, up to four Rb-24 (AIM-9 Sidewinder) missiles could be carried. The first J35A entered service during 1960.
Saab J35A Draken
The last 25 ‘Adams’ manufactured had a lengthened rear part of the fuselage due to a change in the afterburner chamber from the Type 65 to the Type 66. They were also equipped with a retractable double tail wheel to allow pilots to perform short take-offs with a nose high attitude without running the risk of damage to the rear part of the fuselage caused by contact with the runway surface. Both mentioned upgrades became standard on the J35B (Bertil) version with 89 aircraft produced. The ‘Bertil’ solved a great disadvantage of the preceding ‘Adam’, as the latter was only a day/good weather interceptor capable of only rear hemisphere attacks. New for the J35B was the S-7 fire control system and the domestic PS-03 radar, allowing head on attacks as well. The combat value of the Draken was raised by the possibility of carrying a wider variance of ordnance, including air-to-ground unguided Bofors 135mm rockets, unguided air-to-air 75mm rockets and also a variety of bombs up to 500kg.
Saab J35B Draken
The development of the Draken proceeded through the two-seater J35C (also known as the SK35C) to the more powerful J35D (David). More power came from the RM-6C engine with a maximum thrust of 76.81kN. As the engine needed more air, the intakes were changed. More fuel was also required, so the internal tanks were enlarged by 600l. The firing system was upgraded to the S-7A type. The prototype of the J35D took off for the first time on December 27th 1960 and 91 ‘Davids’ were manufactured. The J35D was the first Draken capable of reaching speeds over Mach 2, while its predecessors only managed Mach 1.8. From the J35B, a reconnaissance version designated S35E (Erik) was developed. Instead of radar, OMERA Ska-16B and KSa-24 cameras were installed in the nose. This Draken also sported a new, one-piece canopy.
Saab SK35C Draken
The ultimate version of the Draken was the J35 (Filip), powered by an RM6C engine with 78.48kN of thrust. The ‘Filip’ got a more convex, one-piece canopy than the S35End upgraded firing system capable of firing radar-guided Rb-27 missiles (Hughes GAR-3A Falcon) on fuselage pods and infra-red guided Rb-28 (Hughes GAR-4 Falcon) missiles. The firing system was supplemented by an S71N IR sensor. As the take-off weight rose with the ‘Filip’ version, the left cannon was deleted. The J35F was the most numerous of all versions, with 208 being built, first appearing with units during 1965.
Saab J35F Draken
The J35F Draken became the base for further development of avionic equipment, which led to the modification of 66 aircraft to the J35J (Jens) standard. They were introduced at the time when the Swedish Air Force was completing the transition to the J37 Viggen as a stop-gap solution until the new JAS-39 Gripen became available. The only user of the ‘Jens’ was F-10 Wing from Angelholm flying the type until December 1998.
Saab J35J Draken
Denmark
With the Draken the Swedish aerospace industry recorded some export successes. The first buyer was Denmark, ordering 46 J35XD (Export Denmark) Drakens in 1968. These aircraft had 40% more fuel capacity, strengthened body and modified outer part of the wing. Danish Drakens were also capable of carrying unguided AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-ground missiles. The Danish Air Force flew them until 1993.
Finland
Another user of the Draken was Finland, ordering twelve J35XS (Export Suomi) aircraft. These were supplied in parts and assembled by the Finnish Valmet company in 1974 and 1975. The J35XS was similar to the J35F, but had both cannons. Some changes to the avionics and the deletion of the Falcon missile guidance system were also differences in this version. Finland later (1976) bought six used J35FS plus three J35CS and 18 more in 1984. Altogether Finland used 48 Drakens, flying them until 2000.
Austria
The Austrians bought their Drakens in 1985. They were originally J35Ds upgraded by Saab to J35OE standard. Modifications were made to the navigation systems and avionics, and the aircraft also sported the canopy from the J35F. Originally, the J35OE was armed only with cannon, as an agreement of the Allied powers from 1955 forbade Austria from operating any military missiles. This agreement was passed over with silence after some incidents during the war in the former Yugoslavia and Austrian Drakens got the go ahead to carry AIM-9 missles. The J35OEs were used until 2005, becoming the last of the Drakens in active service.
Kit
I picked this up in 2016 and it's been lurking in the stash ever since
Here are the styrene parts from the Hasegawa donor kit
Decals and some of the PE from Eduard
More PE and resin from the kit itself along with some missiles that I added to the stash at some point
And finally the instructions
There are four schemes included in the kit but I'll most likely go for this one as I like the red tail with the ghost
Although I was slightly torn by the Finnish one as this was based somewhere we've visited - Just have to get another one
I still love the double-delta shape of the Draken and think it looks futuristic despite first flying in the late 1950s.
(not 
and realised the rear wall of the cockpit should actually be aluminium so I'll mask that off & respray it at some point this week all being well.
as soon as I laid down the bright top coat... anyways it's down the back & underneath so I'm going to leave it as I'm pretty sure I'd screw things up trying to fix it
The undercart looks very good though!