“The Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir, כְּפִיר, "Lion Cub" is an Israeli-built all-weather, multirole combat aircraft based on a modified French Dassault Mirage 5 airframe, with Israeli avionics and an Israeli-built version of the General Electric J79 turbojet. The all-weather, delta-winged Mirage IIICJ was the first Mach 2 aircraft acquired by Israel from then-close ally France, and constituted the backbone of the IAF during most of the 1960s, until the arrival of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and, most importantly, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, by the end of the decade. While the Mirage IIICJ proved to be extremely effective in the air-superiority role, its relatively short range of action imposed some limitations on its usefulness as a ground-attack aircraft. Thus, in the mid-1960s, at the request of Israel, Dassault Aviation began developing the Mirage 5, a fair-weather, ground-attack version of the Mirage III. Following the suggestions made by the Israelis, advanced avionics located behind the cockpit were removed, allowing the aircraft to increase its fuel-carrying capacity while reducing maintenance costs. By 1968, Dassault had finished production of the 50 Mirage 5Js paid for by Israel, but an arms embargo imposed upon Israel by the French government in 1967 prevented deliveries from taking place. The Israelis replied by producing an unlicensed copy of the Mirage 5, the Nesher, with technical specifications for both the airframe and the engine obtained by Israeli spies. Some sources claim Israel received 50 Mirage 5s in crates from French Air Force (AdA), while the AdA took over the 50 aircraft originally intended for Israel. The Kfir programme originated in the quest to develop a more capable version of the IAI Nesher, Two power plants were initially selected for trials, the General Electric J79 turbojet and the Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan. In the end, the J79 was selected, not least because it was the same engine used on the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, which the Israelis began to acquire from the United States in 1969, along with a license to produce the J79 themselves. The J79 was clearly superior to the original French Atar 09. In order to accommodate the new power plant on the Mirage III's airframe, and to deliver the added cooling required by the J79, the aircraft's rear fuselage was slightly shortened and widened, its air intakes were enlarged, and a large air inlet was installed at the base of the vertical stabilizer, so as to supply the extra cooling needed for the afterburner. The engine itself was encased in a titanium heat shield.”
Background from Wikipedia
AMK, AvantGarde Model Kits, have released their second 1/72 scale kit, the IAI Kfir C2/C7. This kit is a welcome addition to begin to update this popular aircraft in this scale. Let’s start with an overall impression of the kit. Upon opening you are greeted with a box that is full of parts, there are 5 sprues for the airframe and seat as well as a fine assortment of weapons, clear parts and 2 separate seat sprues. The instructions are in full color and the decals are bagged as per usual fare from AMK. The box is full. Five marking options are provided, 2 Israeli AF, one US ATAC Civilian aircraft, 1 Ecuadorian AF, and one Colombian AF. The decals are what we've known in previous AMK kits, colorful and in good register. I did find the printing on the instructions a bit difficult as someone with glasses to read without a magnifying glass, I resorted to the 1/48 kit, photos and scanning and enlarging the provided color guide. I believe this is due to a combination of the printing technique of the instructions, their relative small size and the color contrast as the enlargement via scan didn’t help me much. On step 6 the Main Landing Gear attachment, part B13 to the built up strut shows an arrow pointing to the what would be the top end of the strut (the bottom end in the picture, where the strut mounts into the plane) this incorrect. The retract piston should attach to the strut further toward the chrome, see the illustration at the bottom of that step as it shows the head on view and thus the correct attachment point. On step 7 in the bubble for the IRST pod build up, there is the caption saying “Capital “P” “L” and “D””. I have no idea what this is referencing. Weapons options are plentiful in this kit they give you 6 Mk. 82 bombs, 4 GBU 12 paveways, 4 python III AAM, and 4 Griffin LGBs what a loadout! The weapons are slide molded and held up well, there IS slight mold parting seams and a few ejector pin marks, but they are placed where the pylon attaches and are easy to fill. Three external fuel tanks are provided as well. The model is molded in medium gray plastic that had a good balance of strength and isn’t too soft or brittle, clear parts are crystal clear with no distortions. The panel line detail is good and looked just fine after I built and painted the kit, holding up well under multiple coats of primer, Future, paint, washes, decals and flat varnish. The finished model scales out perfectly to published data and measured with my C.T.T. 1/72 scale rule at just over 51 feet in length and just under 27 feet in span (I usually don’t caliper measure 1/72 scale kits). AMK give you the option of Martian Baker JM6 seat and what is called a Mk. INI10LH seat which I believe is a Mk. 10 seat, no belts are provided. I’ll go into the details of the parts assembly on a full build article. Joining the old Hasegawa and Italeri 1/72 kits on the market, this one easily surpasses them both. It looks every bit the kfir and displays good on the shelf! Is there anything I’d like to see different? Well about the only thing I can think of would be to give you the options of clear navigation and marker lights, as built now you have to paint them, not a huge detail but I prefer this on 1/48 jets, although I don’t know if this would be worth it in 1/72 scale. So if you are a fan of this aircraft and want the best one in this scale this is the kit for you!
(review copy courtesy of AMK)
Background from Wikipedia
AMK, AvantGarde Model Kits, have released their second 1/72 scale kit, the IAI Kfir C2/C7. This kit is a welcome addition to begin to update this popular aircraft in this scale. Let’s start with an overall impression of the kit. Upon opening you are greeted with a box that is full of parts, there are 5 sprues for the airframe and seat as well as a fine assortment of weapons, clear parts and 2 separate seat sprues. The instructions are in full color and the decals are bagged as per usual fare from AMK. The box is full. Five marking options are provided, 2 Israeli AF, one US ATAC Civilian aircraft, 1 Ecuadorian AF, and one Colombian AF. The decals are what we've known in previous AMK kits, colorful and in good register. I did find the printing on the instructions a bit difficult as someone with glasses to read without a magnifying glass, I resorted to the 1/48 kit, photos and scanning and enlarging the provided color guide. I believe this is due to a combination of the printing technique of the instructions, their relative small size and the color contrast as the enlargement via scan didn’t help me much. On step 6 the Main Landing Gear attachment, part B13 to the built up strut shows an arrow pointing to the what would be the top end of the strut (the bottom end in the picture, where the strut mounts into the plane) this incorrect. The retract piston should attach to the strut further toward the chrome, see the illustration at the bottom of that step as it shows the head on view and thus the correct attachment point. On step 7 in the bubble for the IRST pod build up, there is the caption saying “Capital “P” “L” and “D””. I have no idea what this is referencing. Weapons options are plentiful in this kit they give you 6 Mk. 82 bombs, 4 GBU 12 paveways, 4 python III AAM, and 4 Griffin LGBs what a loadout! The weapons are slide molded and held up well, there IS slight mold parting seams and a few ejector pin marks, but they are placed where the pylon attaches and are easy to fill. Three external fuel tanks are provided as well. The model is molded in medium gray plastic that had a good balance of strength and isn’t too soft or brittle, clear parts are crystal clear with no distortions. The panel line detail is good and looked just fine after I built and painted the kit, holding up well under multiple coats of primer, Future, paint, washes, decals and flat varnish. The finished model scales out perfectly to published data and measured with my C.T.T. 1/72 scale rule at just over 51 feet in length and just under 27 feet in span (I usually don’t caliper measure 1/72 scale kits). AMK give you the option of Martian Baker JM6 seat and what is called a Mk. INI10LH seat which I believe is a Mk. 10 seat, no belts are provided. I’ll go into the details of the parts assembly on a full build article. Joining the old Hasegawa and Italeri 1/72 kits on the market, this one easily surpasses them both. It looks every bit the kfir and displays good on the shelf! Is there anything I’d like to see different? Well about the only thing I can think of would be to give you the options of clear navigation and marker lights, as built now you have to paint them, not a huge detail but I prefer this on 1/48 jets, although I don’t know if this would be worth it in 1/72 scale. So if you are a fan of this aircraft and want the best one in this scale this is the kit for you!
(review copy courtesy of AMK)