johncrow

Thanks misha71, I appreciate your stopping by. jp

Thank you for the kind words. There are still a few things about this I haven't figured out a plan for yet, but I am making very slow progress. I quit trying to edit pictures in Photobucket...doing it that way was nothing but a waste of time. Now I just make any changes in MS Paint or MS Word and then attach them to the thread. Much easier, and faster. I still have the same cell phone and shaky hands though.... jp

Thanks Kev, much appreciated. jp

My latest round of jumping around on this build has been productive. I've a very tiny milestone to report. I had been wondering how I was going to make this: It's the small vent near the gun. It is differently shaped than that in the Su-27 kit. The place on the kit where this vent was to be placed was faired over in making the mod for the canards. My plan was to carve out the appropriate hole and install the kit's vent, thinking it would be close enough. Well no....I've been slowly working on scribing the forward fuselage, and it turns out I should've taken more time in planning it all out. I've not left enough room for the stock vent. So I took this: And ended up with this: It seems I've somehow acquired an extra gun cover...either that or one of my other kits is now missing one...either way, I hacked it up, glued on a small piece of card, and came up with something that is closer to the real deal, even if it is not completely accurate. And just as important, it fits in the space I've left for it on the model. Now I have to figure out the best way to carve out the right shaped space for the new vent. I'm open to suggestions on that...I'm thinking maybe outlining the vent on the fuselage, then drilling small holes around the edge, and basically carve out the correct shape. I'm not convinced that is the way to go, so if there are any other ideas out there, I'd love to hear them. See you next time, jp

Hubert nailed it: "No need for a full engine, unless it's a radial. And I like your approach of closed panels with an inside score to open them only if one wants it (which is not my case) Detail what is visible on an aircraft on the ground, cockpits, gear bays, intakes and exhausts, and that is largely enough" And parts count, in and of itself, matters not to me. jp

Thanks again Ilya, I've been referencing that site for a while now, and it is my primary source of info. I also have the Begemot sheet, as well as the MiG-21 and MiG-29 sheet. Maybe I missed them, but I didn't seem to find the exact stencils I needed for that tailhook. But no matter now, I can use what you posted and it'll look great. jp

Thanks for the lesson in Russian, Ilya! I've seen the way the tailhook is stenciled in reference pictures, but I didn't have the appropriate decals on any of the sheets I had. I thought about printing off some copies of the correct stencils on clear decal paper, but I could not find the correct font. I just went with what I did as from a foot or two away it can't be read anyhow. But now, I can use this (под | гаком | опаÑно) and try printing up some stencils that will be accurate. Thanks again, Ilya! jp

Though I don't have much to show for it, I've been working on the tail/stinger. I'm almost there; maybe some touching up and one more shot of primer before I work on scribing the stinger. I'm not too excited about how the panel lines and rivets I had put in previously ended up. It took an awful lot filling and sanding to get that pile of parts to look halfway decent. I'm going to live with halfway decent. I've spent way too much time working this, and I really want to move on. And yes, these pics should be cropped differently. Blame that on Photobucket. Another waste of time. As part of moving on...I've started work on the weapons loadout. I've found conflicting info on whether or not the Su-33 can carry the Kh-31...but since it looks cool, along with some Sorbtsiya pods and a few A2A missiles, that's what this thing will carry. I'm using the Kh-31s and pylons from one of the Trumpeter MiG-29 kits. The pylons don't exactly match those found on the Flankers, so I made a few changes. It is not perfect, but closer to reality. The stock pylon is on the top, my version is on the bottom. Thanks for stopping by, jp

Thanks, Kev. Pounding is right! I figured I'd include a few pics of how the sausage is made... pretty ugly right now, but slowly getting there. jp

I thought I'd post an update of the stinger/tail, even though it's not quite done. I've got a bit of sanding yet to do, but the general shape is there. I debated the pros and cons of scribing the panel lines and rivets before the assembly, puttying, and sanding. I decided to go for it, as it will be so much easier to do beforehand. The downside is I'm sure some of the detail will be lost in the shaping and sanding phase, but I will try to keep it to a minimum, and hope that I can restore what is lost. The panel lines and rivets I added to the sides of the boattail are somewhat simplified, but I think they turned out OK. Here's where things are after a few rounds of epoxy, Milliput, and putty. Still a fair bit to do, but the hard part is over. Thanks for stopping by, jp

I've been working on the rear fuselage/stinger area...didn't some general once say something to the effect "No plan survives contact with the enemy"? My plan is not dead yet...but I may be reviewing that DNR order. I think the general goals I am hoping to achieve are sound, but the route to them is bumpy at best. Here's what I'm hoping for, both pictures courtesy of Ken Duffey: Here's where I am at: The parts are just taped in place right now. I need to finish the nacelles before attaching the other parts. There's still a lot of shaping and filling to do...and that's where I think I may be in trouble. The panel and rivet detail that was once present on the Zacto parts is gone as I did a lot of reshaping and reprofiling. I'm not sure how I should proceed. Should I assemble the 3 stinger/boattail parts, then scribe/rivet them, then attach the whole shebang to the fuselage? Or should I attach the left and right boattail pieces to the fuselage, then scribe/detail, then attach the stinger? Either way I go I can forsee difficulties. Detailing once everything is assembled will be difficult, as among other things, I don't see now I'd get my templates in place to scribe the oval hatch covers and some of the other panel lines. Even if this detailing is done before final assembly, some of those details will be lost when the new stinger/boattail is attached to the fuselage and will have to be done again. If anybody has ever run into a similar dilemma and has come up with a good way to tackle it, I'm all ears. And yes, one of the intakes is temporarily missing....epoxy and CA are no match for my ham-handedness. Thanks for stopping by, jp

Thanks Tom, blackbetty. Whether or not I could figure out the rear end of the model was I think the only possible showstopper. When I started this I didn't realize just HOW different the rear fuselage is compared to an Su-27. My solution is not a perfect one, but will be close, I think. Think, hope...! jp

I think I got it....My two choices regarding modifying the tail/stinger were either reworking the beautiful Zacto piece, or hacking apart the kit pieces and making that work. I decided to go the Zacto route. I went from this: To this: I have some filling and shaping yet to do, but I think doing it this way gives me the best chance of pulling this off. I've also got to fill in panel lines and remove the hinge from the stinger, but this shows the general shape I'm going for. Thanks for stopping by, jp

Thanks, Tom. With so little time to build, it will take ages to get this done. I find that if I break it up into tiny little portions, I feel like I actually accomplished something, and will eventually finish. jp

I've really been avoiding the mods to the tail/stinger. Everything else I think I've got a workable plan for. So I'll just keep kicking that particular can down the road and wait for inspiration. As part of that, I've more or less finished the tailhook. I've yet to fashion the non-hook end, as I have to work the attachment point on the model. It needs a flat coat, and I may weather it a bit more, we'll see. I sawed off the hook portion itself from the tailhook of a Revell F-14. With a few modifications, it comes quite close to that of an Su-33. I then pinned and glued it to some square tubing. I know the stenciling is not accurate, but I did not have the exact wording needed in my spare decals stash. For all I know they translate to 'potato', 'lightbulb'. and 'elbow'. You have to be within a couple inches of it to read it anyway. I think it looks better than if they weren't there at all. Thanks for stopping by, jp

Thanks much, guys. I appreciate your interest. Progress is very slow, but fairly steady. jp

I've been slowly making progress on the canard shoulders. I started with plastic card and Milliput and then shape/sand/repeat. They are not exactly accurate. They should be a bit deeper, but they're close enough. I've got a coat of primer on them, but still have a few blemishes to fill before the panel lines are scribed. Soon I'll be attempting the modified tail stinger. I'm still not entirely sure how I'll tackle that...both the stinger itself and the boat tail are pretty different than the regular Su-27. I'm still waiting for that cartoon lightbulb to appear! Thanks for stopping by jp

Thanks Radders, I hope you have patience!

Thanks Kev, thanks Jim, much appreciated. jp

One more tiny milestone. I scribed in the hinges/foldlines in the horizontal stabs. I also added what look to be some reinforcements with pieces of thin card. The stuff I've done is simplified and not completely accurate, but it's much closer than the stock stabs. Thanks for stopping by, jp

I've finished the canards. I used laminated sheet styrene and cut/sanded to shape. The rivet and panel lines barely show here. They are not 100% accurate, but I'm happy with how they turned out. Both are done, but the picture highlighted a bit of a problem with one that I'll fix. Until next time jp

Just a small bit of progress...I tend to bounce around from task to task on a build....and here's where I ended up: I did some sort of proof-of-concept work on the nosegear. I'll find some tubing silver in color for the final product, or maybe I'll shoot some Alcad on this to see how it turns out. The axle width may not be quite right yet, and I have yet to work out the FOD guard. The wheels shown are from Master Caster that appear to be poorly cast copies of the kit wheels. I may or may not stick with them; they are not quite accurate for an Su-33. But probable close enough for me. Obviously nowhere near done...but a start. Thanks for looking. jp

I taped things together just for grins. It actually provided some inspiration, as it gives me the illusion of a lot of progress. The canard/shoulder areas are in need of more shaping and sanding, but they are getting closer. Right now, they don't quite even match up, but they should be very close when done. I also will find a PE vent cover that is close and mount that near the gun. I still haven't figured out exactly what I'm going to do with the tail stinger...it's very different than that of the Su-27. This pic also made me realize my one-eyed ball-park measurements were off with regard to the wingfolds and stabfolds...refs lead me to believe they should line up; mine don't. I'm not too concerned as it won't be notciceable when viewed from the horizontal. I've also included my 4-year-old daughter's Lego Green Lantern jet. She's eyeing up a Batmobile snap kit...she'll be ready for that soon. Thanks for stopping by, jp

Thanks Luca, thanks geedubelyer. I appreciate that. No pics yet, but I've made some progress on the canards/shoulders. Hope to have a real update soon! jp

Thanks Kev!