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Trumpeter Su-27 Flanker B, Kazakh AF


jgrease

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So I have finally sold enough of my stash to get one of these honkin' big beauties for a new project. Not only have I been looking forward to building this jet, this will also serve to help me get my modeling mojo back after almost 10 months of hobby inactivity. My wife and I just recently moved, so I will also be breaking in my new modeling space.
Let me get started by being a little more long-winded. Just so we all are on the same page, I am not a rivet-counter; I like to build stuff that looks as close as I can reasonably get within my skill level and on a budget. As I stated previously, I sold off a bunch of stuff from my stash to raise funds for this project, so here is a list of what I have accumulated:
-Trumpeter 1/32 Su-27 B
-Aires cockpit for above kit
-Eduard Su-27 Flanker B exterior PE
-Begemot Flanker Family Stencils (4 pages of stencils!)
-Linden Hill Flanker Sparka Su-27/30 Family Two-Seaters (we'll get back to that in a minute)
-A full set of Akan paints for the plane I'd like to build
I also have the following items on order:
-Zactomodels Su-27 replacement nose cone
-Quickboost Su-27 instrument panel
-Mastercasters Su-27 weighted wheels

About the decals - I ordered these initially to do the Russian "weatherbeaten" standard Flanker, but everyone who's done one of these planes has done it. So I decided to do one of the blue-over-blue-and-blue Kazakh Flankers. I figure I'll do a fairly-new out of refinishing plane so I can load it with stencils (I love stencils!). My compromise here is that I will wind up painting the plane in the scheme used on the two-seaters because they just look nicer.
Also, I'm wide open to suggestions and advice- if you've done this already, I'd really appreciate all the feedback I can get. This is my first WIP on LSP so please let me know how I'm doing!

I've gotten a start on some small stuff, so my next post (after dinner) will show where I'm at as of today. Thanks for indulging me!

Edited by jgrease
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Here's a few pictures to show what little progress I have. First, the cockpit:

df8df26e5d0922c58dcef9871c20b131.jpg

Excess resin has been cut away with a razor saw. I've discovered that the Aires set is missing the rear shelf (RP22), so I've attached the kit shelf and trimmed away enough to accommodate the resin tub:

f186ad2c0d07652157916644dc234468.jpg

After I attach the cockpit tub, I'll fill any gaps left on the rear shelf. I've also assembled the gun, and I've considered leaving the smaller section of the access door open, but I don't have any references to do it:

05afde34b351bf96f2114aea09fc0109.jpg

Finally, I've put together the main gear bay walls. First issue I found was that the instructions show the mid-sized walls (C47 & D37) installed upside down. I'll add some cables and wiring to busy up the bays:

33816b0d7f3946f6f27c0e556a1cb420.jpg

 

Next up, I'll prime the cockpit and give it a shot of the color. I also have a question: has anyone used the Aires cockpit? Am I really supposed to mask off all the displays and gauges? I'm waiting for the Quickboost instrument panel to see if it's any different.

Edited by jgrease
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Ok, a little more work for this morning. First, I've looked at a bunch of wheel well photos, and I suppose if I were as detail-oriented as some of you guys, I could figure out a way to really get these bays more accurate. Sadly, I'm not that good. I've added the kit parts to the bay, and some other bits of solder. Also, I've not been able to locate many front bay photos, so I haven't done anything there except to add the one piece of PE supplied by Eduard. Here's the bays as they stand, ready to paint:

9747f6e7d3598afc515bc070b186288f.jpg

The front bay is still clamped. I tried to dry fit it, and I can see issues on the horizon getting the lower fuselage and the bay lined up to assemble. Ugh.

I've also assembled the K-36DM as supplied by Aires. I plan on using the harnesses from the Eduard set for the Mig-29, which I had in the pile of stuff. I also added the throttle and some of the smaller parts to the cockpit, and it is also ready for a coat of primer:

64cc5dc7b5d31dbadc96237ca4418cf7.jpg

My choice of color for the cockpit will be Akan 73069. I'm not sure what the wheelbays are supposed to be colored. Most photos I have show them to be gray - if anyone has suggestions, I'm wide open.

Also, I've got one photo that I think I can post to show what I am hoping to do with this build:

8b1218fe3d7d1456034b0e11e87aea56.jpg

If this photo shouldn't be here, please let me know. I had it in my iPad for a while, and I don't know where I had found it. Still, I think this is a great paint scheme for this bird.

And in closing, if anyone has a spare KAB-500L, please let me know. I'll gladly pay for it. I've got a photo of a Kazakh Su-27 with one of these bombs on one pylon and a laser designator on the other (Lightening III I believe). I've scrounged the designator from my F-14D, but I don't have the bomb. Thanks again for looking, and I hope to read some feedback as we move along.

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Hi,

 

I think your wheel bays will probably be grey. The Verlinden Lock-On publication has some nice pics if I recall. Also, there are a few on the net of Flankers so you might be lucky and find pics of the bird you're building.

On Russian Flankers the insides of the main gear door and nose gear door are red. It looks to be similar on the bird you showed.

I think much of the pipework in the bays is yellow but ref pics will show for sure.

 

That's a big collection of aftermarket and I see you're using Zacto's nose cone but did you consider the Zactomodels corrected canopy and windshield set? It does help the profile of the aircraft significantly.

 

Cheers.

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Hello -although I've popped in here to LSP before now, I finally got round to joining up.

 

It was your Flanker that made me get round to registering, jgrease -looks like the build will be worth following from what we see so far!

 

I bought this kit just before Christmas, and intend to build it later in the year. When the kit arrived I was under the impression that there were some faults with it (indeed there are) but I happened across a post saying the kit had been updated -indeed it has! The nose now looks far better, as do the engine's rear-most parts (massive improvement) and on or 2 other bits I cannot recall. The canopy is still wrong, though.

 

So jgrease, is yours the original or updated kit?

 

I shall follow your build and hope to learn some tricks. :popcorn:

 

Regards, Lunatech

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Geedubelyer- thanks for the info. I'm gonna see which of the dozen grays I have will be close. The doors on the Kazakh jet are also red. And I've got some decent shots inside the bays- I've done some detailing, but I'm afraid not to the level of other masters here on LSP. I would have gotten the canopy set, but I am seriously tapped out. Whatever I have listed is all I've got to work with. The nose cone was the last of my paypal money.

 

Lunatech- I appreciate your comments! Welcome to LSP and maybe we can learn at the same time about this cool kit. I've got the original version, but I'm not going to correct the known issues with the intake shape or the canopy- like I said above, I've got everything I can afford! At least you got the good version!

 

As I've said before, I look forward to suggestions and comments. Thanks again!

Edited by jgrease
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Finally, some paint on parts and an update! Over the last three days I managed to prime and paint the cockpit and ejection seat. I also got the gear bays primed and almost painted. More on that in a second.

First the good news - I primed the cockpit, sidewalks, instrument panel and ejection seat using Mr Surfacer 1000 (my personal favorite). After that, I painted on a nice coat of Akan 73069 (faded interior blue-grey). Nice paints for airbrushing and with a hairy stick as well. My only issue with it is that it's very sensitive - dry brushing tended to chip it as well as any rough contact with a painted surface. I've done a bunch of touch ups, but I still really like the paint. Next came some detail painting, and this was a bit of a pain for me. I've looked at dozens of Su-27 cockpits, and it seems like no two are the same. I used photos of the closest ones to the Aires pit, and did my best to match:

10f43e5fb83797b1cd60a0080ebd60f2.jpg

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I've sprayed the cockpit with Future to prepare for a wash. I'm very happy with the results, and I think after a light wash and some more dry brushing, I will have the look I'm after. I'm going to use the harnesses and parts from the Eduard K-36 seat PE set I have on hand. It's made for the Mig-29, but it's the same seat, so I don't see any issues after looking at the set. I discovered a cool part of the Aires cockpit the other day - the ejection seat actually slides down the rails in the cockpit! Very cool! I've also done the instrument panel and installed the insert behind the panel:

b876efad3efc1302bbc08f536a0bc371.jpg

It took some sanding on the sides, but the panel fits neatly into the cockpit tub now. Another item I see on the horizon will be the fit of the cockpit tub into the upper fuselage. I did a quick dry fit and even though I sanded the sides of the upper fuselage it takes a little jiggling to fit properly. We shall see. I've also sprayed the instrument coaming flat black. My pressure must have been a little too high, and the finish is a little too sandy for my taste:

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I think I'll fix it with a spray of Future and then dry brush it. The gun is painted flat black, with a heavy brushing of metallic paints to follow, along with a dark wash. Still debating having an open access door to the gun bay...

So, the gear wells... Like everything else, every photo of a Flanker has different shades of gray in the wells. I settled on Neutral Gray, and sprayed the wells. I had some issues with my mix, and one of the wells had a very wet finish which looks like poop. I will sand it down upon drying and re-spray. That's it for today. I may try to get some more work done later tomorrow. If I do, an update will follow.

Please give me any feedback you see fit, and thanks for looking in.

 

John

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Received my Zactomodels nose in the mail today - yay! Also hit the cockpit with dullcote after adding the Eduard PE seatbelts, which was a chore and I don't think I got them right. I also gave the wheel wells another coat of Neutral Gray, and I plan on painting some of the piping later on. I'm fiddling with the cockpit fit within the upper fuselage, and I also received an email from Aires that they are sending me a new rear deck to replace the missing one, so I may pause on my progress until I receive it as well as my package from Hannants with the remaining items. I will post photos tomorrow of the completed cockpit and wheel wells.

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