Choices - Choices? Su-30 or Eurofighter or F-35?

[Aviacom]

Hi Guy's,

I've 'finally' cleared my 'Shelf of Doom', so I'm looking at my next project.

I opened the box on my Italeri Tornado ECR but don't fancy it, then I looked at my MiG-29 9-13 'Ukrainian Digital' but again, I really don't fancy that right now either.

 

So, looking around the net, I've set myself a budget to work to and have narrowed my next project down to one of the following builds:

 

1. Trumpeter Su-30 with aftermarket bits - to be built as a current aircraft from the Soviet Air Force that's involved with the mess in the Ukraine.

 

2. Trumpeter Eurofighter with aftermarket bits - done in the 'Black Jack/Union Jack' scheme.

 

3. Italeri F-35 - fully loaded with bits - Done as one of the new aircraft now stationed at Lakenheath.

 

I just want something appealing and different, different from the 'norm' as I normally do WW2 subjects and some modern stuff, but feel like my mojo is 'waning' at the moment, so need the next project to 'pick me up'. These three certainly have peaked my interest, and I'm actually leaning ever so slightly towards the Su-30.

 

So, if possible, I'd like some help from any members that have built any of these kits, with the Pro's/Con's of each kit, which kit you'd do and why?

 

Ideally I'd like to make a start on Monday, so I'll leave it a day or so to read any replies or help here before I drag one on to the bench!

Then, as it'll be my first time, I'll do a full WIP thread in the Progress section. That should be fun!!

 

Looking forward to the help and replies.

Many Thanks

[tomprobert]

I’ve built both the Flanker and Lightning, and did enjoy them both. 
 

The F-35 is certainly the simpler of the two, and I found the overall fit to be better, too. If you want a relatively quick and easy “pick me up” then the Lightning would fit the bill. 
 

The Flanker is OK but a more complex build. Fit is generally OK but I do recall the wing join wasn’t great, neither the nose. It’s also a much bigger beast and took me approximately double the time to build than the F-35. 
 

I can’t comment on the Typhoon as haven’t built the Trumpy offering but online reviews are quite favourable. 
 

Do share your chosen project when you’ve decided!

All the best,

Tom

[ScottsGT]

I’d say F-35, but I have the kit and I’m holding off for some of the splinter decals to come out now.  

[chrish]

As mentioned above, I too have built the Sukhoi, and both the italeri Tornado and working on the lightning as we speak…well not really but, anyway the Su is (can be) able to be built from the box but….if/once you try the Zacto upgrades you’ll never go back!  I added some Zacto stuff, Aires exhausts, well no, that’s a lie, I tried to add Aires exhausts, they wouldn’t fit, way to small, I ended up with Rescast exhausts (way better and fit perfect) and Aires seats with pilot as up my upgrades. But the kit is very nice from the box as well. I’m not sure if the pilots are little fellas or under scale but in real life they’d have trouble seeing over the window sills.

the italeri F35 is also very nice and on the bench, I bought Eduard external details but mostly just for the outside vents/screens and a masking set for the RAM panels the kit contains some masks but nowhere near enough, (made of vinyl and not really a great fit) to kind of maintain what’s left of my sanity.
A resin exhaust (the one part the kit does really need) mine is going into paint right now and have no problems with the build or fit. The only real issue is finding a color(s) to paint it that looks like the real deal.

soooo basically, you’ll likely be happy with whichever one you choose 

[geedubelyer]

Interesting selection. 

Some thoughts.

How critical is accuracy? 

As previously mentioned, the Su-30 is a very big chunk of plastic when built. There are a few known shape issues that can be corrected using aftermarket bits. Plus, it's very big. 

 

The Trumpeter Typhoon also has shape issues with the canopy and rear fuselage being the ones most often referred to. 

The colour scheme is a bit out of the ordinary though. 

 

The F-35 is grey. There aren't alot of "out of the ordinary" schemes for the Lightning II at this point but if you wish to portray the newest jet at Lakenheath then that in itself could be considered a bit out of the ordinary at present. 

 

The F-35 gets my vote 

 

Whatever you choose have fun and please share your progress here.

 

Cheers. 

[alain11]

none of them !!!!!! Su 30 too big ..Eurofighter ? not "sexy " F 35 ???? too ugly ................. I am kidding ...of course 

 

[Aviacom]

1 hour ago, chrish said:

As mentioned above, I too have built the Sukhoi, and both the italeri Tornado and working on the lightning as we speak…well not really but, anyway the Su is (can be) able to be built from the box but….if/once you try the Zacto upgrades you’ll never go back!  I added some Zacto stuff, Aires exhausts, well no, that’s a lie, I tried to add Aires exhausts, they wouldn’t fit, way to small, I ended up with Rescast exhausts (way better and fit perfect) and Aires seats with pilot as up my upgrades. But the kit is very nice from the box as well. I’m not sure if the pilots are little fellas or under scale but in real life they’d have trouble seeing over the window sills.

the italeri F35 is also very nice and on the bench, I bought Eduard external details but mostly just for the outside vents/screens and a masking set for the RAM panels the kit contains some masks but nowhere near enough, (made of vinyl and not really a great fit) to kind of maintain what’s left of my sanity.
A resin exhaust (the one part the kit does really need) mine is going into paint right now and have no problems with the build or fit. The only real issue is finding a color(s) to paint it that looks like the real deal.

soooo basically, you’ll likely be happy with whichever one you choose 

 

Chris,

Thanks for your response.

I have the following items for the Su-30

ResKit Su-27 Exhausts

ResKit Su-27 Late Type Wheels

Aires Su-27 Wheelbays

Quinta Studio Su-30 Large Cockpit Set

Quickboost K-36 Seats

ReedOak 3D Printed Modern Soviet Pilots in Summer Flight Suits

NorthStar Etched Su-27 Ladders and Tow Bar

Custom paint masks for Soviet Camo that I did on my own Mask Cutter

Eduard Su-27 Exterior Set

Zacto Nose

Zacto Intakes

ResKit Missiles of two types

Bergemot Su-27 Full Stencil Set

 

As for the F-35, I have:

Kopecky Flaps and Tailplanes Sets

Kopecky Exhaust Set

Red Fox Cockpit Set

Legend Mk 16 Seat

I'm doing Custom Masks for the Lakenheath Letters/Numbers

ReedOak Pilot

Resin Wheels

Top Notch RAM Masks

Metallic Details Bomb Bay Etch

Eduard Exterior Etch

Eduard Wheelbay Etch

 

As for the Eurofighter, I only have the kit and the Fantasy Printshop decal set, I was looking at the Phase Hanger Resin bits for the Typhoon and the ResKit Exhausts/Wheels, Quickboost Seat and Red Fox Cockpit set.

 

As for paints, no problem there for the Su-30 as I have a complete set of Soviet MRP paints here, and also a few bottles of the special 'Have Glass' Grey/Varnish for the F-35!

I only use MRP anyway.

 

Hmmmmmmmm, still undecided. 

 

[Aviacom]

1 hour ago, geedubelyer said:

Interesting selection. 

Some thoughts.

How critical is accuracy? 

As previously mentioned, the Su-30 is a very big chunk of plastic when built. There are a few known shape issues that can be corrected using aftermarket bits. Plus, it's very big. 

 

The Trumpeter Typhoon also has shape issues with the canopy and rear fuselage being the ones most often referred to. 

The colour scheme is a bit out of the ordinary though. 

 

The F-35 is grey. There aren't alot of "out of the ordinary" schemes for the Lightning II at this point but if you wish to portray the newest jet at Lakenheath then that in itself could be considered a bit out of the ordinary at present. 

 

The F-35 gets my vote 

 

Whatever you choose have fun and please share your progress here.

 

Cheers. 

Hi,

Accuracy is good, but it wont stop me building anything, if it looks like the subject it's supposed to be then that's ok, so long as say, a Eurofighter does'nt look like a Spitfire then it'll be good for me.

 

Space isn't to much of an issue as i've a large 'Ex Shop' Glass Display Case that I put all my models in, and the Su-30 fits in there just fine.

Cheers

 

[LSP_K2]

Having just seen the F-35A fly a few weeks back, I'd go with that, but that's just me.

[KiwiZac]

Another vote for the F-35 here - you can't get much more modern than that compared to your previous builds!

[hal9001]

Trumpeter Eurofighter is wrong literally from nose to tail. Not even worth to spend money trying to correct it, if you don't want to bin it, use it as a fast practice or just for fun and than forget it. Buildability is quite good, but again if you look a little to close to the parts you start to see all the inaccuracies and oddities, like those "walls" inside the intake trunk.

Trumpeter Su-30 is an imposing kit and requires lots of work both if built from the box or if you want to correct its inaccuracies. It's a good kit but far from perfect in terms of buildability and correctness (watch out for the right vertical tail tips among other things) and being almost 20 years olds has some molding "limitations"  on the details and some mating surface.

F-35 is problably the more trouble free to build. The only real inaccuracies is the small exhaust, and only need some details to reach a good results. Moulding it's not perfect but it's just a matter of some putty to correct a couple of sink marks and some joint line

[npb748r]

I've not built the F-35 but have the flanker and eurofighter. In my view both looking stunning when built and both were easy kits, I had no real problems with fit, just took my time. No aftermarket used on either. For me the flanker is the better looking of the two however it's really big. If I had to choose, it would be the SU-30 however this time I'd go to town on it with after market especially the cockpit as there's a lot to see. 

 

Have fun with whatever you go with. I really love the phase of building you are in at the moment, the pre-purchase research, the excitement of buying, waiting to open the box and see for yourself what's inside and then making the initial start. Best of the overall building of any kit. Once started I get bored and can't wait to finish !!!!!

[Aviacom]

1 hour ago, hal9001 said:

Trumpeter Eurofighter is wrong literally from nose to tail. Not even worth to spend money trying to correct it, if you don't want to bin it, use it as a fast practice or just for fun and than forget it. Buildability is quite good, but again if you look a little to close to the parts you start to see all the inaccuracies and oddities, like those "walls" inside the intake trunk.

Trumpeter Su-30 is an imposing kit and requires lots of work both if built from the box or if you want to correct its inaccuracies. It's a good kit but far from perfect in terms of buildability and correctness (watch out for the right vertical tail tips among other things) and being almost 20 years olds has some molding "limitations"  on the details and some mating surface.

F-35 is problably the more trouble free to build. The only real inaccuracies is the small exhaust, and only need some details to reach a good results. Moulding it's not perfect but it's just a matter of some putty to correct a couple of sink marks and some joint line

Please do tell me more about the inaccuracies on the Su-30 and potential fixes.

Would any of the aftermarket that I have got (Listed in a post above this one) fix any?

[Aviacom]

1 hour ago, npb748r said:

I've not built the F-35 but have the flanker and eurofighter. In my view both looking stunning when built and both were easy kits, I had no real problems with fit, just took my time. No aftermarket used on either. For me the flanker is the better looking of the two however it's really big. If I had to choose, it would be the SU-30 however this time I'd go to town on it with after market especially the cockpit as there's a lot to see. 

 

Have fun with whatever you go with. I really love the phase of building you are in at the moment, the pre-purchase research, the excitement of buying, waiting to open the box and see for yourself what's inside and then making the initial start. Best of the overall building of any kit. Once started I get bored and can't wait to finish !!!!!

Funnily enough, thats EXACTLY how I feel with every model I build!!

[Aviacom]

Thanks so much for all your help!!

 

Decision made - F-35 it is!! 
 

I will make a start on it this week and do a progress thread if wanted?

 

Thanks so much again