Author Topic: Westernized 1/72 Su-27SM Flanker  (Read 3249 times)

Offline SebastianP

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Westernized 1/72 Su-27SM Flanker
« on: March 12, 2018, 04:53:42 AM »
Yesterday I took delivery of a pair of Revell (ex-Zvezda) 1/72 Su-27SM kits, with the intent of building one of them in the box-top blue-over-blue camo scheme (which is the most gorgeous production scheme the Russians have ever fielded); and the other as a what-if of some sort, no real plan specified.

I had a first look at the runners of the two kits yesterday, and discovered that one of the kits has a deep sink-mark in the headrest of the ejection seat. "No big deal, I can put the pilot figure in and no one will see it, no need to mess around with putty."

Then I painted both pits blue as is good and proper for a Flanker, and then this morning I installed the instrument panel decals. And used too much Mr Mark Softner on one of them. "Okay, the decal is still there, just a little crooked, no one will see it anyway if the pilot figure is in the way and the pit is closed up."

And then as I was carefully cutting off the parts for the seats, one of the armrests failed to separate from my fingertip while it was still over the table, and instead landed on my floor, where it vanished.

"Fine then, Plan: Westernize It is a go. Where's my spares box?"

I only just decided to follow through with this, so I haven't taken any pictures yet, nor have I even decided which nationality to go for, that will basically depend on which of the seats in my spares box has the best fit.

The broken Revell F-22 seat I had on the desk needed a bunch of modification just to go inside the cockpit, and it's too long in the seat department and will interfere with the kit flight stick. I may be able to use a sidestick from the seat donor kit, but I'm not sure where I put the box or whether the stick is still there, it's been a long time since I worked on my models.

I know I have several Revell Typhoon and Tornado seats in a box somewhere, assembled and unpainted, but I don't remember what the back of those things look like so I don't know how much modification they'd need to fit in the seat pit. I may also have an F-16 seat and a Super Hornet seat, though the latter is probably not going to work well at all without removing the box the K-36 sits on in the Su-27 pit.

I do have unused decal sheets for Revell's Typhoon kit (with options for Germany, Britain, Austria and Italy); Revell's F-22 kit (several USAF options); a Revell F-16C-50 kit (USAF options again): and somewhere I pretty much have to have two sheets for the old Revell (ex-Italeri) JAS-39 Gripen, since I've found the airframes and they're unpainted.

I also have *plenty* of Western stores to use, as I haven't gotten to the weapon installation stage on an aircraft kit in a very long time, and I just keep buying more... I have the complete weapons fit from:

3 Revell F-22A Raptors (AIM-9M, AIM-9X, AIM-120C, GBU-32)
2 Revell Typhoons (AIM-9M, AIM-120B, ASRAAM, IRIS-T, Meteor, Storm Shadow, Taurus)
1 Revell F-16C-50 Fighting Falcon (AIM-9M, AIM-120C, GBU-10, AGM-88)
1 Academy F-35A Lightning II (AIM-9X, AIM-120C, GBU-31/BLU-109)
1 Hobby Boss Rafale-B (MICA-EM, MICA-IR, Apache/SCALP)
1 Revell F/A-18E (AIM-120C, AIM-9X, I have absolutely no recollection of what else there was in this kit...)

1 Hasegawa Weapons Set VI (GBU-10, GBU-12, GBU-16, GBU-24/BLU-109)
1 Hasegawa Weapons Set VII (AGM-154, GBU-31, LANTIRN)
1 Hasegawa Weapons Set VIII (AIM-120C, AIM-9X, ECM pods)
1 Hasegawa Weapons Set IX (GBU-31/BLU-109, GBU-38, SNIPER, LITENING)

Anyway, the spares box is plenty healthy, the only things I actually feel lacking in are Small Diameter Bombs, JASSMs, and British ordnance like Brimstone, ALARM and their 1000-lb LGBs.




Offline SebastianP

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Re: Westernized 1/72 Su-27SM Flanker
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2018, 10:37:04 PM »
Just a quick update, went to the hobby shop and discovered they were flat out of white acrylic paint for airbrushing. No flat, no gloss, no semi-gloss, nothing. Which means that not only is my stock flanker stalled because I can't mix the camo colors, my what-if is stalled because I can't paint the landing gear and their wells. For another two weeks.

AAAARGH.

The only white paint I can find *anywhere* right now is Tamiya Spray in a rattle can (don't have anything to decant it to though); and Humbrol Enamels, which I've learned from very bitter experience aren't actually white once you've opened the tin. And getting paints by mailorder would double the cost and still take two weeks.

Double AAAARGH.
« Last Edit: March 12, 2018, 10:40:24 PM by SebastianP »

Offline Tophe

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Re: Westernized 1/72 Su-27SM Flanker
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2018, 01:55:39 AM »
Yesterday I took delivery of a pair of Revell (ex-Zvezda) 1/72 Su-27SM kits, with the intent of building one of them in the box-top blue-over-blue camo scheme (which is the most gorgeous production scheme the Russians have ever fielded); and the other as a what-if of some sort, no real plan specified.
Reading your first words I was delighted: why buying TWO kits of the same? Will this be the very first Su-27Z Zwilling twin-fuselage??? :-*
Ahem, your project is different, so maybe I will be the one building the Su-27Z, 1/144 probably...
Thanks for the idea!
And good luck for your own project, interesting differently. ;)

Offline SebastianP

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Re: Westernized 1/72 Su-27SM Flanker
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2018, 05:58:37 AM »
Reading your first words I was delighted: why buying TWO kits of the same? Will this be the very first Su-27Z Zwilling twin-fuselage??? :-*
Ahem, your project is different, so maybe I will be the one building the Su-27Z, 1/144 probably...
Thanks for the idea!
And good luck for your own project, interesting differently. ;)

Zwilling's are not really my thing (I know how much you like them though, I've read a great many of your threads on Whatifmodelers), but glad I could inspire you!

I buy two kits when possible due to long experience with losing a single part or decal and being unable to complete the aircraft, at which point the weapons and seat(s) go in the spares box and the airframe gets put away forever. Buying two kits means that unless I make the exact same screwup twice, I will have at least *one* finished kit in the end which I can stick some weapons on; and possibly a second I can use for whiffing if the missing bits aren't too critical. Also, in this case the kits were cheap - 18 euro each plus 6 euro shipping was only ten euros more than what *one* of the same kit cost at the hobby shop when I was there today. The local importers are cray-cray.

Two kits, especially when they come with only two of one weapon type, also makes it possible to swap weapons between kits so you can for example get four ASRAAM for one Typhoon and four IRIS-T for the other (kind of a bad example given that Revell doesn't offer the right missile rails for the second pair of IR missiles); or in this case, sticking four Kh31 on one airframe and four R-77 on the other. (Though I'm actually planning on saving up the R-77s for a while longer. Either until I have eight of them and can load a Flanker with a full set, or "Russifying" an F-15 or F-16 to go with the westernized Flanker).

Thanks for replying, anyway. Time (well, tomorrow it will be) to start stripping off the paint of an old car kit so I have something to practice airbrushing on while I wait for the shop to restock on white paint... Amazing how completely helpless you can get without that basic supply, isn't it?

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Westernized 1/72 Su-27SM Flanker
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2018, 10:34:14 AM »
Though I'm actually planning on saving up the R-77s for a while longer. Either until I have eight of them and can load a Flanker with a full set, or "Russifying" an F-15 or F-16 to go with the westernized Flanker.
Perhaps an F-15 or F-16 in the markings of a former, by force or by choice, Soviet client state (Polish F-15, for example, or Romanian F-16)?

Offline SebastianP

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Re: Westernized 1/72 Su-27SM Flanker
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2018, 10:50:40 PM »
Perhaps an F-15 or F-16 in the markings of a former, by force or by choice, Soviet client state (Polish F-15, for example, or Romanian F-16)?

Considering how many decals I have for Poland and Romania in my stash (zip, nada, none), and what kind of kits typically come with them, that particular combination has a low chance of happening. More likely would be a Czech or Hungarian airframe, which I either do have decals for, or will be getting courtesy of Revell's new-tool Gripen kits, which I foresee them issuing several versions of, and me getting at least a few of them.

Right now, I have found 1/72 decals appropriate for a fighter or fighter bomber from eleven nations (America, Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine); plus the UN Spacy and Strategic Military Services (from Macross), in my main decal spares box. I may have Czech, Hungarian and South African decals somewhere as well (I have the wreckage of Revell's boxing of Italeri's Gripen, which had those, but I haven't found the decal sheet), and I think there's possibly some Australian "rooundels" from an old Hawk-100 kit floating around, but it's been ages since I saw them.

(Now there's a thought... Flankers in Kiwi roundels to make the guy from the Australian Air Power site go completely nuts...)

No, chances are those missiles are going on a future, completely wanked out Flanker of some variety that'll sit next to a similarly roided out Raptor or Super Hornet, both built specifically to show off the maximum, no care for practicalities air-to-air loadout. I already have the missiles and launch adapters to do the Super Hornet (and then some!), the question is whether the Raptor uses the same rail adapters...