Lipetsk Training Center - Sukhoi Su-27SM - WIP
Box Art
Zvezda has made some fantastic releases in the last years and this kit is no exception (at the first glance that is) Very nice, many parts, clean and crisp detail
Additionally i went fore some Aires nozzles, an Eduard PE set, PE pitot tube and static dischargers and canopy masks
First fitting of the fuselage parts. Yep, looks like a Su-27!
Then the eyeroll moment, the wings are totally warped!
Looks like it is making some kind of a wave dance
The problem was eventually solved by heating the parts with a hairdryer and bringing them in shape. The plastic is rather soft and....well, plastic
All parts cut from the sprues and sorted
I sort them in groups and building steps, this gives me better overview over the building process
The upper fuselage half comes in two separate parts, this modulation makes it easier for the kit maker to produce different versions of a model..
for the modeler it means additional headache though. It is almost impossible to glue the parts perfectly to each other, let's see if i am going to need putty here
The canopy did not convince me on the other hand, first of all it is quite foggy and scratched
Second, it is also warped inwards pretty significantly!
To bend it back i used the hairdryer trick, here it worked surprisingly well too, even the usually brittle clear parts could be bent easily after heating
I tried to sand and polish the canopy first but no matter what i tried it always looked misty and foggy in the end! So instead i went for the "dunking in Future" method and it turned out pretty well. I think i'll even go for a second coat....
The overall fit is pretty good (after bending it in shape)
Aires nozzle set and kit parts in juxtaposition
Some material has to be milled from the kit parts to provide a good fitting
Eventually the fit turned out to be pretty good
Comparison between kit part and aftermarket
The resin parts combined with a kit fuselage part
I don't think i'm petty, but to my eye the rear part of the aftermarket nozzle is too long! Wasn't the idea behind aftermarket parts to correct kit flaws in the first place?
The afterburner flame stabilizers are provided as a PE part
They are shaped in a certain way, i used the kit part to bend the PE one
Here again, to my liking the kit part looks more like the real thing...(even though they are installed other way round here)
Eduard delivers some really nice colored PE parts for the cockpit
Looks really good and crisp, even in 1:72
Landing gear doors, even the hinges are provided as separate parts
Main wheel wells upgraded with Eduard's PE
To prevent any chance of tailsitting a large screw was superglued into the nosecone
Fits like a glove...
Fuselage halves joined, nose mounted. I use superglue both as glue and putty for the seamlines in this case
Actually i wanted to use as little putty as possible to save the surface detail and panel lines...
But hey, there go my plans...:/
While quite understandably with the modified engine cones...
...this could have been prevented by fitting the lower wing part better (by removing the protruding ejection markings for example)..
...like I did on this side! The massive gaps had to be filled though.
Nose required some plastering too.
The transition between the two upper fuselage sections i managet to fit without putty
K-36 looks all right with some nice Eduard add-ons!
I did not want to go total autism on it but I thought some rivet detail won't do any harm...
..because there were absolutely none projected by Zvezda and you clearly see some prominent rivet rows on photos of this beauty
Flame holders installed, still some painting to do
nozzles look all right but the transition to the fuselage requires some putty too..
Some rivet detail on the slats
The nozzles themselves needed some alignment too..
...so did the transition between fin and fuselage
less on this side but quite a gap though
to protect the surface detail on the fin a strip of tape is placed a millimeter above the gap
Like I said i wanted to use as little putty as possible :/ Maybe I should rethink my approach on modeling...
Also notice the massive sinkhole at the back of the fin right before the pointy part...this will require some putty too
I love this trademark look of the Sukhoi!
The fit of the nacelles is pretty good..
..the gap between front and rear part is too wide though
sigh...
also filled some sinkholes at the back of the fins while at it...
Now the fit of the nacelles is very smooth, but quite some surface detail was lost in the sanding process...
Ready for primer!
Some Eduard PE detail here and there
Primer applied!
I've tried countless primers and basecoats and I found my holy grail.
It is thin and preserves surface detail very well, at the same time very robust and adhesive. Gives a nice silky smooth finish for the following paint.
Restoring some panel lines and rivets
Some stiff tape is a good aid for that
Riveting action on the upper half, let's see if any of this is going to be still visible after the painting...
Lower sides of the engines suffered pretty bad, there was a bit more to do.
HUD "frame" is provided as a nice PE part
The canopy and windshield became crystal clear after the "Future" treartment
Ready for paint! All the armament already assembled
Some PE for the missles...
...and the pylons
landing gear recieved some refinement too
Ok, the boring stuff is over, now the fun part begins! The two tone camouflage is held in pretty bright blue colors, so the preshading was held in a dark blue color
Followed by white mottling "inbetween"
I like to mix my own colors (which often holds the chance of failure) but I enjoy it nontheless!
First attempt was 10 parts white XF-2 with one part blue XF-8, the upper sample. But the result was too dull and grey, so I went with X-14 instead which is brighter and more saturated. Definitely a step in the right direction..
I dilute the paint more than usual and work in thin layers. This way I can control the coverage better..
So far so good!
So, like I mentioned the base blue was definitely too pale so I mixed a darker shade and thinned it down even more so the paint became very transparent and acts more like a "filter" than a coat of paint
This ensures all the preshading is still visible. Seems a bit too dark on the picture, the exposure is a bit low because of the white background but looks all right in real. Definitely better than before!
Masking time for second color!
I use Tamiyas flexible tape and Airbrush masking film for more curved patches
The outline is drawn onto applied masking film...
...masking film placed back onto release paper and outline cut out...
...mask placed back onto surface.
Time consuming, but necessary!
The second camouflage color is done in a similar manner, panel lines were kept darker. But this time the paint was diluted less and applied more dry to prevent accumulations at the mask edges
Favourite part: pulling off masks!
Applying masks for the white surfaces
Masking to paint the white nosecone
wheel wells painting
Future glosscoat applied
Decaling time!
What i like to do is to "sand" the applied decals with a fine sponge in order to get a more used and faded look. Left side already treated, right to go
All the work protected by another coat of "Future"
Next step was the weathering. I use AK enamel washes
Applying finely on all the panel lines and surface details
And wiping it off with a soft cloth
After a coat of semigloss varnish the masking for the natural metal areas for the engines begins
Some apply the natural metal finish first, i prefer it like this
I use AK Xtreme Metal metallics, great range of metal effects
Basic painting with different shades
Underside
Then i went into detail
Quite a few layers of wash and detail painting later
Installing the seat and completing the cockpit
Last shots before closing the lid!
I'd rather have my 1:72nd scale models "streamlined" and with a closed canopy and airbrakes etc. to preserve the basic shape of the real airplane as good as possible. Open canopies are reserved for 1:48th!
Missiles received some love too, here the R-27 heatseeker version
X-31 in various metal shades
R-73 short range heatseeker
R-27 Radar version
Finally, R-77 with PE fins
Comments
48 7 November 2018, 10:20
Peter HardyIt's Russian, it's fast and it's a jet ... and it's my all time favouritist hairyplane! It will be done in a Maritime camo of course? Don't mind me Alex, i'll Be in the back seat learning cryllic writing!
8 November 2018, 07:34
Alexander Grivonev"i'll Be in the back seat learning cryllic writing!" It's a one seater, Peter! ...Hey, that even rhymes😄
8 November 2018, 08:08
Alexander GrivonevAs for the camo, there are two options for the serial jets in the AF, a two tone blue and a three tone grey/grey blue camo. I am still indecisive which one it is going to be..
8 November 2018, 08:19
Peter HardyIf I was 40 kilos lighter I'd sit on your knee! Either camo will look awesome!
8 November 2018, 08:50
Spanjaardsince Peter is taking the space in the cabin, i will take a seat outside, but will certainly not miss this one!
12 November 2018, 23:34
Alexander GrivonevThere are no seats left outside either, Spanjaard but i can hang you on one of the pylons, there are plenty of them 😄
13 November 2018, 05:35
Alexander GrivonevThe place in the burner can seems cozy too, at least when the engine isn't runnng...
13 November 2018, 05:37
Alexander GrivonevSpanjaard, it's warm and cozy in there what do you want else? You can have a blanket if you want 😄
14 November 2018, 10:59
Alexander GrivonevAris, if you count them I reassure you there are a few missing😄 Treehugger, you are welcome!
14 November 2018, 11:01
Bryn CrandellAmazing work so far. The burner cans do make you question whether they were worth it for this scale. The Cockpit looks amazing. As for the rivet detail, I'm definitely not worthy. Truly amazing.
14 November 2018, 13:19
Alexander GrivonevThanks mates!
Bryn, thing is i never installed aftermarket burner cans before so I just wanted to try. Are they worth it? They do look better than the kit parts but considering them being not correct in their proportions you could wish for more for 13€. Again, to my eye the rear part of the nozzle seems to bee to long. Maybe there are different versions of these nozzles and I am mistaken and would love to stand corrected, but my research has shown it to be the case. The riveting, i must say this is a significant effect for such little work. What did I spend on a fin, 15 minutes? It's not that I am superhuman, you just have to try for yourself to see how easy it is! I did it with a simple Trumpeter rivet maker tool.
cheers
Alex
14 November 2018, 18:11
Martin OostromAlex, can you quit this site? You are making me feel totally inadequate! Keep up the lessons 👍
16 November 2018, 07:30
Alexander GrivonevLol, what is making you so uncomfortable 😄 I feel inadequate posting this avoidable plastering orgy...
16 November 2018, 09:31
Alexander GrivonevThanks mates!
Agustin, I defintely am going to build this "SKM" Flanker one day, always liked the black/grey scheme, yours looks fantastic and I see you did your research homework and even added the refueling probe! Anything else you changed compared to the "SM" model? Would love to see more WIP pictures 👍
22 November 2018, 06:03
Alexander GrivonevBTW I decided to build the training version from Lipetsk airbase with the two tone blue camouflage. I've got enough grey airplanes in my shelves!
22 November 2018, 06:13
Patrick HagelsteinBwoaaah!!! Ich liebe deine Farben! I realy love your approach to getting those colors right! The preshading, mottling and choice of color is spot on! 👍
27 November 2018, 06:49
Alexander GrivonevIt's far away from "spot on", Patrick😢
The blue is definitely not "blue enough", paint tends to be more pale and dull when applied with an airbrush in comparison to the sample applied manually on paper, which looked ok colorwise. I already reworked that, pics following tomorrow.
27 November 2018, 18:34
Patrick HagelsteinI see what you mean; the colors in the cover picture are more vibrant. But still, the execution of the preshade, mottling and misting the main color looks really good.
27 November 2018, 18:41
Alexander GrivonevThanks! It's not misting actually, I put down quite wet coats but with very diluted paint.
27 November 2018, 18:45
Michael PhillipsThis is some really fantastic work, and the step by step pics are wonderful! I know how difficult it can be to stop progress to take pics.
Looking forward to seeing what comes next!
27 November 2018, 19:32
Alexander GrivonevThank you mates!
Yeah Michael it is definitely distracting handling a camera when you are mid-process but these happen to be the most telling and interesting pictures of a WIP👍. The pictures are far from perfection but I try to progress myself, next step would be to install a nice "photo corner" with good lights, a nice uniform background and the camera steady.
28 November 2018, 05:53
Alexander GrivonevThanks! The bird is also finished already. Did not have the time to do proper pictures, New Years celebration and such....but definitiely following this week!
2 January 2019, 18:06
Alexander GrivonevThanks Cuajete! i thought i'd give them a little more attention than I usually do for my 1:72nd stuff. The more I am glad that the effort payed off!
4 January 2019, 13:46
Alexander GrivonevThe missile loadout btw is pure fantasy, I just wanted to have at least one of each missiles attached
5 January 2019, 20:50
Alexander GrivonevThanks Roland, thanks Martin! Yeah i am really happy with the colors too, was quite a challenge to hit the correct shades!
10 January 2019, 05:58
Julian Herrero aka YuriGood work and extensive coverage ,,,,, Congratulations ... I was looking for some buils of the kit ,,, and you have made me buy it ,,, thnkas for all the information
23 August 2022, 16:08
Sergej ILove the demarcation clean lines between two colours. Also metal paintjob is superb! 👍
26 August 2022, 12:44
DanielThis is super high quality, great colors, great Metallics, stunning work 👍
26 August 2022, 15:40
DerMattesSchöne Su-27, das Cockpit mit den PE Teilen sieht top aus! Die Triebswerksteile kann man sich aber wohl sparen und bei den Kit-Teilen bleiben, lese ich so raus?
Hab den Kit selbst (von Zvezda und Revell), bin gespannt wie die Unterschiede zur Revell/Hasegawa Variante sind.
20 March 2023, 07:44
Bernd GrünVery nice build and paint job. I love the engine section. It looks perfect.👌 Congratulation!
20 March 2023, 08:19
Alexander GrivonevThx mates!
@Der Mattes: Die Düsen aus dem Kit sind brauchbar, Aires ist feiner detailliert aber meiner Meinung nach in der Form nicht ganz korrekt. Zvezda/Hase da hat Zvezda auf jeden Fall die Nase vorne, schon allein wegen der Tatsache, dass die Hasegawa Formen 30 Jahre alt sind.
20 March 2023, 13:28
Alexander GrivonevThx Alex, there was not much to correct honestly. The Zvezda kits are really good, probably best Su-27 family in 1:72 (from the 2014 tooling)
27 March 2023, 15:21
Album info
Sukhoi Su-27SM work in progress
