Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack - Trumpeter 1:72
Comments
Selman YararThe first picture is from January 2018, shortly after that date the colossus landed on top of the drawer and remained there for 5 years. A couple of days ago i thought i have to finish it.
Vincentthis looks like a intersting model. Looking forward to the end result!!!
Selman YararTomorrow last layer of varnish (all clear except for the radome which is flat) and then i'll peel the masks off.
Alexey AntipinSure. The missiles in the kit are too long.
Next up is the weapons bay and armament. The kit comes with 12 Kh-55 and 12 Kh-55SM cruise missiles. The Kh-55SM has conformal fuel tanks on the fuselage sides to extend the range of the missile, rendering a rounded triangular fuselage cross-section. The regular Kh-55 has a round fuselage. Now for some unknown reason, Trumpeter made the missiles about 1.4 times longer than the real missile. The Kh-55 series is 19' 3.5" long which translates to 3.22" in 1/72 scale. The kit missiles are 4.4" long. You can do the math- they're too long.
In addition, Trumpeter molded the engine of the Kh-55SM in the extended position (it is stowed in the fuselage until launch). To use the Kh-55SM, you'll need to remove the engine unless you want to pose one or more of these in flight. The Kh-55 has the engine stowed. Both missiles can be posed in the stowed or flight positions - parts are provided for the wings for flight and tail feathers in either position. Of course, if you're going to pose the Kh-55 in flight, you'll need the engines from the Kh-55SM.
Assuming you want to carry twelve cruise missiles in the weapons bay, the rotary launchers for the forward and aft weapons bays are assembled first. Next, with the cruise missiles of your choice, install them on the rotary launchers and mount these in their respective weapons bays. If you choose the Kh-55SM and forget to remove those engines, you should have a problem with getting the weapons bay assembled (there was a reason why those engines were stowed on the real missiles!).
Taken from
cybermodeler.com/hob..u/kit_tru_1620.shtml
Selman YararThe smile is a desperate one from 5 years ago while i just realized what was waiting for me, lol.
Selman YararAlexey, 5 years ago as i soon realized that the Kh-55... missiles are really problematic, i decided to use te cruise missiles with the rotary launchers. But i understand what you mean and it is no surprise to see that the Chinese friends botched again, a lot of kits have problems due to their sloppy work. They may be great in mold design and injection molding but when it comes to investigation they often fail.
Selman YararI have chosen the number 17 "Valery Chkalov" on purpose, because i build the Tupolev ANT-25, a record plane from the 30's and Chkalov has flown one of these from Moscow to Seattle. The other one has been flown by Mikhail Gromov from Moscow to San Diego. The ANT-25 is a very nasty EE-kit i found in a miserable shop in Vietnam, the propeller is missing, the wings are not injected completely. If i can finish that one, i will present both planes together in our upcoming contest in May.
Robert PodkońskiAbsolutely impressive work on this monster, Selman. Chapeau bas!
Michael Kohlbig and beautiful. Should make you satisfied to finally finish her.
Brandon PanioThank you for that picture of you holding the model. It can be so hard to determine the size of a kit just by looking at it
DuperScaleGreat result, i struggle a little bit with mine right now. The nozzle doesnt fit at all. Like the whole model is bend. 😵💫
Album info
I started this model in December 2017. In January 2018, I decided to postpone the project, regretting the unnecessary dark and rough panel line coloring and hesitating about a solution that would both cover these and paint such a large surface white. Since then, it had been left in dust on the cabinet for exactly 5 years. When I saw that I had completed this model in my dream in the past days, I said it was time. Already Mr.Hobby had put a good water-based primer on the market recently. The solution that I could not find in time was in this product.
It took me a few hours to clean that dust, it was so badly dirty that even when I was priming after cleaning, I saw that dust and fiber particles were still adhered to the surface. After priming, I was able to solve the problem by sanding thoroughly and priming again. Although I had some troubles due to the weakening of the plastic during assembly (the tail section didn't want to fix in place i had to fight to do it), it was a very durable model in general. While turning something that big, some parts inevitably get bumped and warped, but this happened to me not very often. I completed the model relatively smoothly, with the help of metal landing gear (Trumpeter gave the rear landing gear metal, but the front gear was plastic, I couldn't understand why, this is a very heavy plane!), PE-landing gear cables and canopy masks, I prevented possible troubles.
The model was a good opportunity to test my patience. Although I was despondent from time to time because of the parts I forgot here and there, when the model was just finished today, I was relieved.
But now two bigger problems awaited me. First of all, my photo booth is ideal for 30x30cm models, if I push it too hard, it's becmes suitable for 50x50cm shots. But when this plane was finished, it was 75x75 cm, I had to take it on the dining table in the living room, so the photo compositions were not as beautiful as they should, sorry. The second problem was where to keep something this big, luckily we were able to solve it by putting it on display at a friend's clinic.
A model this big again? I don't think so, it was too tiring and back-breaking, a one time experience is enough, lol.
PS: I chose the decals for plane no.17 Valery Chkalov from the Begem0t set, because i build also the Tupolev ANT-25, which Chkalov use in the early 30's for a record flight from Moscow to Seattle. If i can finish that awful kit from Eastern Express (propeller blades missing, wings partly bad injected, etc), then i want to show both planes in the upcoming contest in May.
