Minibase Su-33 Red 80 in Flight (WIP）

The 3D printed pilot is orange with mats. The mats help when you locate the figure accurately on the seat. Even if you install all rudder pedal and their links inside the cockpit, they fit just fine. All you need is patience! All part will fall into place accurately. 

This is the greatest detail you can achieve with injected parts if you want to build a K36 ejection seat nowadays  

Mr. AN Ran is the supervisor of the Minibase Su-33 project. I feel so honored that he sent me a copy from Shijiazhuang, and this is his signature. We refer to him as '汤毛'(tang mao) in Chinese🙂 

Very interesting cartoon showing the assembly of a Minibase Su-33 aircraft model. Illustrated by Mr. DU Renjie who lives and works in Tianjin 

This 3D printed pilot was intended for the Minibase 8002 Su-27K kit, but Tang Mao (汤毛) managed to get one for me. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude toward him and Mr. XUE Jialiang (the boss of Minibase model store) for the delicate kit. I airbrushed the mat and ejection seat black, and then hand brushed the pilot figure with Tamiya Acrylics and Mr. Color solvent based paint. 

Mr. Color remained as my major paint brand so I loaded my magazines with some new munitions:-p 

Decals applied. Seat. There are just a lot of stencils on the K-36D ejection seat, bringing up detail levels up. I am sure this would be one of the most challenging build in my modeling career, but all the efforts worth it. 

back view of painted and decaled seat 

I used the smallest flat brush to paint the figure. The procedure starts with the orange flight suit, followed by painting the seat belts and locks. The head was painted in the last step. I started with the face of the pilot, and then the helmet  

Minibase has printed decals for all control panels. Here comes the decals on the side panels. I placed the decals flat over the panel, since the size fits only if I let the decal float over all push buttons. Mr. Mark Setter and Mark Softer are used to enhance the adhesive and solute the decals. Once the decals are partially melt, I used a small modeling knife to slice the decal apart and press each part to make them fit the recess and engraved details. A thin layer of flat coat was applied in the last step.

Some of you may notice that there are mechanical links in the front of the cockpit, yes they are the rudder/brake padel linkage. Although they will not be seen once the cockpit is closed, they represent the top level of details that 48th scale modern aircraft models can achieve nowadays.  

The details of main control panels are also brought out with kit decals. Mr. Mark Setter and Mark Softer are extensively used on the panel. You may need a knife to force the decals into the engraved parts to make them fit perfectly 

Main components put together 

The details are far better than that of any G.W. H. Flanker kit 

This picture depicts the mock up of nose landing gear bay. Hydraulic lines and valves are depicted with multiple small parts 

Side walls of nose landing gear bay painted 

Side wall of nose gear bay and pressure refueling port 

nose gear bay assembled 

there are just plenty of valves and pipelines on the side walls of nose gear bay 

Minibase Su-33 featured unprecidented detail as it provided air data probes in the air intakes and at the entry of AL-31F3 low pressure stages. Some of the probes were made of PE and I failed to glue them in place. I cut and glued some plastic cards to replace them 

This is how I attach the pressure probes to the entry stage of engine. I drilled a hole at the beginning and then glued the probe to the hole. 

Time to move the the intake trunks 

Removing excessive plastic with Wave Carving Knife.  

I used WAVE Carving Knife to remove the poles 

Intake trunks: before and after 

Intake trunks: before and after 

Air pressure probes inside of each intake trunk. I had to install them before closing the trunk halves, so I had to leave the assembly seams un-attended 

The make up of air intake trunks were complicated. One had better mark them before assembly 

Most of the subtle parts are on sprue J, K, L. One has to be very very careful when removing parts from the sprues. Finding missing parts on desk or floor is nearly impossible! 

Auxiliary air intake consists of a movable flap and metal filter mesh. The mesh is painted gun chrome and the flap is painted with Color A (the first mixture given in Minibase instruction) 

Starboard intake trunk is moulded in a whole piece, rather than two pieces per side when you build the Kinetic kits 

There are some small compartments you need to install before you move to further steps. The compartments are inside the main landing gear bays 

YOu have better remove this moulding lines before painting since they don't exist on real aircraft 

This fairing holds the side strut lock for main landing gears. The principles these side locks worked is similar to F-14 Tomcats' main gear side strut locks 

The painting work for main gear bays began with these parts, bright red. 

There is a single air data probe inside the left air intake trunk, near the entry. The part number is J65. I will talk about how to install it on the following pages 

There are two J65 parts, but only one is needed. It should be installed inside port air intake 

I drilled a hole from outside. Yet the instruction did not provide concrete position where I should install it. Watch next page... 

Yes, the air data probe should be on the other side of drilled panel. You have to drill from outside since there is no work space from inside.  

Upper part of main landing gear bay should be painted bright red. I used Mr. Color C3 red 

This is not a thirt party landing gear! It is 3d-printed and developed in co-operation with Minibase. Also labelled as Minibase product.  

There two types of 3d-printed detail upgrade sets ( both are labelled as Minibase 2001). Normally the upgrade set are released with on-the-ground landing gear legs (compressed shock absorber struts), but my set was customized made with unloaded struts 

when installing 3D printed main gear struts, attach the hinge points first, then attach the side lock point. 

The nose gear is also a 3D printed version. It consists of the shock strut, drag strut and mud guard 

Mock up with 3D printed gear legs. Once I have made sure that the legs could be easily installed and removed, I will move to the main gear bays. The bays must be finished before closing fuselage halves. 

The tube perpendicular to shock strut on the nose gear is the nose gear steering actuator case. There are two hydraulic lines connecting each end of the case. One for pressurized oil, the other for oil that should return to hydraulic reservoir. The sprues between the lines and steering tube are supporting sprues, don't forget to remove them before painting! 

Hydraulic lines on the main wheel bay walls. Painted by hand 

US Navy counterpart: F/A-18F SD223 from VX-23 Salty Dogs. This is my first try with in-flight pose with landing gear down and locked, I started that project 5 years ago and the build lasted 5 months approximately 

So I started painting main wheel bays as I airbrushed the walls with gloss red (Mr. Color C3) 

Electric wire bundles. Painted by hand with Mr. Color paint. 

The fitting was quite good for a new Chinese manufacturer, yet not so good as classical Janpanese manufacturers such as Tamiya. I decided to press parts in position and then went with thinned glue such as Mr. Hobby MR. Cement S. 

The ceilings of main gear compartment were given gloss red finish 

Center-line hardpoints were installed in early stage of this build 

This protruding part (just aft of main gear bay and outboard of nacelles) are attached and glued with Mr. Cement S 

Now the lower half is almost ready for joining the upper half 

Electric wire bundles and hydraulic components on the walls of main wheel bays 

Electric wire clusters 

The wheel bay were painted red and the bays which hold main landing gear legs were painted light gray. (referred as Color D in the instruction book). I drew some arrows with pencil to indicate the inside of the main gear compartment 

Hydraulic lines painted chrome silver. The inside of main gear compartment (indicated with arrows drawn with pencils) were airbrushed with Color D prior to hand painting procedures. 

I dont think the yellow lines are of hydraulic system, what do they belong to? Fuel systems? Pneumatic Systems? Really not easy to install
 

This one is the most difficult to instal. I glued side 1 from inside, and then adjusted it quickly to make side 2 to the correct position 

Port main gear bay: pneumatic lines, refueling panels and electrical wire bundles 

The inside of main gear bays are ready 

Uplocks for main gear bay doors? 

Uplocks for main gear bay doors? 

The green lines seems to be pneumatic lines which holds high temperature compressed air from the engines.  

For the fear of masking comprehensive shapes, the skins in vicinity of main gear bay are given fuselage underside colors: Color A 

The skins in vincinity of main gear bay are given fuselage underside colors: Color A 

Color separation: inside of the main gear bay is painted with Color D, while the outside is painted Color A 

Refueling panel painted. Black panel, refuel selector switch, high level indication light and defueling valve indicator light (orange) painted 

Assembly of Su-33 port inboard trailing edge flaps. The Su-33 is a carrier borne air superiority fighter that features enhanced high lift devices. The #minibase kit provided abundant details and options to depict the slotted flap systems of the aircraft.

As for modeling. One have to check out the instructions that we do not follow a A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L procedure. In fact step A, D, G and J depicts the construction of flap retracted option, while step B, E, H and K shows how to build a half flap configuration. Step C, F, I and L leads us the way when we build full flap position.

When building a flap down position, do check the instructions carefully to cut and attach right parts. Do align the hinges on flaps and link mechanisms to make a correct assembly  

Assembly of Su-33 port inboard trailing edge flaps. The Su-33 is a carrier borne air superiority fighter that features enhanced high lift devices. The #minibase kit provided abundant details and options to depict the slotted flap systems of the aircraft.

As for modeling. One have to check out the instructions that we do not follow a A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L procedure. In fact step A, D, G and J depicts the construction of flap retracted option, while step B, E, H and K shows how to build a half flap configuration. Step C, F, I and L leads us the way when we build full flap position.

When building a flap down position, do check the instructions carefully to cut and attach right parts. Do align the hinges on flaps and link mechanisms to make a correct assembly  

Port inner trailing edge flap, fully extended.  

Port inner trailing edge flap, fully extended. Note the photo etched parts which depicts the covers on light weight holes at the tip 

I used this super glue to secure the photo etched parts 

Procedure C: Port inner trailing edge flaps (fully extended position) 

Now the starboard piece comes. Inboard trailing edge flap of Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker-D air superiority fighter.

I glued the Photo-Etched parts with #altecosuperglue Alteco Superglue. There is a mistake in the #minibase #su33 instructions (step F of trailing edge high lift devices), which I have shown in this photo. The model is quite complicated so the correct number of parts would be very important for a decent build. Wrong numbers may lead to mid-alignment and asymmetrical flaps🙁

Happy modeling!
 

Now the starboard piece comes. Inboard trailing edge flap of Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker-D air superiority fighter.

 

Now the starboard piece comes. Inboard trailing edge flap of Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker-D air superiority fighter.
 

Inner trailing edge flaps 

Starboard inner trailing edge flap (fully extended). You can see a slot in the middle of its chord, which induces airflow from beneath to above. The slot delays airflow separation when angle of attack is high, increasing lifting efficiency when airplane is taking off or landing 

Starboard inner trailing edge flap (fully extended). You can see a slot in the middle of its chord, which induces airflow from beneath to above. The slot delays airflow separation when angle of attack is high, increasing lifting efficiency when airplane is taking off or landing 

Outboard trailing edge flaps assembled. There are some mistakes in the #minibase instructions. As I have pointed out in this and next photo, one should be careful cutting and attaching those tiny parts.

Now assembly work of the slotted flaps are complete. Amazing details.

My friends told me that the mistakes are removed in instruction sheets for Minibase 8002 Su-27K kit. So the corrections are just for Minibase 8001 Su-33 kits.
#minibase #su33 #seaflanker #miniature #flightcontrol #trailingedgeflaps #slottedflap #aviation #scalemodel #scale148 #outboardflaps 

Outboard trailing edge flap (starboard) 

Outboard trailing edge flap (starboard) 

Outboard trailing edge flap (starboard) 

Outboard trailing edge flap (starboard) 

Outboard trailing edge flap (port) 

Outboard trailing edge flap (port) 

Outboard trailing edge flap (port) 

Outboard trailing edge flap (port) 

Today I started test fitting of the #minibase Su-33 airframe with wings, ailerons and canards. Most of the parts fitted well with each other. One should notice the deflection angle of trailing edge flaps. The Su-33 flaps has their inboard and outboard edges canted outward. So don’t worry if you feel uncomfortable with the gap between the trailing edges and side of fuselage. I found photos of Su-33’s Chinese naval cousin the J-15 Flying Shark, as to make sure the flaps are mounted right.

When compared with the legendary Grumman F-14D Tomcat, the Su-33 is very large, very large. The decks of aircraft carriers are never large enough for these monsters , so is my cupboard? 

I found photos of Su-33’s Chinese naval cousin the J-15 Flying Shark, as to make sure the flaps are mounted right. 

Trying out of a combination of arcylic rod and stainless steel tube, so as to 'eliminate' the supporting pole rather than using photoshop technique 

Trying out with F-14D, indoors 

Trying out with MiG-31BS, indoors 

Trying out with MiG-31BS, outdoors 

Adding support tube in the aft fuselage of the Minibase Su-33. This step is critical if one want to keep the plane on the pole for long time without breaking. It is important that the loads are transmitted to other load taking parts of the model airplane 

The cards and sprues will take the bending force inside the fuselage. The loads of supporting tube is distributed to main landing gear bay and columns of rear fuselage. 

Trying out on a steel pole, 3mm outer diameter. Taking a look whether the load is OK
 

As you can see, the transparent pole stands next to the steel tube. This is the alternative support. 

The support tube goes into the fuselage with a little offset to the left. As to yield space to tunnel loaded R-27ER long range AAMs 

Test fitting with the transparent pole with a single 3D printed unloaded main landing gear strut. 

Test fitting with the transparent pole with a single 3D printed unloaded main landing gear strut. This pole is compatible with all my previous in flight projects except for the Hasegawa F/A-18F VX-23 

Moved to cockpit area. Put the glare shield and HUD on, dry fit 

Painting the edge of glasses with transparent green. Make them look like a glass panel 

Putting the glare shield on. Do adjust the shield carefully that it don't interfere installing wind shield in later procedures 

Everything is onboard! Ready to close the fuselage halves! 

This beautifully painted Su-33 is not my model! It belongs to one of my friends. He made a dual build, yes two Minibase Su-33s simutaneously! I edited his photo and placed it along with my F-14D. wish it would be what my own version would look like! 

Finally I managed to close the fuselage halves without using masking tape. I dry fitted a lot and sanded the the areas where the base of cockpit contacts the top of nose gear bay. I used thinned glue to join the upper and lower part of fuselage. Press the parts with my finger, and then applied Mr. Cement S (a thinned modeling glue from Gunze) 

I decided to replace the axis of canards with 1mm diameter steel tube. With this modification, I can install the canards in the final phase. Putting too many parts together (as guided by the instruction book) would bring a lot of trouble when you fill and sand.  

The cabin section comes together nicely 

I had to install inboard flaps since their hinges are planted deep inside the wing. Sure this would bring some trouble when I clean up the aft fuselage and paint 

There is a larger misfit outboard of starboard nacelle, but I am sure this would not bring about too much trouble when I fill and sand it 

As i am making a wing-spread configuration, I choose to follow the wing spread option in the instruction sheet. In this configuration you need only to fit a simplified version of wing hinge panel when you close the upper and lower wing halves
 

The cockpit section near complete. Note the small parts to the side of ejection seat which is painted gold. This is the last part I added to cockpit before I attach it to the upper fuselage half 

The fitting of nose cone is a major problem. If left untreated, a big step may appear at the top of nose. Sanding the top may bring quite a lot of pain. I choose to switch this problem to the side of nose. A short sprue may do the miracle, as stated in next photo. This makes sanding work less. I am going to re-scribe the panel lines while sanding. 

A little tip to address the fitting between radome and cockpit section. Use a small sprue as support inside the radome, as to make the cross section more oval, so you can get a better fit on top and bottom of this oval, while the fitting of left and right side are easier to deal with... 

Right of the nose cone, fitting is better 

a small piece of thin plastic is added to the plug for port vertical stabilizer , as to make the fitting of vertical fins more precise 

looks like the seam is still too wide, I have to deal with it later on 

Overall view of assembled airframe. Looked not quite good but I had got to go on.... 

Test fiting started as I wanted to make sure everything come together without major fitting issues 

The axis of canard is replaced with 1mm diameter steel tube. The canards would be installed prior to assembly of fuselage halves according to the instruction book, which would be inconvenient in later steps 

No interference between windshield and HUD frames, good 

Note the dihedral angle of the canards 

I glued the upper and lower halves of wings together, but with no glue on hinges of ailerons or trailing edge flaps. This make it easier to paint camouflage since the ailerons and flaps can still move 

Also added are the horizontal stabilizers. I modified their axes so I am able to install them at very final steps 

I used a carve knife to remove the steps on the axis . The steps were meant to restrict the lateral position of horizontal stabilizers, but one must install them before closing fuselage halves if the steps are not shaved. 

3D printed landing gears and plastic wheels added. This are the last pieces added during the mock up. You can determine if the pole and tubes work properly with CG of the completed model 

Started working with the 3D printed landing gears. This is the nose gear shock strut and drag strut. I cleaned up the support sprues. There is a steel rod in the package, but I did not notice it. Here I inserted a longer steel tube from my stash 

the drag strut can be connected to shock strut with copper wires, here I used a 0.5mm diameter piece 

Dry fitting with mud guard and twin nose wheels 

As for main gear struts, there are some differences with the wiring and hydraulic lines between the port and starboard gear  

Starboard main gear strut and side stay while wheel brake discs 

notice the tow point underneath the main gear strut, this part is extremely vulnaerbale when modelers removing support. I mistook them for supporting sprues and snapped them off too. Fortunately, the J part of the kit has a pair of spare part on it. 

Notice the tow connector right beneath the shock strut. And the plugs on top of the gear strut are quite fragile, one should be carefull when installing the gear struts. The 3D printed parts replace the plastic parts totally. If you want to install these detail up part, do remember not to install plastic gear struts and plastic side strut lock mechanisms 

Started painting nose and main landing gear struts. Mr. Color SM206 Chrome Silver comes first. 

The inner tubes are shiny, choosing SM206 is a good idea! 

Mask up the mirror sections of shock absorber tubes. Time to apply the color D, a mixture of 65% of Mr.Color 337 and 35% of Mr. Color 107 

Looks good 

Following this, there would be painting of case of wheel brake actuators, hydraulic lines and electric wires  

The tube perpendicular to shock strut on the nose gear is the nose gear steering actuator case. There are two hydraulic lines connecting each end of the case. One for pressurized oil, the other for oil that should return to hydraulic reservoir.  

painting the torsion links. Torsion links connects the outer tube of shock strut and inner tubes, limiting the steering angle of main wheels (keeping the wheels facing forward). I painted them with Mr. Color C28, dark steel, by hand brushing. 

Torsion links of main gear struts are painted with gun metal. Free hand. 

On the torsion links, there are hydraulic lines and electric wires to be painted later 

Free hand painting: Wheel brake actuator cases. Green with a little touch of flat black 

Side stay of nose gear strut is also painted. the landing gear strut was printed in one piece, painting the inboard side of side stays was difficult! Fine hand brushes were needed! 

Following the wheel brake piston cases were the hydraulic lines and electric wire bundles. Brushed by free hand 

Following the wheel brake piston cases were the hydraulic lines and electric wire bundles. Brushed by free hand 

Following the wheel brake piston cases were the hydraulic lines and electric wire bundles. Brushed by free hand 

Following the wheel brake piston cases were the hydraulic lines and electric wire bundles. Brushed by free hand 

This is the newly painted nose landing gear strut with drag strut. Not completed yet, but I selected to paint the hydraulic lines, electric wires, landing signal lights, taxiing lights to bring up the detail as an early reveal. 

I mainly used Mr.Color to paint the details, with some fine hand brushes. 

Carrier landing signal lights: from top to bottom they are clear orange, clear green and clear red 

Nose and main gear struts in the storage case. There are still some details to paint, but now they look like 90% complete 

Painting of tyres and wheels. I filled and sanded the seams between halves of tyres, so I closed the tyres before painting the wheels. I airbrushed the tyres first, with matt black mixed with some gray paint. 100% black is absolutely not recommended! No tyres look pure black under the sun 

Then I masked up the tyres. Pressed the masking tape hard to stick to the surface of wheels as to reveal the edge of wheel rims. I used a modeling knife to cut along the rim and removed the mask over the wheels. Now it is time to paint the wheels  

Tamiya acrylic paint are used. Some Grass Green mixed with a drop or two of flat black. I used this combination with my wheel brake piston case, as to eliminate the color difference, I sticked to the same combination when painting wheels 

Masking tapes applied to the tyres, the wheels were airbrushed with Tamiya Green 

Masking tape removed 

Manual for Minibase upgrade parts. The instruction sheet depicts a wheel-on-ground version 

Several spots needed to be cleaned and fixed before painting. The first being the radome. 

The right side of nose looked ok when filled and sanded 

Inside of the canopy, there is a frame where the modulated air tubes are located. It was not really easy to install these small parts. Anyway, I managed to fix it 

The fitting between a closed airbrake and the top of fuselage was not perfect. I tried to fill and sand it. 

So was the tail boom. It needed some care. 

As for the left side of the nose. It took more time sanding and re-scribing panel lines. Now it looks ok 

A thin layer of Mr.Surfacer 1500 was applied to the airframe, as for inspection. Here is the dry fitted inspection with landing gears attached. 

Front view. Note the dihedral angle of the canards. The main wheels slightly canted inward 

Preshading. The Su-33 aircraft is huge even in 1/48 scale. I started pre-shading by drawing along all panel lines and rivet lines. After which I will add shades to various panels as to make the tone look more dynamic. 

As you can see, the density of panel lines and rivet lines are higher, compared with all my previous builds 

I used a PS-289 airbrush to draw all these lines. I held my airbrush with both my hands, as to airbrush steadily 

Pre-shading the vertical fins.  

This is a typical painting of pre-shading. I tacked the horizontal stabilizers to a paper card, and then hold my Gunze PS-289 Airbrush with my right hand. My elbows are resting on the edge of desk, while my left hand is also holding the airbrush, limiting the movement of it. With two hands, airbrushing would be quite stabilized and the lines I make would be straighter than freehand painting. 

The top side of horizontal stabilizers. I used very thin paint rather than thick ones. The airbrush is moved very carefully and slowly to highlight the rivet and panel lines 

Second stage: making the airflow marks on panels. 

Controling the quantity of paint flow is not very easy. You can still see some splashes on the airframe as I failed when the paint flow is too much 

Actually I know that the shades on the engine nacelles would be covered completely by metal paints, but I can't resisit making shades over them. In contrast, the shades are dark at the center of the panels, rather than edge of panels 

Shades are added randomly along the longitudinal panel lines, most of which are airbrushed in a lateral pattern 

Overview of underside 

Painting of underside begins. Minibase offered a camouflage on the basis of Gunze's Mr. Color solvent based paint: Color A, B and C. Color A is the baseline paint, which is a mixture of gray, blue and white. I pour a whole bottle of C307 into my mixture can. And then, some C115(gray), C107(character white) and a drop of C323(Blue). Now I have approximately 25-30ml of the mixture, which is enough for painting the whole 1/48 Su-33.

I began with the underside. 

A thin layer of Color A is applied to the underside. I selected to leave the textures not completedly covered, so as to make the airframe look tremendous. 

The main undercarriage bays were covered with landing gear doors. I did not bother to use masking tape or sols to cover the bays 

The underside is full of details. Tons of details.  

This is what I had done to the engine nacelle panels. I know the shades would eventually be covered completely by metal paints, but I couldn't resist to make some shades in the middle of the panels. Look fun especially when you painted the surround panels with camouflage colors. That made my model look like a completed one even if I was still in progress🙂 

Adding Color B to the airframe 

I used Mr.Color paints to make camouflage colors as referred in the instructions. Color A was the basic color that was used on lower surface and some upper surface of the airframe. The ingredient for Color B was 50% C323(light blue) + 30% Color B +20% C135(Russian Green), which turned out to be the bottle to the right(TOOO GREENISH!!!). I gave it a second try, reducing Russian Green. I dropped only a drop into the mixture and it turned out to be more decent for a Russian Navy Su-33. 

adding a thin layer of color A to make the shades fade. It is not a good idea if the shades are too pronounced! 

Mixture for Color C: 60% C72 blue + 25% Color B + (Ignore the 15% Russian Green, you just need one drop or two in the 10ml mixture). Port horizontal stabilizer. 

I left the pre-shading visible. I would like to leave the texture clearly seen since this is a model full of details 

Starboard horizontal stabilizer, three colors: A, B and C 

After a lot of masking work, I finally came to a fully-colored airframe! Looked pretty worn but still airworthy.  

I was able to paint the draft of camouflage of this airframe on the first day. Yet I still have to work with the details, making them look more decent. 

This is the prelimary effect, which needs detailing up and a lot of tweaking. Stay tuned for further update! 

Mock up with unloaded version of Minibase 3D printed landing gears. The drag strut of nose landing gear still needs some modification. The shock strut will not tilt forward like this on a real Su-33. The pole here is an arcylic rod which is drilled on top, where a short steel tube sit on top connecting the airframe and acrylic rod 

Faded shades looks smoother than before! 

A few areas has been re-painted. I apply a very thin layer of thinned paint everytime since I would like to leave the panel lines and rivet lines more obvious. 

Color Separation: Gun metal. Muzzle fire protection plates and air intake chin 

Color seperation: Leading edges of horizontal stabilzers, vertical stabilzers and leading edge flaps. When leading edges are extended, the fairings underneath are exposed (also painted gray). Wing fold hinges are painted gun metal 

Flame protectiong plates underneath horizontal stabilizers, painted gun metal 

Muzzle fire protection plates on upper nose section. The plate aft of the gun muzzle has not been painted yet. It would be painted with camouflage colors. 

overall view of painted airframe 

I also prepared a tilted version of display stand. I drill a 8mm diameter hole on a 28 by 28cm wood display base, in a tilted manner. On this display stand, the airframe could be hold on a take off attitude where the nose pointed up 

Do not forget there is a bare metal section in the front of windshield frame 

Tilted version with landing gears on 

I gave a little post-shade over the heat-protection plates under the horizontal stabilizers, airbrushed freehanded with smoke color  

Here you can see the post shade better 

post shade also applied on gun muzzle fire protection plates on starboard fuselage 

Time to work on nacalle fairings. Mixture of Mr.Color Super Stainless Steel with semi gloss black is airbrushed in thin layers over the preshadings I had applied 

The fairings looked dark metallic in reference photos, so did the color I applied 

I used water thinned Vallejo paints to depict the variations over the fairing panels. I chose Smoke and Transparent Blue to do the work 

The secret was to apply the water based paint with water removed. Yes, in a near dry brushing manner. 

I applied more Smoke to forward section and aft section, while more tranparent blue to the middle section. 

The plates on upper fuselage varied more. I drew little squares on the forward section. Note all the access doors were not painted as they were supposed to be cleaned more often. 

I airbrushed a thin layer of semi gloss clear coat to secure the water based paints. And then... removed the masks to see if everything went ok, seemed ok this time! 

Looked ok on the upper surface too 

Time to work on the exhaust cones. Minibase kit supplied two sets of cones: open and closed. I chose to use the 3D printed part. Easy to seperate from sprues. Just snap them off with your hands once the protective frames are removed. 

First challenge. You have to glue the fuel injection nozzles to the support parts, very delicate work. 

Dry fit with prepared parts. Afterburner cans and exhaust cones 

Vallejo is used to high-light different tones to various parts of the cone 

Dry fit with painted exhaust cones. I applied very thin layer of thinned Vallejo water based paint, so it dried just a few minutes after application. A thin layer of semi gloss coat was applied to protect the water based paint in future work steps 

scalemodels.ru/modul..mp;show=12&min=0
Ref photo author: Nazar 

Source: scalemodels.ru/modul..mp;show=12&min=0
Ref photo author: Nazar 

Source: scalemodels.ru/modul..mp;show=12&min=0
Ref photo author: Nazar 

Source: scalemodels.ru/modul..mp;show=12&min=0
Ref photo author: Nazar 

Source: scalemodels.ru/modul..mp;show=12&min=0
Ref photo author: Nazar 

After studying reference photos from Nazar, scalemodel.ru I decided that the exhaust cones were too shiny and I gave it a thin coat of semi-gloss black. The engine nacelles and exhaust cones of Su-33s were not often shiny, just like dark metal. This photo was taken outdoors. I am satisfied with the result this time. 

Another photo from outdoor, upper surface. Looks flat, just like what real Su-33s be like 

Back indoor. I applied Smoke and transparent blue Vallejo colors to the heat protection panels underneath horizontal stabilizers 

Indoors, on the workbench. What the aft bottom fuselage look like under lamp light. 

Indoors, on the workbench. whole airframe under lamp light. 

Indoors, on the workbench. What the airframe look like under lamp light. 

The gun panel was also given a little touch with Acrylic Vallejo colors. Clear coat was applied after that for protection 

Color separation with some metallic colored parts: step 1 

Color separation with some metallic colored parts: step 1 

Color separation with some metallic colored parts: step 2. It would be good practice if neighbourhood areas are also covered before airbrushing procedure 

Color separation: hinge areas of horizontal stabilizers 

Color separation: hinge areas of horizontal stabilizers 

Color separation: hinge areas of horizontal stabilizers 

Port engine bay. A shiny metal panel just behind main landing gear bay 

Work on IRST. This is the only photo that would explain the painting procedure:
1, the lens is mirror like, I chose Super Chrome Silver from Mr. Color
2, cover the lens and then airbrush the base and support rack for the lens
3, airbrush the fairing: Color A for the forward section and then Color C for aft section
4, apply a little smoke color from Acrylic Vallejo to the inside of glass dome and then attach it 

Correcting some mistakes made in previous painting procedures 

Began to work on smaller parts underneath the airframe. Dry fit came first if I wanted to make a cleaner final assembly. 

There were just so many A-A missile pylons who looked almost the same. One had better to mark them before building 

Overall view of pylons and weapons applied 

I could have skipped the painting of these white panels. Since I found decals depicting these panels... tooo late! 

Outboard wing pylons for R-73 Archer AAMs 

Finally painting procedure had come to the smaller parts such as wing flap hinges, actuator rods... 

Port wing. 

Underneath the flaps... the rods and hinges were painted. I simply drew the flaps out to paint, since the hinges were installed without using any glue 

the ribs of trailing edge flaps were also painted. I used the colors for upper surface of the wing flaps 

In-flight refueling probe. There were three different metallic colors on it, which this photo would not show 

Another view of in-flight refueling probe 

Installed with probe cover panel 

Overview with painted pylons 

Due to the complexed structure of slotted trailing edge flaps. Small assemble errors may lead to interference between flaps and fuselage. I used a steel file to trim the root of the port inner trailing edge flap 

I carefully adjust the deflection angles for all trailing edge flaps, as to eliminate any asymmetry 

The cursors showed how the interference came 

Before glueing outer wing to fuselage, I had to complete building the hinges even if I am not folding the wings. There were multiple PE parts on the outer wing and inner wings. This photo showed the port outer wing. I just drew a big exclamination mark on the instruction sheet to reminder myself not to forget those small parts
 

Look at those hinges! They are just so tiny! Not expected to be easy to handle with! 

PE hinges installed, port outer wing 

Hinges installed, starboard outer wing 

As for inner part of the hinges. This was the easiest to install part! The head of the wing folding hinges. 

Inner part of wing fold hinge, head and tail installed 

Similar work done with starboard inner hinges 

Airframe finally ready for wing assembly 

Airframe before installing outer wings 

Finally, wings were glued in place 

Finally, wings were glued in place. In flight configuration 

I had had some trouble when squeezing the starboard wing to the fuselage. So hard.... so let it be.... 

Trying with the stores the Minibase kit had provided 

In flight posture against my old Tamiya F-14D build 

Color separation with details at the wing root extensions 

Ready for decals! I put all major parts together....looking good 

Ready for decals! I put all major parts together....looking good....making the main wheels canted inwards with a few degrees was important 

An 'A2A' front view🙂 

You can see the shiny landing gear inner strut pistons here 

Ready for decals: underside 

There are approximately 450 stencils for the airframe alone. 30 decals for each pair of R-27 missiles, 40 decals for each pair of R-73 missiles. I began with the stencils, each tick marks a decal applied 

I started the decal work with stencils first 

I chose to apply decals on page 45 next: decals on intake trunks 

Interesting comparison against a MiG-31BS 

Decals C187 to 203 are really tiny. They are meant to be applied to the wall inside the intake tunnel. As depicted in the STENCIL instruction, they are on the same water-line. I am going to stick a long, fine masking tape to the inside of the tunnel, as to make them align  

Rare photo taken by my iPhone (all other photos were taken with my Canon EOS 850D digital camera), just wanted to show the stencils applied during past few days 

Rare photo taken by my iPhone, just wanted to show the stencils applied during past few days 

One stencil one tick.... still some not marked with tick, but not many 🙂
 

The tiniest decals (Decals C187 to 203)! They were aligned when I applied a strip of masking tape to the nacelle, parallel to longitudinal axis of the aircraft 

Decals C187 to 203 applied, completing the last pieces of stencils on the nacelle stencil page. This photo shows the starboard nacelle and air intake. 

Decals C187 to 203 applied, zoomed in , completing the last pieces of stencils on the nacelle stencil page. This photo shows the starboard nacelle and air intake. 

Tiniest decals applied! Little yellow marks on the port engine and air intake bay 

Decals C187 to 203 applied, completing the last pieces of stencils on the nacelle stencil page. This photo shows the port nacelle and air intake. 

Decals C187 to 203 applied on the bare metal cowling of port engine bay 

Stencil Page finished, overview with the airframe. In fact there is only one page named 'stencils' which instructed me applying the decals on bottom and intake trunks. There are still a lot more decals to work on on the left, top and right side of the airframe. More stencils to come.... although the pages are not called 'stencils' 

Finally the underside stencils are sort of complete 

Taking a quick view of the stencils underside, port side. Some yellow marks are not clearly visible, but they do exist on the model. 

Taking a quick view of the stencils underside, port side. Some yellow marks are not clearly visible, but they do exist on the model. 

Taking a quick view of the stencils underside, port side. Some yellow marks are not clearly visible, but they do exist on the model. 

Taking a quick view of the stencils underside, port side 

Overview on underside, STENCILs complete, port view 

Taking a quick view of the stencils underside, starboard side. Some yellow marks are not clearly visible, but they do exist on the model. 

Taking a quick view of the stencils underside, starboard side. Some yellow marks are not clearly visible, but they do exist on the model. 

Taking a quick view of the stencils underside, starboard side. Some yellow marks are not clearly visible, but they do exist on the model. 

Taking a quick view of the stencils underside, starboard side. Some yellow marks are not clearly visible, but they do exist on the model. 

STENCILs underside finally complete. Overview with starboard side 

The topside is still 'too clean' ... two and a half pages of instructions will address the top 

First day with topside decal works! I chose to apply those big ones first, details are brought up immeadiately. 

Finally! Stencils on top side are finished! 

Finally! Stencils on top side are finished! 

The arrows are highlighting some smallest stencils, which are the fuselage station FS marks 

Finally! Stencils on top side are finished! 

The arrows are highlighting some smallest stencils 

The arrows are highlighting some smallest stencils 

The arrows are highlighting some smallest stencils 

The arrows are highlighting some smallest stencils 

These would be the final touch! Red 80 would bear those old Russian roundels. After these weathering work will commence 

when building Red 80, choose the old roundels. The suggestions in the instruction book (A27) is wrong  

Insignia finally applied! One more solid step to the finish line! Mock up with landing gears 

Decals in the kit is from Galaxy Model. They react well with Mr. Mark Setter and Mr. Mark Softer.  

As for large decals. A layer of Mr. Mark Setter is applied first, after which the decal is applied. I use a cotton swab to roll over it, as to drive the air and excess Mr. Mark Setter out from beneath the decal. A thin layer of Mr. Mark Softer is applied last. Then.... just let it dry. 

Modeling memes：'The airbrush is sick so that I don't paint this week!' :-D 

Added the last pieces to the gear struts: placards(decals), mooring point, taxi light and landing lights to nose gear; placards(decals) and mooring point to main gears 

Added the last pieces to the gear struts: placards(decals), mooring point, taxi light and landing lights to nose gear; placards(decals) and mooring point to main gears 

Added the last pieces to the gear struts: placards(decals), mooring point, taxi light and landing lights to nose gear; placards(decals) and mooring point to main gears 

Note: mooring rings is stored in closed position since there are springs which keep them from dangling  

first layer of weathering: black brownish oil paint, hand brushed along panel lines, rivets, and anywhere I would like to put dirt on 

The oil colors I used: a tube of ivory black and a tube of burnt sienna, mixed to depict dirt and leak effect 

Sealant on IRST probe, painted by free hand with Acryic Vallejo white color 

Sealant on IRST probe, painted by free hand with Acryic Vallejo white color 

Landing gears weathered with a thin layer of Winsor Newton oil colors. I brushed on anywhere except for the mirrored finish surfaces of the inner tubes 

Red dynamic balance align marks were painted on the tyres and rims, using red oil color.  

Weathering: added a second layer of oil color to the airframe 

Some dirt patches were added to top surface of horizontal stabilizers, wings and fuselage 

Finally the empennage and landing gears are attached to the airframe permanently  

Started working on the landing gear doors. The doors are made up of doors themselves, uplock rollers and hydraulic actuators. This photo depicts the actuators of main wheel bays. The selector valve canisters are moulded in seperate parts.  

Painting of the doors. A PE part was glued to edges of each main wheel door. The door uplock rollers are moulded seperatedly, depicted with plastic parts. 

The actuator pistons for main landing gear doors are airbrushed with this color: Mr. Color SM206 Super Chrome Silver 2. This is the very same color I applied to the inner tube of landing gear struts  

Attachment of main gear door actuator selector valves 

Painting main gear door actuators: canisters (Color D) 

There is also a uplock roller on the nose door, just beneath the accumulator can. There are two white sticker or placard on the inside of the door. As for main wheel bay and strut doors, the inside are painted red. A slight oil-color weathering is given to the inside and outside of the doors after attaching door actuators 

Underside, with doors attached. Note the actuator hinges should attach to correct position to achieve correct opening angles for the doors  

Attachment illustrated. 

An interesting comparison between my work and Mocha-Lei's work. Mr. Lei has done a great work with his own version of Minibase Su-33. He hasn't posted anything on scalemates yet. You can visit him in his Facebook or Weibo page.

Facebook: facebook.com/profile..&mibextid=JRoKGi

Weibo: weibo.com/u/1872488742 

Comparison between PLA Navy cousin J-15 Flying Shark with Su-33 model with landing gear doors installed. Look alike, but full of difference inside. 

Making of Arrestor Hook. Step 1: Mooring rings 

Making of tailhook: uplock for tailhook, really tiny 

Making of arrestor hook: step 2 

Installing components of vertical stabilizers 

Installing air data probes on the nose 

Installing air data probes. 2 standby pitot tubes, 1 high angle of attack pitot tube, 2 AOA vanes, and one total air temperature probe 

IFF antenna on the tail boom 

IFF antenna under the nose 

Dorsal HF antenna installed. Now the Minibase Su-33 airframe is complete literally. Going to work on the pylons and missiles.  

The airframe is literally complete . Going to work on the pylons and missiles.  

The airframe is literally complete . Going to work on the pylons and missiles.  

The airframe is literally complete . Going to work on the pylons and missiles.  

The airframe is literally complete . Going to work on the pylons and missiles.  

The airframe is literally complete . Going to work on the pylons and missiles.  

The work on the pylons and missiles continued...these angle of attack vanes are not easy to attach. They are just too small to hold on tweezers, yet I managed to put them on... 

The planned loadout 

Dry fit on the airframe, without decals 

R-27ET decals complete 

R-27ER and R-37L, decals completed 

Decaling on pylons, APU-73s are on the wing outer stations 

R-73E AAMs are also complete, all decals are on. Look at those ticks! 

APU-470 is the inner wing pylon for R-27ET missiles 

All pylons and missiles complete, mounted to the Su-33 airframe 

Missiles and pylons are complete 

Airframe with weapons complete, on a pole (in flight) 

Airframe with weapons complete, on a pole (in flight) 

Airframe with weapons complete, on a pole (in flight) 

Airframe with weapons complete, on a pole (in flight) 

Airframe with weapons complete, on a pole (in flight) 

Airframe with weapons complete, on a pole (in flight) 

Airframe with weapons complete, on a pole (in flight) 

Possible next 48th scale build: Lockheed Martin F-35A by Tamiya Models 

Still thinking about making a diorama base, depicting a takeoff scene. This very Red 80 has been operating from naval air station recent years, so I am making a blurred runway base 

The masking tapes represents the runway center lines and longitudinal edges of PAG-14 concrete plates on the runways 

After the first hour of painting, the base began to take shape. The base is 28 by 28 centimeters, extensive airbrush work is done with Mr. Color C307 mixed with some C107 character yellow. The center line is airbrushed with C107 character white, while the tyre marks and panel lines are airbrushed with brownish black 

Reference: Sukhoi Su-33 Russian NAVY video from yolkhere's Youtube channel

Youtube Video 

I made more blurred effect with masking tapes and airbrush, mostly along the concrete panel lines and in vicinity of white center dash line. I moved my airbrush in parallel direction to the center line, sweeping sideways to make the blurred effect

Making the runway. As for the blurred effect, you may refer to:
Painting blurred runways | Album by ZHOU Kun (1:48) 

This is what I have done to the diorama base. I masked and airbrushed the center line and longitudinal panel lines of the concrete plates. I am going to make more shades according to pictures and videos I have viewed. 

Completed work with diorama base. More black marks are added to the surface, giving it a dynamic look 

Completed work with diorama base. More black marks are added to the surface, giving it a dynamic look! 

Put the plane on. I did not bother to use acrylic rods since they were quite thick. I did not want to drill big holes on the wood base so I used a steel tube instead. 

Completed work with diorama base. More black marks are added to the surface, giving it a dynamic look! 

Test shot with background paper. Stay tuned for final reveal. 

Showed up with my Tamiya F-14D VF-2 Bounty Hunters build at the 3rd Guangzhou Modeling Contest. Pre-show. 

Showed up with fellow modeler Mocha_Lei's builds (Su-33 Red 68 and Su-27K with Kh-41 Moskit Anti-Ship missile) at Minibase/HKModel booth in the 3rd Guangzhou Modeling Contest. Pre-show.