Trumpeter Su-27
"Flanker"
A quick build!
Wow! Another stunning subject from Chinese manufacturer Trumpeter!
Rather than repeat the excellent 'in-box' reviews featured elsewhere - including Michael Benolkin's review over on Cybermodeler - I thought I'd crack on and build the beast - with a few notes on fixes and 'tweaks'.
So, here we go!
Construction begins with the cockpit 'tub' - what you see here is straight kit with an oil wash to bring out the detail. Colours seem to vary a little from a/c to a/c, but from references I was able to mix up a pale blue grey that seemed to match. Also, many photos show the seat rails to be in a pale yellow/cream primer - so that's what I've done here.
As with many Trumpeter models, the instruments are provided on a clear film to be sandwiched between the front panel and a flat backing. Again, as with some of their other models, the apertures for the instruments are a little on the small side, so these were opened up with a round file. Additionally the front panel was thinned by sanding on a wet, flat, sheet of 600 grit wet and dry paper. The result is shown at right.
I've left out the throttle and stick (and a couple of other small parts) at this stage to prevent damage whilst getting the fuselage ready for paint - these will be easy to replace later on.
Gear bays are superb - again painted blue grey and weathered with oils. Note that the instructions in the kit are wrong in two areas - parts C47 and D37 are both illustrated upside down in sections 3 and 4 - they are shown correctly orientated in section 7. Secondly - one gear bay is listed as 'Cream Yellow' - this should be the same grey as the other well.
Gear bays fit well into the lower fuselage half - with just a little tweaking - I suspect much of this wont be seen on the finished model. The nose gear well locates very positively and is held in place with four screws. I used the screws first - then followed with MEK flooded around the joint for a neat/strong result.
Note that the cockpit tub should fit fully forward against the front of the opening - and that I haven't built the gun bay - all of that will be covered over on my model.
Again - more views of the gear bays in situ - she's taking shape!
Having tried a dry fitting of top and bottom fuselage halves with the wings sandwiched in between, it became apparent that all may go 'pear shaped' very easily! I opted to first carefully align and then glue the previously completed wings to the lower fuselage. This was allowed to dry (ensuring everything was straight and level) before contemplating adding the top half...
There's a lot of joint area to bond here! Revell 'Contacta' cement was applied to the inner wing area before laying the upper fuselage half in place. With everything carefully aligned, the three screws were added to pull everything together. Note that the screw nearest the nose had to be loosened off a little as trial fitting the nose showed that the fully tightened screw had 'pinched' the nose together too much - you have been warned!
MEK was applied to the upper wing joint area and the wing alignment checked. Large clamps were applied to ensure the wing area dried properly before attending to the rest of the fuselage joints. There is a noticeable gap on the top joint - but this can be fixed later.
The rest of the joints were bonded - carefully to ensure alignment - and with tape to hold everything together.
Nearly time to go on this installment. The nosecone has been added - with little fuss. I have heard comments to the effect that it doesn't point down far enough - but having compared with photos and drawings of the real aeroplane - it looks fine to me...
Also shown above are my three main references - World Air Power Volumes 15, 28 and 29 - International Air Power Review Volume 8 and what appears to me to be the Flanker Bible - Su-27 Flanker Story by Andrei Fomin. A super online reference can be found at http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/flankers_pages/walkround_map.htm
That's it for now - just a few final pictures showing the fins and tailplane dry fitted in place - starting to look like a Flanker!
Sanding and airframe prep has started. Not much filling required - tow small areas on the top/bottom fuselage joint adjacent to the nosecone and noticeable gaps on the upper wing/fuselage joint.
To preserve strength (as this is a big model) I've used superglue as a filler - carefully taping either side of the joint to mask all but the gab - reducing subsequent sanding work. But don't forget to remove the tape whilst the glue is still wet!!
Hmmm - next bit of head scratching... Look at the image above of the intakes and you'll notice the plastic has warped - bowing the sides inwards. This could just be on my kit, but just in case...
The answer was simple - a plastic wine 'cork' was exactly the right width! The end was cut at an angle to match the geometry of the intake and this was then inserted in the intake opening - after the trunking top sections had been added and allowed to dry.
Boiling water was poured over the offending part for 5 - 10 secs, before rapid quenching under the cold tap. Remove 'cork' and hey presto - all is straight again! This was repeated for the second - again - with full success!
Oh dear - first really noticeable flaw in the kit - the front windshield is wrongly shaped, The real aircraft has a windshield that is a simple curve - not a 'complex', or 'bulged' curve on the kit part!
It's more noticeable from an angle and suggests that some of the nose countours may be a little out. I'm sure it's fixable - but it is annoying...
So - it's off to the drawing board to see what I can come up with...
Watch out for another installment later on this week.
Iain
