Eduard Su-17M3/M4 Upgrade Sets (for KittyHawk 1:48)

[Mike]

Su-17M3/M4 Upgrade Sets (for KittyHawk)

1:48 Eduard

 

 

There's been a lot of chatter about this new kit from KittyHawk, and it's nice to have a newly tooled kit in this scale, so here are Eduard's upgrades and accessory sets for your new purchase.  As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between.

 

 

Interior Set (49829)

A two sheet set with one nickel plated and pre-painted, containing a full set of instrument panels with layered detail and highly detailed instrument faces where appropriate.  In addition are extra parts for the ejection seat, a more in-scale HUD with acetate film for the glazing; canopy framing details; internal structural parts for the canopy and hoops for the front of the canopy as well as the rear of the windscreen parts.

 

 

 

Zoom! Set (FE829)

This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above.  Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements.

 

 

 

 

Seatbelts STEEL (49830)

In case you don't already know, they are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting.  Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE.  Also included in the fret is a replacement for the ejection handles in glorious red, with white stencils.

 

 

 

 

Exterior (48922)

Made up from one large sheet of etched brass, the set contains the various (and many) vanes on the pitot probe; filler caps for the fuel tanks; a more detailed sensor fit under the nose including AoA probes; a new egg-shaped panel at the wing root; a blade antenna for Polish aircraft with a fitting template; static wicks for the wings; pylon attachment-point skins; wing-glove fittings and wing strakes; a replacement bay for the wing-mounted cannons, plus a guide for enlarging the aperture, and finally a guide to correct the exhaust nozzle length, and a replacement afterburner ring to detail it.

 

 

 

FOD Set (48923)

When parked up, almost all aircraft are routinely fitted with FOD guards to prevent ingress of Foreign Object Debris into sensitive areas.  No-one likes a spanner in their intake trunking, or an accidental discharge of a weapon!  The sheet contains a nose-cone FOD guard, which requires you to roll a cone (not that kind!), and form the lip around the intake at the front, and a guide to shorten the exhaust (as per the exterior set above) so that the rear guard will fit snugly.  The rear part is complex, with a box-section inside the circle, and strengthening shapes moulded in that will need pressing in with the tip of a ball-point pen.  Chocks are built up for the main wheels, a cover for the sensor on the tail fillet, and nearby strake-mounted sensors; FODs for the various sensors; intakes and exhausts on the fuselage, and small covers for the wing-mounted cannon bays.

 

 

 

 

Air Brakes (48924)

A medium-sized brass fret that contains the parts necessary to replace the kit airbrakes.  Firstly, the bay apertures are squared off by removing the shape around the edges, before the replacement bay is folded up, and inserted from inside before closing up the fuselage.  The brakes are then given a detail skin that is festooned with rivets.

 

 

 

Review sample courtesy of