1/72 Trumpeter, Ukrainian Su-24MR Fencer-E

[general melchett]

Hi and a Happy New Year to one and all. I finished this one last year, again for Airfix Model World magazine and as both the editor and myself are huge Soviet-era Cold War fans this particular build came as no effort at all. Sadly, as happens all too often Trumpeter managed to drop the ball yet again which is a shame as the kit goes together beautifully. Basically, they've captured the look of the aircraft well but there are several issues with accuracy as well as a few omissions. The MR incorporated a new reshaped nose with flush fitted Shtyk (Bayonet) SLAR and two dielectric panels, (components of the BKR-1 reconnaissance suite) incorporated into its sides. However, this is a problem area on the kit as the upper sides of the nose cone are way too square in section and needed a fair bit of carving and sanding to correct. The underside of the cone is also too shallow missing the characteristic droop of the real thing so this needed to be built up using fine Milliput, luckily there's enough plastic to take the reshaping. For some strange reason, they also neglected to include any of the reece parts that make the Su-24MR, well, a reece aircraft! (though strangely the box art shows all the correct MR parts fitted). It was, therefore, necessary to raid a spare Zvezda MR kit and use those, with some modification as they are a little crude. These consisted of the centreline SRS-14 Tangazh ELINT/SIGINT pod, Efir-1M (Ether) radiation radar monitor pod fitted to the outer right wing station, forward centreline fairing housing the AFA (AP-402M) panoramic camera, AIST (M-152.2) TV system, AFA (100) angled camera fairing beneath the left intake and the IR Zima (Winter) sensor to the right. The centreline fairing needed to be faired into the nose wheel doors and extended at the rear to meet the centreline pod fairing. Oddly Trumpeter included all the equipment and weapons of the strike version which whilst totally unnecessary provided useful parts for the spares box. Another strange decision was to have the wing flaps deployable but not the leading edge ones, (the two sets were always deployed at the same time). I was going to scratch-build these but a looming deadline and other projects precluded this. The wheels were replaced with more detailed items from the Armory range and lead wire used to detail the main gear bay and U/C legs.

Replacement wing drop-tanks came from the Zvezda kit as they were more accurate than Trumpeters offerings and had finer surface detail, (correctly shaped fins were made up from plastic card). The pylons were a 50/50 mix of Trumpeter and Zvezda parts.

 

The rest of the kit went together very well, Eduard supplied all the PE including the cockpit and replacement K-36DM seats from True Details were used. A PE HUD was also provided via Armory, the metal nose pitot from Master Models and all paints from the superb AKAN range. Decals came from the Authentic Decals 72-21 'Shark Scouts' sheet mixed with a few kit ones that were missed on the AD sheet. The actual shark mouth was a custom decal I printed from images as the decal sheet offerings were all incorrect for this particular aircraft and designed for the Dragon/Zvezda/Revell kit, which has an overly wide nose section. 

Weathering came courtesy of the AMMO.MIG range (pastels and Oilbrusher), AK Interactive, (kerosene Leaks and Stains and Aircraft Engine Wash) and Abteilung502 Starship Filth and Raw Umber applied with Matt Effect Thinner.

 

All good fun, just a shame there were so many issues, but then we don't want things to be too easy now...do we! 

 

Cheers and thanks for looking, 

 

Melchie 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robert]

Very nicely corrected and completed. Which issue of AMW will this be in please.

 

Robert

[general melchett]

Thanks Robert, it appeared in Septembers issue, (2017). You can still get back issues if you're interested in the full article.

[replicant]

Very good build of a missed chance model.

So Streem made the only realistic Fencer up to now. But my build for ModellFan was a nightmare, too!

Cheers

Thomas

[72modeler]

General,

 

Beautiful build of what I think is the most handsome Soviet jet twin- a shame that Trumpeter seems to get some things so right and others so wrong, all on the same model. So, I'm guessing if I want to do a straight strike version, I still need both the Zvezda and Trumpeter kits to do the airplane justice?

Mike

[Learstang]

Brilliant job on the Fencer, old turnip! I say but the Fencer is a rather nice-looking aeroplane. I'd love to do one, but other than the fact that large empires would rise and fall in the time it would take me to finish one, it sounds like there's not a truly accurate model of one currently available, and doing all the fettling and add-ons as you did would certainly stretch out my build a few more centuries. Speaking of nice-looking aeroplanes, your Generalship, when are you going to tuck into that splendid example of winged pulchritude, the never-to-be-equalled, and scarcely-to-be-believed La-200B? I would nip off right now and buy one, but I'm not sure my poor old heart would stand the strain of opening the box and looking upon all that loveliness.

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

Edited January 5, 2018 by Learstang
Additional pearls of wisdom added for the enjoyment of all.

[Ryan Hothersall]

Nice build. 

[Vultures1]

Outstanding job on that Fencer.  Really interesting to read your description of the issues with the Trumpeter kit and the lengths you went to in order to fix them.  Great finish to

 

Bravo!

 

 

[general melchett]

Thanks guys, appreciate the comments,

 

Thomas, I also have the Streem kit and whilst it's not an easy build the surface detail is superb. I don't particularly like the gimmicks such as operating flaps and opening canopy but overall the shape is good though not perfect. The width of the rear fuselage is wrong with the exhausts being set too far apart, something that's very difficult to correct, (though you could adapt the more accurate Trumpeter rear end to fit).

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So, I'm guessing if I want to do a straight strike version, I still need both the Zvezda and Trumpeter kits to do the airplane justice?

Mike, I think the Trumpy Su-24M would be a better bet as the nose shape looks to be correct on that version and of course you get all the appropriate weapons, the only things better on the old Dragon/Zvezda/Revell etc kit are the large wing-mounted fuel tanks, but even they need new fins....the rest of the kit is way off, (understandable when you consider the limited data available at the time). The extremely rare Streem kit is still the best option out of the box but as I said the rear end of that is incorrect so it's a bit of a mix and match really. 

 

Jason my old Babooshka, I have to agree it's a bit of a Sletvana in the looks department.

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it sounds like there's not a truly accurate model of one currently available

 

 

If you went for the Trumpy Su-24M you'd be on pretty safe ground. Now speaking of the spectacularly fuggly and facially challenged La-200B I must admit to not being able to resist it's charms and have consequently gone and almost finished it! I agonized over the question of subjecting the general public to the thing but in the end decided that it must be featured in a magazine article in the near future, I say publish and be damned...so you'd better brace yerself...(btw, it's basically the Avis kit which is good as I now have all three versions of the La-200 for the Melchett collective equivalent of Soviet aerial dysentery...bring on the Modelsvit original Su-15!)

 

Thanks Bravo, appreciated...hopefully, the mods make sense. The work needed makes the kit sound terrible which it's certainly not, (more down to some strange decisions by Trumpeter) it's just that personally, I like to make things as accurate as possible and if that involves a bit of elbow grease then so be it...

 

Something else I didn't mention was that the main gear angle is also wrong as it sits too high at the rear. If you look at images of a Fencer at rest you can plainly see the angle of the drag section to which the bogies are attached. The Fencer should sit slightly tail heavy. I cut the knuckle joint, reduced the length of the oleos, added steel pins and reset it to the correct angle, (you need the pins as the extra angle leads to more pressure exerted on the u/c legs). 

 

 

 

 

 

[armored76]

An excellent specimen, General! Fantastic job!

 

May I ask about the bases shown in the photographs? The one with the hexagons seems to be printed, right? What about  the other? Made from one of the PAG-14 kits around?

Thanks!

[John R]

Yes, it's drop dead gorgeous - as usual it's well researched and beautifully built but gives me an uncomfortable feeling that I am watching modelling pornography. What you do, the time and money you spend is fine for Britmodeller but when something is going to appear as a review in a model magazine surely it should reflect how actual kit should turn out. Most of us having to scratch a living before returning to our unheated hovels in the countryside can't even contemplate the amount spent on aftermarket extras, decals and spare kits to raid for other parts. OK - so I'm old and crabby but what do others think?

 

Can I also ask if it is the way my monitor is set up or do others find the very light background in the pictures distracting?

 

Apologies if I seem cross and miserable. I am - I have just got back from walking the dog in the freezing rain on a day I should have been on holiday in Costa Rica.

John

[general melchett]

Thanks armored, the smaller hex one was printed off many years ago from a free online source, with added grass sections, airbrushed edges and staining before being mounted to dyed and varnished wood plinths. I've got many in different sizes which I use for displaying at shows. The PAG one is actually from the Coastal kits range with added flock and grasses, these are printed directly onto foam board.  I airbrush the edges black then seal them with acrylic matt varnish to remove the sheen...

 

Here's a link,

 

coastal kits airfield bases

 

I use these and the larger Noy Miniatures ones too. Also if you haven't already, look at the Uschi van der Rosten line...they also carry some excellent hex and PAG sets...in fact do yourself a favour and look at the whole site, they have some really amazing stuff there.

 

Uschi airfield bases

 

 

[replicant]

1 hour ago, general melchett said:

Thomas, I also have the Streem kit and whilst it's not an easy build the surface detail is superb. I don't particularly like the gimmicks such as operating flaps and opening canopy but overall the shape is good though not perfect. The width of the rear fuselage is wrong with the exhausts being set too far apart, something that's very difficult to correct, (though you could adapt the more accurate Trumpeter rear end to fit).

You are right,

it needed a lot of Revell/Dragon=Zvezda stuff to cure (not every) problem and took 150 hrs, at the end it  looks like the real thing

I have two more and for a build i would bash them with trumpies to save time

Cheers

Thomas

 

[James G]

Great build General Melch! Thanks for the info regarding the kit corrections, I will bookmark this thread for future use...do you have any 'in progress' shots of the corrections that you made?

[general melchett]

Hi John, ha, sunny Costa Rica v Blighty in the wet and dismal eh, well I think I'd be miserable too. No, fair point the editor specifically wanted to me to use all aftermarket products for this article, improve any shortcomings with the kit and describe the method of overcoming them.

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when something is going to appear as a review in a model magazine surely it should reflect how actual kit should turn out

Review builds are done separately, full build articles are ordered into basic, intermediate and advanced, hopefully, there's an even balance in each issue as all the contributors have different fields of interest and the team wants to cater for all tastes. There's a lot of interesting feedback which the editor tries his level best to address.

 

I've built many 'out of the box' kits for the magazine, in fact, all new Airfix test-shots and pre-production releases must be built with what's in the box (such as the new Mitchell in the latest issue of AMW) but now and then he wants more advanced builds highlighting what's available in the aftermarket field and any techniques needed to improve the kit. 

As for expense, with each and every build, everything, including the kit, is provided gratis by the different companies as this generates an advertising stream for them, also all are review samples. (Just as well as I'd be broke!) 

 

Regarding the background, I'm used to white now as this is how articles are photographed, (using studio strobe lighting) and supplied to the design team at AMW but I could certainly go back to using coloured paper or photo sky images for inline forums to provide a bit of variety.

 

Go for another walk and imagine your on the beach......but remember your brolly and a poo bag!

 

ps..have you done another calendar?...last years was far too good to use!

[general melchett]

Thomas, I must have missed your Streem build.....superb, great result from a daunting kit,  good to see one in that scheme too. I'm very tempted to mod and finish mine as an Iranian MK.  Streem caught the sit of the Fencer perfectly. Out of the boxes if you could cross the Streem with the Trumpeter kit you would have the perfect Fencer.

 

Talking of daunting builds I also have a VES Su-15TM to attempt when I get a spare couple of months, (fat chance!)

 

Thanks James, I'll have a look at my files and see what I still have, there should be build images from the AMW article still around.

[armored76]

Thanks for the hints regarding the bases! I'll have a thorough look at all this.

[replicant]

13 minutes ago, general melchett said:

Talking of daunting builds I also have a VES Su-15TM to attempt when I get a spare couple of months, (fat chance!)

Thank you,

 

yes, don't miss it!

I am happy so much to see you to like the hard way, too

VES was my ultimate pig (until Modelsvits Tu-22KD)

 

 

[general melchett]

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I am happy so much to see you to like the hard way, too 

VES was my ultimate pig (until Modelsvits Tu-22KD)

 

Oh yes, I like the hard way...I didn't find the Modelvit Tu-22KD too bad to be a honest, what did you struggle with?..a big improvement over some of the earlier Amonsters that I've built like the 3-MN Bison and Tu-126 Moss and the regular Tu-128, Yak-28s and La-250. I find these kits much more rewarding than the mainstream ones even though many are painful. Maybe the Trumpeter/Hobbyboss kits go together well but the short run, (generally) Ukrainian ones are always a lot more accurate and look great when built. I'm a huge fan of Soviet Cold War aircraft and just happy to see so many of them being produced by these manufacturers. 

[replicant]

11 minutes ago, general melchett said:

Oh yes, I like the hard way...I didn't find the Modelvit Tu-22KD too bad to be a honest, what did you struggle with?..

Thank you, that you have time for conversation!

I can't tell too much because its a future ModellFan feature. I liked the build and love it much. I don't believe the Trumpy will be nearly as realistic (again). But i lenghtened the fuselage and removed 8 mm with ( should be more) to get a better coke bottle (that was heavy for me, because there was no more plastic left and i backed it up ). The real thing is incredibly sleek at the end of the bomb bay. Modelsvit changed the wings for the second series because the landing gear didnt go through the hatch ( I took the saw). So maybe they make a new center fuselage with oval CS (They made also two Sotkas and other models twice... i have the early bad one, i hope i will finish it 2018)

But i am like a carpenter, i love to mill half the weight off....

Cheers,

Thomas

[stevej60]

Beautiful rendition of a rather beautiful aircraft,excellent finish!

[cross111]

Very nice work!!!

[72modeler]

Thomas- just saw your Streem Su-24 build; wow! Your usual incredible workmanship- I am soooo jealous!

 

General M- I do have the DML Su-24M, the Eduard zoom set, and a resin cockpit, whose manufacture I don't recall just now. (Too many etched and resin sets for these old memory banks to store and retrieve!) If I get the Trumpeter Su-24M, as you mentioned, and steal the external tanks from my DML kit, and use the aftermarket bits I listed, will that get me pretty close? I'm nowhere near you or Thomas in ability or knowledge of Russki weenie cookers, but it's such a nasty-looking jet, I want to do it justice at some point.

Mike

[Navy Bird]

Excellent work as always, General. I might have missed it as I scanned this thread, but isn't there also an intake error in the Trumpy kit? Something about the angle of the leading edge when viewed from the side? My memory fails me...but I can always blame it on chemo brain!  

 

Cheers,

Bill

[mcdonnell]

Hello,Andy - Wishing You and Yours ‘All The Best’ for the New Year.

All your completed builds,no matter how complex or straightforward, are beautiful looking tributes of the real version and this Fencer is no exception.

All The Best,Paul.😉👍