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This year’s theme build for my model club, IPMS Auckland, is “Slava Ukraini!” and has two categories: 1 - Ukrainian Subject Any manufacturer's kit can be used but must depict a Ukrainian subject. No Russian model manufacturers. 2 - Ukrainian Kit Manufacturer Any Ukrainian kit built as any subject - does not have to have Ukrainian markings if the kit is made in Ukraine. No Russian markings. I have already built an An-225 in its Ukrainian livery, an ICM SB-2 in Chinese markings, French EBR-75 and AML-90 armoured cars by Ace, Modelsvit Tu-22KD converted to an Iraqi Tu-22B (all Ukrainian brand kits), and Trumpeter (Chinese brand) Tu-22KD in Ukrainian markings. This Trumpeter Tu-22M3 will also be finished in Ukrainian markings. I replaced the kit cockpit with a Neomoga set which was not as good quality as I had hoped (the control columns were unusable). Here are some mages of it clipped in place pending some corrective work on the kit's windscreen which is incorrectly shaped. As supplied, the engine air intakes are devoid of any interior detail and are simply gaping holes to view the fuselage interior, the following images show what I did to address this: Inboard Flaps: The kit provides for the flaps, spoilers, and leading edge slats to be deployed (it's probably more work to model them closed), but neglects to enable the inboard flaps on with wing-root gloves to be deployed. Since all of the flaps operate in unison I can either do flaps, slats and spoilers closed, or cut the inboard flaps out and model them deployed. The model will look far more interesting with all high-lift surfaces deployed so I cut the inboard flaps out and scratch-built the flap's leading-edge surfaces that are hidden within the wing-root gloves when retracted but visible when the flaps are deployed. The photos tell the tale better than I can here. [EDIT] Jumping ahead to later in the build... Kh-22 'AS-4 Kitchen' Missiles: The Backfire kit's Kh-22 (As-4 Kitchen) missiles have come in for a lot of justifiable criticism as they are essentially caricatures rather than replicas of an AS-4 Kitchen missile. A-model does a more accurate kit I can buy for about 8.50 Euros each (NZ$30 for the pair) but I'd guess I's need to pay NZ$20-25 in postage to get them here in time for my model's deadline for the IPMS Auckland Ukraine tribute build in mid-November. So I set about doctoring the kit's missiles to resemble the originals better, but restricting surgery to try and keep the finely engraved detail that will compliment the Backfire model's far better than the deep and somewhat exaggerated A-Model kit's panel lines. The attached pictures tell the story. The missiles are painted red as were training rounds to add a splash of colour to the model. Besides, I doubt that Ukraine flew all that many missions with either HE or nuclear-tipped Kh-22s before it rid itself of nukes in 1994. Fuselage & Wings (so far): I reduced the height of the wing-root gloves to avoid a large gap where the outer wing sections enter them, and cut slots in the outer wings so that could be fitted after assembling the flaps, etc, and painting. I could do this because I was interested in the wings being able to swing, instead, I plan to fit them in the forward-swept position. I still have a rotary missile launcher to add to the bomb-bay. Engines; I used some Armory PE engine nozzles which I did not make a terribly good job of. When I first bought the kit they were all that was available, but now there are easier-to-use resin alternatives by AMG, but these would have cost me another NZ$30 + postage and I could not get any in time anyway. There is a lot of sanding dust on the nozzles in the photos. [EDIT] Later on, I realised that the nozzles didn't look right with the outer parts simply folded on the PE's fold-lines. So I pulled the outer nozzles off and rolled a curve into them. I made a couple of missing triangular holes between the engine nozzles: Outer Wings Flaps & Spoilers, and Kh-15 Missiles: I realise it is far from normal practice to park a Tu-22M3 with flaps, slats, and spoilers deployed, but that's how I have chosen to have my model since it adds interest and could, conceivably, be in this state if on public display, for example. I still have to prepare the leading-edge slats. I also did some work on getting the Kh-15 Missiles and their MKU-6-1 rotary launcher ready for painting. More Fuselage; The images tell the story.. Undercarriage: Trumpeter seems to have a penchant for non-functional and illogical engineering, possibly because their CAD people have no idea of the purpose behind the bits they draw on their computer screens. Anyway, I wasted a fair amount of time trying to make functional undercarriages. The pics tell the story... Please excuse my bad typing due to PD, I sometimes miss them before it's too late: Canopy & Auxiliary Intake Mods: Painting: The white is commercial car lacquer bought by the lire at about 1/20 the price of model paint, other colours are Mr Colour lacquer for the greys, and Tamiya lacquers for the metallics. Weathering is mainly by enamel washes and some chalk pastels, with some artists oil paint dry-brushing. Various little added details and other things like the weathering process started. I have weathered the model based on photos as an amalgam of typically worn airframes left outside, some panel touch-ups, APU exhaust staining, staining around auxiliary intake doors, and dirt where tarpaulin wraps are tied around the nose and cockpit in winter (I have yet to finish the cockpit area until I fit the four clamshell hatches). Just the wheels to do: When my resin replacements arrive by UK Post, that is. For now, I just have the kit's wheels clipped on. I now have the cockpit hatches attached (I just noticed that still need to paint the red cross on the first-aid boxes mounted on the hatches) and I scratch-built the tail cannon and corrected the barbette slightly... Thanks for looking. It's taken three week's work to get to this point, I'll update and finish this once my after-market wheels arrive.

I have been making reverse progress, taking apart and fixing the mess that I made at the start of the year. My first post about this kit around January or February went very wrong quickly. I mixed up the decals for the cockpit and then I gave up for a while. Then, back in February, I built the rear fuselage of the aircraft, including wings, which was a terrible idea, I didn't build it right or I don't know but it was full of gaps, especially in the gear bay. First thing I did was take the decal off the rear part of the cockpit and replace it with random bits and pieces from unused decals. Now, its not finished and I will replace the paint splotches with better details and decals later but its better than having the wrong decal there. I also built the rotary bomb bay with six Kh-15 missiles. I will weather it once I paint the bomb bay itself. Talking about the bomb bay, here's me removing it along with the gear bays. I won't include an image as it''s really quite embarrassing but it was a glue nightmare! Glue everywhere in large blobs! I have gotten TET since which is such an improvement over my previous Humbrol CA glue. I have also started the painting of one of the huuge undercarriage. This is only a dryfit and I will add a wash and more details as needed. I am thoroughly enjoying the kit now and I am making quite a lot of progress, expect an update next week depending on if I can model during the weekend. Also as you may have noticed the right horizontal stabiliser is missing. I have a solution for that, this isn't permanent of course, it's more just to keep it in place when I'll glue it. Anyways, see you all later!

It was my birthday a few months ago and I decided to treat myself With this BIG BOI https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b0/0d/6b/b00d6b8dd53ee1a7390ae6ab64e35ed4.jpg I was pleasantly surprised to see how neat the box was https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e7/26/af/e726afa47a6eb758b7a2b104bf41a202.jpg Everything was neatly packaged and the larger parts were in the small box which has it's own boxart which was a nice surprise. I started the tail end first, and man, this thing is massive! https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d9/b6/38/d9b638f3e5c457b17950c0f7d2e5283e.jpg Here it is in my hand, I'm a small person though, mind you: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/90/1e/09901e322e60a36689f3d202d4a5db0b.jpg I am very happy with the amount of interior details (although it got a bit worse as I got to the front end) https://i.pinimg.com/originals/14/bb/04/14bb04ddb6fcad65e392586a155a6729.jpg Wings added the next day, and, well uh, this is the biggest kit I've made (bigger than the 1:72 victor!) https://i.pinimg.com/originals/13/19/4b/13194bcb89e857ba8bd51a8375b0841c.jpg Here is the front end dry fitted, showing it's true size, the fit is great by the way! https://i.pinimg.com/originals/bd/56/7f/bd567f8d1739a3744012cd85ffc411f4.jpg Alright, the cockpit, the disappointing part of the build so far. The ejection seats are great! 11 pieces per seat! https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ce/0c/bd/ce0cbdf853868a28383c8201aecb4a14.jpg The cockpit itself though, very disappointing, looks like mostly guesswork, there are buttons behind where the seats are meant to go and random details. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/696932111071969199/ https://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/8e/3b/098e3b7859b47f8258833cb6a2a6fc65.jpg What do you guys think so far? Also, here's your tag @Adam Poultney Aand the images didn't work, I'll fix it in an hour, I'm busy right now

Hi everybody, just some random thoughts I had on my mind for some time and maybe anybody can comment on this or has some information or opinions on this subject. It strikes me that the USA, Great Britain and the Soviet Union took very different approaches to defensive armament on their bomber (and transport) aircraft in the cold war era. In the RAF, every bomber after the Lincoln and the Washington relied on high speed, high altitude (low flying later) and ECM for self protection. I am not sure if guns/cannons were provided for in the Short Sperrin but the Canberra and the V-Bombers had none. (The cannons on maritime patrol Shackleton were intended for strafing surface targets, I guess). The Soviets took a completely different approach: Even the relatively small Il-28 had a gunner’s position in the tail. The Tu-16, Tu-95 and M-4 virtually continued the B-29/Tu-4 layout with gun turrets in dorsal, ventral and rear positions. A remote controlled tail turret is still installed in the supersonic Tu-22 and Tu-22M/-26 while defensive guns/cannon are missing only on the Tu-160s. As far as I can see, tail turrets are still present on Tu-22Ms and Tu-95s used by the Russian Air Force today. In contrast to all Western designs even transport aircraft like the An-12 and Il-76 were designed with a tail turret. The US somehow chose a middle way between these two approaches: Dorsal and ventral turrets last appeared on the B-36, but the B-47, B-52 and (early) A3D/B-66 still had tail turrets as well as the supersonic B-58. I am not sure when the tail guns were removed from the B-52s. Maybe they were still carried during Desert Storm. AFAIK, over Vietnam at least one BUFF even scored a kill with its tail gun(s). Now I wonder what are the reasons for these different approaches? One might think that Soviet planes were somehow lacking in terms of ceiling, speed and ECM, but even the US clung to guns/cannons. Does anyone know if guns were meant to shoot down air-to-air missiles? It sounds unlikely given the size and speed of the target, however, modern warships use fast firing 20-30mm cannons as a last-ditch defense against ant-ship missiles. So what was/is the rationale behind the defensive armament on cold-war (and some of Russia’s today’s) bombers? Regards, Ole