Search the Community

Tu-22M3 Backfire-C (144002) 1:144 Litaki Model Kit The Tupolev Tu-22M is a Soviet-era supersonic strategic bomber that has been in front line service with many current and former Soviet-aligned nations for over forty years in various guises. It was designed in the 1960s as a replacement to the original Tu-22 bomber, which had been found to be lacking in many areas very early in its career, the replacement design using a variable geometry configuration that was characteristic of that era, with engines buried in the tail to clean-up the aerodynamics. Supersonic speeds were attained thanks to a pair of hugely powerful Kuznetsov NK-22 afterburning turbofans that produced over 48,000lb of thrust each, starting with the M0 prototype and quickly switching to M1, split equally, totalling eighteen airframes. The M2 began production in 1972, with a range of improvements on the base design, bringing area-rule fuselage shaping, brand-new toughened landing gear design, and increasing the crew complement to four, commonly taking on the role of anti-shipping missile carriage due to its immense size and load capacity. Almost sixty of this type rolled off the production lines, some later upgraded with NK-23 engines that gave it extra power and speed, adding the suffix Ye to the designation. The M3 version replaced it on the production line, receiving new NK-25 engines that brought a substantial increase in power, new intakes that resembled those of the F-15 or Tornado, and a new turned-up radome in the nose, housing a new radar and navigation/attack system which significantly enhanced terrain-following capabilities. Top speed was substantially increased to mach 2, and its range was extended by around a third, The M-3 is also capable of deploying the Raduga KH-15 (AS-16 'Kickback') missile. Later attempts at upgrades had varied outcomes, some of them cancelled, while the M3M involved an almost complete rework of the avionics, a few of which have flown as prototypes, with more to come in due course. The Kit This is a reboxing with new parts of a recent tooling from Litaki Model Kits, and it is some time since there has been a new kit of this type in this scale, a very long time, in fact. Litaki’s designers have taken great pains to correct the errors and weaknesses of previous kits, and have been forthcoming with details of their progress over recent months, the content of which has been quite impressive. The kit arrives in a reasonably small top-opening box with a painting of a Backfire-C popping flares while his wingman fires a missile over a maritime backdrop, wings spread wide for lower-speed handling. Inside the box are eleven sprues of greenish-grey styrene (think Dora Wings) in re-sealable bags, a clear sprue, another bag containing two sheets of decals, two sheets of masks, and a Photo-Etch (PE) sheet with many small parts. The 3D printed exhausts are in a Ziploc bag, and the package is completed by the A5 portrait instruction booklet, which has colour covers, a separate A4 sheet for painting and decaling, plus an A4 glossy reproduction of the box art without all the practical clutter of the box, in case you’d like a print for your wall. Detail is excellent, reproducing the fine panel lines seen during development, clever moulding to give the flying surfaces a realistically thin trailing-edge, and clear parts that are delightfully transparent, and continue the fine panel lines over the area that will be painted around the windscreen panes. Construction begins with the cockpit, which even at this scale is of a reasonable size, starting with the floor, into which two bulkheads and two centre consoles are inserted. The consoles are blank, but will be almost invisible at this scale, while the two instrument panels have decals to apply that give them detail that will possibly be seen by the avid viewer. The instrument panels are inserted with coamings, including an additional part behind the cockpit’s rear bulkhead, adding four seats into the crew spaces, noting that there are sink-marks in the base cushions that you may wish to fill if you feel they will be seen. The cockpit is trapped between the two forward fuselage halves along with the nose gear bay, which has detail moulded-in, and two inserts, one under the nose, the other behind the cockpit, whilst you are advised to place 30-50g of weight in the nose to prevent a tail-sitter. There is adequate space in the radome, but you could also place more in the space behind the cockpit, which won’t be quite as effective due to the laws of physics, but should move the centre-of-gravity forward if needed. Building the rear fuselage begins with the exhausts, creating two trunks from detailed halves, and gluing them to a bulkhead that has rear fan blades moulded-in, and has PE afterburner rings added beforehand, using super glue (CA) to fix them in place. The new intakes has intake-ramps and an insert in the floor before attaching them to the sides of the forward fuselage, with scrap diagrams showing the correct locations from the side. The lower fuselage has a pair of three-part main gear bay walls inserted on the inner edges of their cut-outs, completing the walls with four more parts, and fixing a curved section representing the ribbed outer skin of the intake trunk on the inner edges, gluing an L-shaped section of trunk between the forward edge of the bay and the front of the part, where care will be needed to align the various sections correctly, fitting the lower rear fuselage and sides, then installing the exhaust trunking assembly and the upper fuselage, before bringing in the forward fuselage, completing it with a figure-8 fairing and the 3D printed exhaust cans at the rear, fixing those in place with more CA. The swing-wings are each built from halves, having both the leading- and trailing-edges moulded into the upper halves, inserting the lowers into the remaining space, although that means filling across panel lines that some may find difficult to do well, putting the two tail fin halves and its large fillet together, making up the rear cannon fairing and sensor housings from two halves to be joined to the fin later, and the elevators made from standard halves. The main planes are push-fitted to the pivots in the fuselage wing-glove fairing, trapping them in place with the upper glove fairing, and installing the intakes over the open ends. The tail fin has a tip and the rear cannon fairing added, gluing the assembly into position on the raised lines between the exhausts, flipping the model over to add a pair of elevator root fairings underneath, and then slotting the elevators into position on a pair of lugs moulded into the fairings. By now the main gear wells are complete, the roof details supplied by mouldings on the inner face of the upper wing-gloves, painting them a metallic grey, a colour that is used throughout the rest of the landing gear assemblies. The nose gear leg is formed from two-part strut with integral A-frame, adding a retraction jack and detail part before fitting the two-part wheels at each end of the cross-axle. The main gear legs are substantial assemblies that are made from ten parts each that take careful alignment, and are handed, with a captive bay door added to the outboard side, and an impressive six wheels fitted as three pairs to each bogey. A fairing is first installed under the wing, inserting the gear leg into the outer end of the bay, with a retraction jack added to the inside, then hiding away much of the bay with a closed door that has an L-profile. The nose strut fits into its bay, and is joined by two side doors, plus another in front of the strut, and gluing a PE antenna into a tiny slot underneath the teardrop fairing, fitting more PE and styrene antennae along the underside of the fuselage, taking note of their orientation as necessary, by referring to the scrap diagram. The M3 was fitted with a twin-cannon remote rear turret under the tail, sliding two vertically stacked barrels into the rounded face, then installing it, and adding four fairings around the tail. The canopy is a large crystal-clear part that includes the windows and surrounding skin of the aircraft to make for a neater join with the fuselage, using the supplied vinyl masks to protect the clear parts during painting. Two small periscope-like fairings and a PE blade antenna are glued to recesses in the part after the seam has been dealt with, the last parts being PE fences for the ends of the wing glove fairings, plus C-shaped fences at the join between the wings and gloves, then fitting two rectangular grilles on the top of both intakes, following the additional drawings nearby for clarification of their location and distance from the front of the intakes. This photo has been manipulated to show up the cut lines, so it might look a little strange in some respects. There are nine auxiliary blow-in doors on each of the intake fairings that are supplied as decals to apply after painting, but there is also a pair of masks that will let the advanced modeller with steady hands engrave them with a suitably fine and extremely sharp scribing tool. It’s entirely up to you which route you choose, and the masks supplied for the task are of a thicker material that should help prevent mistakes. Weapons The Backfire-C’s raison d'être was as a missile truck to strike at important maritime assets, so the model would be incomplete without something to hang under it. There are two Kh-22 cruise missiles that are carried one under each wing, each one supplied as a body that’s made from two halves, plus forward and aft horizontal fins, an exhaust insert, a shallow forward fin and folded-over rear fin on the ventral spine of the missile, with a frontal view showing the completed assembly in position under the wing. Each one interfaces with the wing via a stubby pylon that has two anti-sway braces fitted in recesses before installation. Two alternative loads are included, the first being a quartet of Kh-15 missiles, the missile body moulded as a complete part, save for a slot that receives the dorsal spine, stabilised by three fins arranged equally around the rear of the missile, and suspended under the aircraft via pylons that differ between inner and outer stations. The final option has two Multiple Ejector Rails (MERs) for nine OFAB-250/270 iron bombs, either using the styrene parts and PE fins, or using the newly 3D printed replacements if you prefer, arranged in three rows of three with a triangular profile from the front, supported on the racks by three pairs of adapters on the rails. They mount under the fuselage below the intake trunking, although it’s difficult to see how far back they are from a frontal profile. The back inner page of the instructions gives colour codes for the weapons, plus detail painting tips for the flying surfaces and the tail, including the location of the dielectric panels found in various locations. Markings There are three decal options on the sheet, all three depicting Ukrainian airframes that served with their Air Force. From the box you can build one of the following: #20106726, Red 57, Ukrainian Air Force, Poltava Air Base #20106726, Blue 96, Ukrainian Air Force, Poltava Air Base #3686153, Blue 80, Ukrainian Air Force, Poltava Air Base Decals are by Decograph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion This new variant on the recently tooling is excellent, and deservedly knocks the admittedly ancient competition in this scale into the proverbial cocked hat, although it won’t be a shake-and-bake kit, requiring attention to fit and finish before applying glue. It is well-detailed, well-researched, and has been well-moulded, with comprehensive instructions that speak to the care that’s been lavished on the project. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Next Xuntong Model (http://www.xtmodel.com.cn/) Bobcat Hobby Model kit, after the long announced DB-3F/IL-4 (link), will be a 1/48th Tupolev SB-2-100 - ref. ? Sources: http://www.xtmodel.com.cn/html/2014/pexplain_0618/19.html http://scalemodels.ru/news/7653-3D-rendery-Xuntong-Model-1-48-sb-2-100.html 3D renders V.P.

Hello all, I've gathered reference for this reclusive bomber but there are a few gaps left. There are plans available in the remote corners of the internet, but I wonder which are the most correct. A site is asking 36 $ for the M-Hobby drawings, which they may or may not have a right to sell! What do you think about interior colour? What little i've seen shows very dark colours. I'm leaning towards dark grey à la Tu-2 but I'm open to suggestions.

My trip to Germany in October/November 2021 was the trigger that I needed to start to really get into Soviet planes. When I landed in Berlin for my MCC/JOC courses I didn’t had in mind that same airport was somehow part of the old Berlin-Schönefeld airport (the old airport of East Berlin). On the next day I was ready to start my MCC in a Boeing 737-800 simulator in an airfield in the surroundings of Berlin (Schönhagen - EDAZ). One of my instructors after some sessions and morning coffees told me that my other instructor who was giving me lessons also, was a pilot for Interflug before the Berlin Wall collapsed. He flew Tupolev’s and Ilyushin’s for a brief time. After this I’ve asked him how it was flying a very complex Soviet plane and to share with me some Interflug memories. I didn’t had a very much feedback because he was a reserved person. Well… I will just wonder how those times would have been… After my courses done I’ve visited Berlin, and since I’m a huge fan and a curios person regarding history and politics I’ve went to the GDR Museum and I’ve tried to collect the most interesting facts and histories regarding the Wall and also the whole system that divided Berlin and also a country in two once. I’ve started to read more about Interflug and the German aviation at the time and I had the idea that since I went to Berlin, it would be a nice idea to built an East-German plane so I can also have some sort of a good thing to reminds me the good times that I’ve spend there! So, 1 week after I’ve arrived from Berlin I’ve went to Amsterdam for my birthday and its a mandatory stop to visit Aviation Megastore. Still with this Interflug vibes in my mind I wanted to buy a model that Interflug had operated. I didn’t liked the Tu-134 with their livery, so I’ve decided for the Tu-154. It is a nice plane and the Interflug’s livery was kinda pretty on it! Well I’ve talked that much already, so maybe is better to go straight to business. Let’s do this! This is the Tu-154 box, with the classic Zvezda drawings as a cover. With this model you have three livery options: Classic Aeroflot Livery, Current Aeroflot Livery and the Open Skies Livery with Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut titles. Like I’ve said before, I will prefer to use the Interflug decals. Like normal, Ive started the model by glueing the windows in the fuselage. Since I’m gonna use decals for them later, I’ve just used the regular glue from Revell. After that I’ve filled a bit of the window holes with plastic putty in order to sand it with a 1000 sandpaper grid later on. Meanwhile I’ve also painted the “S induct” tube with a some sort of dark grey and since I didn’t knew how they would attach in the end (even with instructions), I’ve painted that whole area inside with Vallejo’s “Jet Exhaust” (77.713). It was also time for start the engines. And to be honest that was a bit demanding, when it comes to pick up the colors to apply. In the end, after watching so many pictures of the Tu-154 engines, I’ve decided to apply the “Engine Grey” (71.048) in the engine fans and the “Beige” (71.074) in the engine cones. After that, in the same way I’ve did with my Varig 767, the turbine outlets, I’ve painted them with the “Smokey Ink” (72.068). Heres the result: With them painted, I was able to assemble the S-Duct and finally attach the main fuselage together. The 20g weight was glued in front, the duct glued in place so as the exhaust tube that I’ve also painted with “Jet Exhaust” (77.713). With the windows already sanded and the main frame together as one, its time for sanding and putty! With the airplane sanded, it was time to give a first thin and irregular primer coat to check some imperfections. They appeared on top and a bit in the bottom of the fuselage. I’ve applied putty again and I’ve sanded it again. I think after these adjustments, the airplane is ready for the final paint job. I’ve started this with the elevators, because it would be easier to mask them in the end than if it would be the opposite instead. I’ve started with the same grey that I normally use for wings: 71.046 from Vallejo also. After this grey, I’ve masked again the elevators to paint the leading edges in aluminum and later on the sides in a red/orange shadow. I’ve also started to apply the main coats of white in the fuselage with the 62.001 shadow. I will continue with this process until I’ll have a consistent white layer. After this, I will use the same grey shadow as I used for the elevators and paint the lower parts of the fuselage. For now, let it dry and work on the other models (to make a better use of the limited time )

November's project: ICM TU-2 1/72 A bit of an odd one this - At first glance it looks like a typical older Eastern European kit, a bit rough round the edges with tons of flash and the decals from hell... BUT with an amazing level of very fine surface detail, almost all of it far too fine to make out after painting. So I've scribed all panel lines to make them visible and given her a good rivetting, most of which was still a bit too light to be seen! Scratch the built bomb bay, added the bomb racks, gun barrels, wheel wells and cockpit details also. Anyways, may I present Theresa the Tupolev for your delectation...

Hi All! 1/144 resin kit. Tu-104B -enlarged late model of first soviet jetliner for 100 passengers. This aircraft 42-438 from 204-th Novosibirsk United Air Squadron. Plane crashed in March 1961 near Sverdlovsk. Enjoy watching!

Tupolev T-134 (NATO reporting name Crusty) Pics of three aircraft taken at The Ukraine State Aviation Museum Zhulyany, Kiev. Pics thanks to Dave Haskell.

Hi all. Finally got myself an airbrush and opened up a new exciting world of pain and thinners and mixing paints and trying to wash the paint off the pants, haha. This has been a very random build, because I came across the Tu-134 as a cheapest kit available and I instantly thought I always wanted one. The build was quite an easy one except for the canopy fit, probably. I missed the fact that rudder is put between the two halves of the fuselage, which is an unusual feat. Eventually had to force it in place and do some repairs. The navigator glasshouse does not fit at all (which I was aware of). I tried to keep the two halves of the fuselage unglued forward of the nose gear bay and cockpit windshield, fit the the navigators canopy and fill the gap, but it didn't work quite as expected. Still maybe this is the way around for someone with a rather better skill and patience than me. There is a huge rant over at the russian model community side about the inflight stabilizer angle being -1.5 or something degrees down as a must do. Well I got it slightly nose down and that's about it. Once again, airbrush is a great excitement for me, being a trained painter I know a thing or two about colour mixing. First time tried and oil wash (with the terror and relief!). Didn't bother to glue back an underside antenna because it won't stay. And yeah, right side 'soviet bird' logo somehow slid after applying, don't know when Enjoy I've decided to paint fancy lemon yellow spinners My cat in 1:1 scale

Tupolev Tu-154 (NATO reporting name: Careless) Pics taken at The Ukraine State Aviation Museum Zhulyany, Kiev. Pics thanks to Dave Haskell.

Zvezda is working on a 1/144th Tupolev Tu-204C cargo aircraft kit - ref. Sources: https://vk.com/wall-29859496?own=1 http://airliner-models.org/forum/topic/4281-новинки-2017/?page=7#comment-100454 http://scalemodels.ru/news/12050-anons-zvezda-1-144-tupolev-tu-204s---testovye-otlivki.html V.P.

After the 1/72 kits (link) Mars Models is to release 1/144th Tupolev TB-3-4M-17F / G-2 (2 in 1) kit - ref. 14401 Sources: https://www.facebook.com/568843716590060/photos/a.581699528637812.1073741831.568843716590060/955935247880903/ https://www.facebook.com/568843716590060/photos/a.581699528637812.1073741831.568843716590060/955989171208844/ Box art Decals Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=948196188654809&id=568843716590060 V.P.

Hello all While reading up on the Tupolev I-4 series and planning future builds and conversion of them, I came across the AHT-13, prototype of the I-8. The aircraft was essentially a redesigned I-4 with an imported Curtiss Conqueror engine. The aicraft did not enter production because the USSR had no plans to import or produce the Conqueror engine and no local alternative was available. In spite of that, flight tests appear to suggest that the aircraft flew well, being the first Soviet design to pass 300 km/h in level flight. My question is, given my interest in modelling all the variants of the I-4, from AHT-5 Prototype, to Production I-4, Mid-Production I-4Z (smaller lower wing), and Late-Production I-4bis (with lower wing removed entirely), and now, the I-8, where could I find a suitable nose and set of landing gear to graft onto the I-4 fuselage? I-4 (AHT-5) I-8 Thanks, Tweener

Tupolev Tu-22M3 Backfire-C, Pics taken at The Ukraine State Aviation Museum Zhulyany, Kiev. Pics thanks to Dave Haskell.

Tupolev Tu-95MS Bear-H, pics by Dave Haskell at Poltava Long Range & Strategic Aviation Museum, Ukraine,

Tu-16K-26 pics taken at Poltava Museum of Long range & strategic Aviation, Ukraine; by Dave Haskell.

Tupolev Tu-160 White Swan (NATO Reporting name Blackjack). Pictures taken by Dave Haskell at The Poltava Museum of Long-Range and Strategic Aviation in The Ukraine.

The first soviet all metal passenger plane More about the prototype: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_ANT-2 1/72 resin kit from AirKits The kit is supplied with nicely moulded engine from Prop&Jet Let's get started. Assembled the cabin and deepened the door on the port board. Also deepened one of the two semicircle pilot access steps, need to find a better way

Hello mates, not only old stuff no... this is my big new Shilo, quite hard work... but i love her...started on April 16, 2016, finished on October 17, 2017, 170 hrs...she is quite pimped and the real coke bottle took 40 hrs alone i added one picture, PJ Productions navigator forgot his scratchbuilt briefcase, omeio checkov, therefore hatch open by eduard crew chief, second Kh-22 under belly is a pimped Trumpeter Tu-22M3 one Cheers, Tom

AirKits is to release a 1/72nd Tupolev ANT-29 DIP resin kit. Sources: https://propjet.ucoz.ru/forum/14-246-1 http://master194.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=79268&start=300 V.P.

Tupolev Tu-142MZ Bear F the last production Tu-142. Distinguished by new NK-12MP engines and the chin fairing. Pics taken at The Ukraine State Aviation Museum Zhulyany, Kiev. Pics thanks to Dave Haskell.

AirKits has just released a 1/72nd Tupolev ANT-21 resin kit. Sources: https://propjet.ucoz.ru/forum/14-241-1 http://master194.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=79268&start=300 http://www.greenmats.club/topic/4475-туполев-ант-21-бис-airkits-172/ V.P.

I've finally finished my old Tupolev TU-95MS VVS bomber, I've started long time ago, this came out as the 'Saratov' backdrop is a photo take by myself some years ago over Iceland. All modelling in Modo, textures done in Photoshop. The little postrender work I've added, is also done in PS

This kit I found on the internet for a very reasonable price. As I am very fond of russian airliners I had to have this cute bird in my collection. There seems to be no manufacturer name on the box...or at least I cant't read it. It looks more like a advertising giveaway by Tupolev,same as the IL-96 kits by Ilyjushin,that were later re-released by Eastern Express. The quality of the kit is as poor as the IL-96 kits.The shape itself is quite accurate but the fit is terrible. As the landing gear parts were full of plastic residue,I decided to make a desktop like model,using the included display stand. I also bought a new and more detailded decal set from PAS Models to add more life to the kit.The included decal sheet was very basic and also the colors looked a bit off. After hours of filling and sanding and rescribing, I was finally able to get on some paint. Almost a year has passed since I started this kit but by facing all these fitting issues,I put it away several times and concentrated on other models. But finally here she is... The TU-334 first flew in 1999 and was planned as a replacement aircraft to the TU-134. Unfortunately ,only 2 prototypes were built and the aircraft never entered production. Thanks for looking

Tupolev Tu-104, NATO reporting name Camel. Pics taken at The Ukraine State Aviation Museum Zhulyany, Kiev. Pics thanks to Dave Haskell.

Tupolev Tu-134UBL. This is a Tu-134 with a Tu-22M3 nose grafted on to act as a crew trainer. Pics taken at The Ukraine State Aviation Museum Zhulyany, Kiev. Pics thanks to Dave Haskell.