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Sukhoi Su-15TM 'Flagon-F'


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1) Use of a cockpit coaming insert to cover both the single-seat and the two-seat versions with the same fuselage (sprue A) - this doesn't fit well, and the joint crosses numerous panel lines, so filling the joint and repairing the surface detail is a hassle on a kit which looks so beaufifully-molded in the box.

2) Speaking of molding, it appears that Trumpeter uses a multiple-piece mold set to do the fuselage sprue. This is admirably high-tech and allows them to preserve very sharp panel lines across the joints between the two fuselage halves, but there's a tiny mismatch between the three external parts of the mold, resulting in two small ridges which run most of the length of each fuselage half, again requiring extra work to remove them and to repair the panel lines on the fuselage sides where the ridges cross them.

1) The 1/48 has this too - just look at the first two thumbnails on my website if you have time! Lots of plastic card and superglue went in there! You're absolutely right it crosses panel lines in very inconvenient places!

2) I forgot about that! The 1/48 is exactly the same. Long ridges need to be cleaned up the length of the fuselage halves at the top 'corner' of the intakes...that was not fun either!

Jon

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Jon - thats a Damn fine model!

Just been reading your website too - what a great site!

Whats your opinion on the Tu2 from Xuntong then?

cheers

Jonners

Why, thank you sir!

Don't really have an opinion on the accuracy Tu-2. As a piece of plastic moulding it is an utter masterpiece, and the instructions (except for rubbishy painting guide) are superb. The nose is well off. I'll see what others say about accuracy as time passes.

When it comes to Trumpeter, Hobby Boss, Xuntong, etc., I can currently forgive a fair amount because they are dirt, dirt cheap in China; makes it much less painful when one discovers the many errors in some of these kits. I mean, when the 1/48 J-10s are less than £10, who can complain? (Actually, I've not seen any complaints on the J-10s...)

Jon

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Sorry to hear about the damage, but at least you have a fine set of pics to show. I hope you can reconstruct it as you did a beautiful job.

Is the Flagon the ancestor of the J8B? I've just picked up the 1/48 kit for that which is huge, and even shipped from HK is a terrific bargain. No idea about the accuracy, mind, but what I don't know probably won't hurt me...

Will

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Is the Flagon the ancestor of the J8B? I've just picked up the 1/48 kit for that which is huge, and even shipped from HK is a terrific bargain. No idea about the accuracy, mind, but what I don't know probably won't hurt me...

Will

Thank you Will.

Your question about the J-8 is interesting. I have the Trumpeter kit too (I paid less than £15, so it is a bargain!). At the end of my build article I almost mentioned it because configurationally and dimensionally the J-8 and Su-15 are very similar: big noses, side intakes, large fin, tailed delta wings, twin side-by-side engines, and so forth. But according to all the experts, the J-8 is descended from the MiG-21, not the Su-15. I don't doubt that's true, but it is surprising because, to my eyes, the similarities between the J-8 and Su-15 are far more than with the MiG-21.

At least the J-8 won't need a silver finish!

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I think we covered this elsewhere.......

The original J8 was, essentially, a scaled-up MiG-21 with twin engines....

day01_006.jpg

day01_007.jpg

day02_011.jpg

It then evolved into the J8 II - with side intakes and nose radome....... (aircraft in background)...

day02_064.jpg

The latest variant is the J8-F.........

day06_012.jpg

Its development parallels the Su-15 in that the Flagon 'evolved' from the Su-9/11 - with their nose intakes and single engines.

In order to accomodate a biger radome, Sukhoi engineers opted for side intakes and twin engines - the Su-15.

Ken

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That is one mean looking plane. I've never studied one before but the wings look so small in comparison to the fuselage, I amazed it ever stayed in the air! Beautifully painted.

James

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Wow! I love the craftsmanship and the finish - realistically weathered and not overdone. I was sorry to hear about your nappy incident - if you have small children it's a wonder you get to do any modelling at all!

I think the Su-15 has a certain purposefulness about it. I have built the The PM version (it was cheap on ebay, and its my only jet), and I bought the A-model kit to do it properly some day. The PM was an enjoyable stress buster, but it looks like you can choose between engineering and dodgy accuracy (Trumpeter) or accuracy and the joy of short-run (A-Model).

But this is a really nicely done plane. I hope it fixes up well...

Regards,

Adrian

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