1/72 SU22 Sukhoi

[Catbird]

Can anyone give me the info on the different kits and boxings of the SU22. I need to know whats best and what to avoid, who reboxed whos moulding, etc. I want to do a Polish or German test Fitter.

[charlie_c67]

Think the best currently around is the Modelsvit one, but I believe it's a short run one cos I'm trying to find one myself!

[tonywood]

The Modelsvit one is an excellent kit but is for the earlier Su17 before the fuselage was re-designed. My plan is for a Pantera fuselage with Modelsvit wings.

[HP42]

Dredging this thread up from 5 years ago, any thoughts on the best kit for this model? Any to avoid? 

[Giorgio N]

47 minutes ago, HP42 said:

Dredging this thread up from 5 years ago, any thoughts on the best kit for this model? Any to avoid? 

Not much has changed over these 5 years. Modelsvit still offers the very best 1/72 Su-17s on the market by a wide margin and they are great kits. However I don't think that they have issued a Su-22 yet. Whenever this will happen, they will be the best choice... expensive but worth it.

At the moment the choice is between the Bilek/Italeri kits and the many reboxes of the Pantera kit (Smer, Mastercraft, ZTS, Akkura, Eastern Express...). The Italeri kit is generally better moulded, some aspects are not the most accurate (the canopy is one) and it's not a recent kit but sure wins in terms of overall quality over the other options. The problem is that only represents the Su-22M4 variant, fine if this is the one you want but not if you want a different variant. They also do a two seater if you like them.

The Pantera reboxes include several other variants but IIRC the rear end of the fuselage is the same for all.. and this is not correct as the M2 and M3 differed from the M4 (and the Su-17s) because of a different engine. The rear fuselage is a bit of a mix between the various types but is more similar to the R29 engined variant (Su-22M2 and M3) These kits are  pretty crude but today standard, and honestly also by the standard of their day (mid '90s).

There is another kit that can be found if searching around and is the Hobbycraft kit. I've never seen one but who did told me to avoid it.

So what would I suggest at the moment ? If you just want a model of an aircraft from this family, get any of the Modelsvit kits. Of course if you are happy to pay the price.. you'll get a Su-17 instead of a Su-22 of course.

If you really want a Su-22 because you don't like Soviet markings and prefer something different, or you don't want to pay Modelsvit prices, the Italeri kit is probably the best option (ok, it's a Bilek kit but the Italeri box is the easiest to find). Some areas would benefit from some extra detail and some parts are not the most accurate but there are plenty of aftermarket sets available and with some work (ok, a lot of work...) can be made into a great model.

If you really want to build one of the R29 powered variants and don't want to do surgery on the Italeri kit, you can start from the Pantera reboxes. These need much more work than the Italeri kit. The same aftermarket sets can of course be used to enhance the detail level but they would also need a lot of rescribing. They have one advantage though: they are generally very cheap. Very ! I've seen mastercraft branded boxes selling for a fiver.

[Hook]

4 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

There is another kit that can be found if searching around and is the Hobbycraft kit. I've never seen one but who did told me to avoid it.

I can confirm from person experience that the Hobbycraft makes the Pantera looks *great*.

[CT7567]

KiIn addition to the Modelsvit, Italeri/Bilek, Pantera/etc, and Hobbycraft kits, there is also a relatively little-known injection molded Fitter from a company called Griffon that represents the Su-22M "Fitter J."  I haven't done a detailed review of this kit for accuracy, but the general impression is better than Hobbycraft or Pantera but not as good as Modelsvit or Bilek.  Panel lines are raised, dry fit of major parts suggests some fit issues, but this does give you an export (R29 engined) Fitter "out of the box."

 

Scalemates Griffon Su-22 Fitter J

 

Concerning the Hobbycraft Fitter, it's worth noting that they actually produced both a single-seat "Suchoi [sic] Su-22 Fitter F" and a two-seat "Su-22U Fitter E."  The Fitter F model is crude (even accounting for the relative scarcity of data on WARPAC types when it was produced), but it does capture the general features of the variant it's meant to depict - notably the bulged R29 rear fuselage, and the undernose doppler fairing (shared with the Soviet Su-17M2 "Fitter D"). 

 

By contrast, the Su-22U kit seems to be a mishmash of the single-seater's wings and fuselage with a bizarre canopy seemingly based on the first generation (fixed-wing) trainers, known to NATO as "Moujik."

 

A company called Leoman produced resin kits of the Su-22 and Su-22U that seem to be based on the same patterns as the Hobbycraft kits (I believe the Leoman kits were released earlier). Scalemates show "Fitter D" and "Fitter J" variants were also produced by Leoman, which I have not seen to evaluate.

 

Scalemates - Leoman Su-22 Fitter F

[modelldoc]

Here for all, a Hobbycraft Fitter with new markings from the Peru Air Force:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21603181@N08/13383337333/in/photolist-moD6Vp

 

modelldoc

[HP42]

On 4/22/2020 at 1:56 PM, Giorgio N said:

Not much has changed over these 5 years. Modelsvit still offers the very best 1/72 Su-17s on the market by a wide margin and they are great kits. However I don't think that they have issued a Su-22 yet. Whenever this will happen, they will be the best choice... expensive but worth it.

At the moment the choice is between the Bilek/Italeri kits and the many reboxes of the Pantera kit (Smer, Mastercraft, ZTS, Akkura, Eastern Express...). The Italeri kit is generally better moulded, some aspects are not the most accurate (the canopy is one) and it's not a recent kit but sure wins in terms of overall quality over the other options. The problem is that only represents the Su-22M4 variant, fine if this is the one you want but not if you want a different variant. They also do a two seater if you like them.

The Pantera reboxes include several other variants but IIRC the rear end of the fuselage is the same for all.. and this is not correct as the M2 and M3 differed from the M4 (and the Su-17s) because of a different engine. The rear fuselage is a bit of a mix between the various types but is more similar to the R29 engined variant (Su-22M2 and M3) These kits are  pretty crude but today standard, and honestly also by the standard of their day (mid '90s).

There is another kit that can be found if searching around and is the Hobbycraft kit. I've never seen one but who did told me to avoid it.

So what would I suggest at the moment ? If you just want a model of an aircraft from this family, get any of the Modelsvit kits. Of course if you are happy to pay the price.. you'll get a Su-17 instead of a Su-22 of course.

If you really want a Su-22 because you don't like Soviet markings and prefer something different, or you don't want to pay Modelsvit prices, the Italeri kit is probably the best option (ok, it's a Bilek kit but the Italeri box is the easiest to find). Some areas would benefit from some extra detail and some parts are not the most accurate but there are plenty of aftermarket sets available and with some work (ok, a lot of work...) can be made into a great model.

If you really want to build one of the R29 powered variants and don't want to do surgery on the Italeri kit, you can start from the Pantera reboxes. These need much more work than the Italeri kit. The same aftermarket sets can of course be used to enhance the detail level but they would also need a lot of rescribing. They have one advantage though: they are generally very cheap. Very ! I've seen mastercraft branded boxes selling for a fiver.

Great advice Georgio, many thanks. I think the Italeri kit is probably the way to go. The Modelsvit version looks very pricey after a quick trawl around the web. It's for my son, he's into Russian stuff and builds things far better than I do!

[HP42]

Thanks CT and Modelldoc, some great info there! 😀👍

[RidgeRunner]

Modelsvit every time. No doubt. The only problem is the lack of M4 variant available. I have a M3 in the pile and it is superb. I have built the SMER with aftermarket and that can be almost made in to a decent model but it takes some fiddling. Good luck!

 

Martin

 

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Edited April 23, 2020 by RidgeRunner