1/48th Suhkoi Su-7BKL Fitter A x 2 - completed!

[Arniec]

I like it!!! I wouldn't change the painting. it looks very good to me.

O, I don't know if you have noticed the two big sinkmarks on your ailerons on the bottom side (see last picture)

Cheers,

[trickyrich]

I hadn't noticed really either until i painted it..... They'll need filling, if I had spotted it earlier I would have re-skinned them!

[mirageiv]

More lovely work again Rich, the detail and accuracy you are putting into the parts is outstanding. The surface detail in the kit is better than what I thought, looks like it conveys the rough and ready construction of Russian jets pretty darn well. Couldn't agree more on using Alclad or some sort of metalizer paints as a 'checker' for seams etc..they may not fill anything but show up every little thing that needs sorting. I never understood why people prime in black colours in order to show up problem areas, for my eyes at least, it always hides them more!

Look forward to the camo paint,

David.

Edited June 4, 2016 by mirageiv

[trickyrich]

Thanks for the nice comments David.

I don't think Alclad goes on as nicely as the Testors lacquer, but you are right, for checking seem quality, and everything else, you can't go past it! Black and those grey primers actually do hide some of the flaws you can get I find, while the lovely aluminium finish shows absolutely everything! Plus I like to have a base of aluminium much like the real thing as I do like to chip up/wear the paint work on most of my builds. Am not a fan of factory fresh finishes, they rarely stay like that for long!

Though strangely enough I'm scared of NMF for my builds but if you look at each one of them, they all start as a NMF! I do though have to give the whole thing a coat of Metalizer sealer else the top acrylic coats come off a bit too easy!

[SoftScience]

That looks so great! Its giving me second thoughts about attempting the model in 1/72, as its so majestic in a bigger scale.

[trickyrich]

That looks so great! Its giving me second thoughts about attempting the model in 1/72, as its so majestic in a bigger scale.

Yeah 1/48th is so much easier to do serious modification work in that 1/72nd I find.Either way you just have to build one of these, they're such an awesome looking aircraft, real "heavy metal" in the aviation world!

Another day and some more work, actually it has been raining here in Sydney non-stop for the late two days. Up the north coast we’ve had over 14’ of rain which is quite unusual at this time of the year….or at anytime, least it hasn’t been cold!

Anyway the dungeon has been nice and dry so work has continued. First off all the problem areas were sanded back again before filling. Once everything had dried it was all sanded back again…..

…….. this time everything looked much better once a coat of Aluminium Lacquer was applied, this stuff dries so quickly and the finished is awesome. Once down a coat of Testors (Model Master) Metalizer Sealer was applied to lock it all down.

While this was all curing I painted the undercarriage grey before a coat of clear lacquer, everything is now ready for final detailing. The wheels have also been painted, they’ve since had the tyres painted as well. These too are already for final detailing.

The JATO’s are also painted at the same time and a ready for final painting/detailing.

Main painting time, the panel lines were painted with a mid-grey along the panel lines for pre-shading.

Looks like a dead fish at the moment!

Next up the underside colour of H67, or RLM 76, which is very close to, the actual colour required.

What a difference some colour makes!! Unfortunately the photo doesn’t show the panels line very well at all, they are quite subtle and she just looks so awesome with some colour!!!

I should have the paint job finished tomorrow, which I will leave until net week to cure. The second build has had all the filling work sanded back with some minor re-touching done. With luck I should have most of the bodywork done on it before I head back to work on Tuesday as well.

[trickyrich]

Another very productive day today, all the major painting has been completed on the first build and I even managed to get some touch-up work done as well. The second beast has been sanded back and all the filling work is pretty much done on her.

First up the painting. The underside was all masked up and the panel lines were pre-shaded with dark brown paint. First coat on was Mr Hobby acrylic Tan (the rest are all the same type), which is a gloss, the other colours are a mix of gloss or semi-gloss! It's strange that they aren't matt, I'm not too use to using gloss paints, though they go on nicely!.

Once that was nice and dry I masked off the tan areas and continued with the next colour. This is aircraft has a 4 colour upper surface, a bit similar to the Soviet ones of the same era. When the Czechoslovakian Su-7s were initially camouflaged they had just a two colour scheme of Brown & Dark Green, the later 4 colour scheme added Tan & Dark Brown to the pattern.

Of cause once all the colours had been laid down I couldn’t what to see how it looked. There were a few bits that needed touching up (and were done) but the finish was pretty good. It was very Tan and a check of the scheme showed I was off in the patterns in quite a few places. There was no standard pattern for these aircraft and there appears to be quite some variation from aircraft to aircraft (from the photo’s I’ve found). Some of the demarcation lines were relatively soft while others were almost razor sharp. So some quite remarking up of the new pattern and on with some masks.

This time I got it right, still quite a lot of Tan but much closer to the scheme in the Eduard instructions.

(for some strange reason PhotoBucket keeps changing the size of the images displayed, even thought they're all the same pixel width!!!......anyway)

I will let her sit now until next week to cure as the paint is still quite soft and all I’m doing at the moment is leaving finger prints everywhere!! I’ve just got some minor spots to fix up (and remove some finger prints) but that’s super easy to sort out. Once that’s done a clear coat will hold it all together. The finish great, a little bit patchy in places, but that is part of the effect I’m after. She desperately need to have her panels lines done as she looks very flat at the moment, that’ll make a world of difference plus I need to fade down the paint work a little bit as well. Plus a clear Matt coat will help as well, gloss and camouflage just doesn't work! So plenty to do next week, but the end is in sight for this one, though there is still quite a bit of work to be done!.

And the two troublemakers together, #2’s bodywork is pretty much done, so I need to finish up the cockpit so I can close it up. This one has the closed up canopy as the PE interior is pretty rubbish if I may say so, when compared to the resin one. The camouflage for this one (It’s a Soviet aircraft) is Pale Stone/Brown/Light Green/Green in almost a “Jelly Bean” pattern, this will be a nightmare to mask!

Plus two quick things, this arrived today in the mail for one of the Su-17’s, Brass Pitot tubes with resin vanes!!! They’re just so delicate!

Plus this site is a must for anyone building a non-Soviet Su-7. It has photos for just about everyone built plus in and out of service dates and if was writtenoff or not and when.

http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/FitterFixed.html

[CliffB]

Nice to see some colour on Rich.

Cliff

[modelling minion]

Very nice indeed Rich.

It's certainly a different colour scheme, makes a change from the NMF or green+brown which are usually associated with these a/c.

Looking at the pictures on the website link you posted makes me wonder if it would be possible to build an Su-7U Moujik from the new Trumpeter Su-9U with the wings from this kit, that would make for an interesting model (not that your Su-7's aren't interesting!).

Craig.

[franky boy]

Great to see some paint on one of these two Rich.

They'll make a eye catching pair in the display cabinet.

James

[RMP2]

Very nice and pretty.

You didnt forget to catch the upper airbrakes with the camo did you?

[noeyedears]

Very attractive camo scheme

[mirageiv]

Very very nice, I like the extra effort in the differing camo demarcations, that IS proper attention to detail! Which thinner did you use with the Gunze paints? Had some bad issues myself with the paint using the Levelling thinner, seemed to stop finger marks after about a week but then went crazy under Tamiya masking tape 2 weeks later! Not sure if the regular Mr.color thinner would have those issues though, soon to try it and see

[trickyrich]

thanks guys, the paint job still seems a bit weird being patchy glossy!

Very nice indeed Rich.

It's certainly a different colour scheme, makes a change from the NMF or green+brown which are usually associated with these a/c.

Looking at the pictures on the website link you posted makes me wonder if it would be possible to build an Su-7U Moujik from the new Trumpeter Su-9U with the wings from this kit, that would make for an interesting model (not that your Su-7's aren't interesting!).

Craig.

Thanks, just wait till you see the Soviet one, it's complete different looking in it's 2 green/ 2 brown "jelly bean" sort of pattern! As much as they'd have looked awesome done in NMF, there's just way too much work needed to get the surface right, and I'm really not that patient!

To be honest I hadn't really looked at the Su-7U (too busy with what i've got), it probably would be a good place to start. I do know there was an AM kit available to convert mine into a two seater, plus there is one for the Su-17/22 as well. Very very rare and frightening expensive, I got into a bidding war on evilBay with one (1/48th Su-17/22U. I bailed as it got way to expensive for me (got so carried away I bid $100USD!!!), it ended up going for near double that!

The Su-7U would be a doable mod and these OZE models are so cheap on evilBay.

For me I'm planning a new addition to my Su-17/22 family (I have a 17M3 and have a 17&22M4 in the schedule), either with one I already have or another cheap one, I'm going to have a go at building an Su-22M3. For those that don't know, this model had a completely different engine than the 17M3 or the 17/22M4's (they had the Lyulka AL-21 while the 22M3 had the Tumansky R-29). The fuselage shape was quite different around the R-29 engine, quite a bit fatter and from memory a wee bit shorter around the exhaust area. It's an option on all the 1/48th Su-17M3 models but the difference are so great it's really not worth the effort of building one straight from the box. Currently (there never has been one) there are no conversion kits available to do this so if I can do it nicely than plan to make up some resin conversion parts. ut for the moment this is some way off........maybe!

Very nice and pretty.

You didnt forget to catch the upper airbrakes with the camo did you?

I haven't actually painted up the airbrakes yet, the same goes with the gear covers and wheel wells. Once to final top coat is on it's just a quick masking job to paint and detail them. Plus the airbrakes even though they are PE are a bit on the fragile side

Very very nice, I like the extra effort in the differing camo demarcations, that IS proper attention to detail! Which thinner did you use with the Gunze paints? Had some bad issues myself with the paint using the Levelling thinner, seemed to stop finger marks after about a week but then went crazy under Tamiya masking tape 2 weeks later! Not sure if the regular Mr.color thinner would have those issues though, soon to try it and see

I must say I have had some mixed results with Gunze acrylics, I really prefer Tamiya's, those paints are bulletproof and lay on so nicely. I've never used levelling thinner (or even retarder for that matter), I only use Isopropyl Alcohol for thinning all my acrylics except for LifeColor, that stuff goes super weird if you try to thin it with alcohol, water only in that case. And I'm probably a bit heavy handed with the alcohol as well (and with thinning too ), so I like to airbrush with quite a thin mixture. I do notice though that the Gunze paint does take a bit longer to touch dry and really needs a couple of day to cure, whist the Tamiya stuff is just about dry straight away.

I would try as an experiment thinning only with alcohol and see how you go. I sort of rushed things a bit yesterday, hence the finger prints, plus there is a slight reaction (or discolouration) where the Blutac and masking solution was. But this all disappears once the clear coats go on, so I'm not too concerned there. Just with drying overnight I can tell the paint is a lot tougher. Hope this waffling helps!

[Skids]

This is great Rich, I keep popping in and rereading all your posts instead of getting on with my Lightning!

[trickyrich]

Well it seems like ages since I’ve updated this or even done any work on them! Well I have managed to get quite a lot done in the past two days and am ever edging closer to finishing the first one.

So first up the beast was given a clear gloss coat to help protect the finish (not that it helps too much) as it’s quite fragile. Then the decals, the OZE ones are quite thick but unfortunately they are all I have, that said they go on quite nicely and are very tough. All the smaller incidental markings are from a MiG-21 decal set, as the OZE ones are really bad. Then the first of the panel line washes, in total there have been three so far.

She doesn’t look too bad, the gloss clear coat helped even up the finish quite nicely and the washes help break the flatness of the finish. The wheel wells and air brakes were masked off and painted. As soon as I’ve done the wheel wells and air brakes everything will be given a coat of flat clear.

The undercarriage and wheels are pretty much done, just some final detailing to be finished.

The weapons and RATO pods are pretty much done as well, the RN-28 Tactical Nuc. For the Soviet one is nearly complete as well….looks so harmless!

I’ve started working on the canopy, being VacForm it needed a little bit of work so as they fit correctly. There are about 20 odd bits to go on both pieces which will not be fun, but should look awesome once done.

So this is how she looks at the moment, still very shiny, once the dull coat is on I can then play around with the finish a bit more plus all the engine a hydraulic leaks etc will help achieve the look I’m after.

The Tac Nuc is just for show, this the Czech version will have the 240mm rockets, these two photos show the two different configs I’ll have, the Soviet one with just the two drop tanks and the RN-28.

I’m hoping to have the second one ready for painting before I head back to work on Tuesday, and time permitting I may even get to do some work on the Dora as well!

[whitestar12chris]

looking very nice Rich, a pleasure as always to watch.

All the best Chris

[trickyrich]

As the title says more detailing today.

The air brakes and wheel wells were given a wash then highlighted and the exhaust area was painted up as well….had a slight mishap here I managed to destroy the PE detail bit as I was refitted the exhaust can! Unfortunately it’s beyond repair but really it’s not something you’d really notice, just some nice extra details. So I’ll just to repaint that area and be done with it.

Finished off the weapons, the S-24 rockets painted and decaled before a clear a clear flat coat, the SR-28 was finished off as well.

The RATO’s are now completed, I replaced, well they had fallen off, the rear mounting pins with metal ones instead of plastic, so they are much stronger.

The front mounts and details as mentioned are a bit…….of artistic license as I just can’t find any detailed photos of them. I will leave as is unless someone has photos of the Su-7 RATOs/mounts, MiG-21 one ones are easy to find but quite different, the Su-7 ones are like hens teeth or rocking horse ____!!!!!

Next up was the undercarriage, they were glued in place before new arms were fitted. The front arms of the units were way too thick so replacements were made, plus as they were originally moulded they won’t have sat correctly and just looked wrong.

Next up was the main actuators for the main gear, again these were way to over scale and again weren’t right. I’ve made up new ones out of plastic rod & sheet. They’re a bit rough now, but once they have dried overnight I’ll tidy them up and fit, already they are much closer in looks to the real thing.

That said parts of the nose gear assembly were also wrong as well, again over scale and too short this time, so I have started making up new bits for that as well.

The secondary support strut in the nose gear was poorly moulded and out of shape, with it in a pin vice I carefully reshaped it. It looks much better now and surprisingly no longer over scale as well.

The gear should be all finished tomorrow which will be nice as I’ve pretty much had to rebuild the whole lot! Once that’s done I’ll give the beast a coat of flat clear and then start on the final finish and weathering. I’m leaving the canopy to last as it’s the scariest part, VacForm canopy with resin & PE bits!! Not looking forward to that!

I should be very close to finishing her by the time I head back to work. Plus I have just ordered new Brass Pitot probes a cannon barrels from Master Models. Fixing the Eduard PE bits to the kit probe is just not worth the effort and frustration and the Master stuff is just so lovely!

[modelling minion]

More excellent work Rich.

The weapons look really good and they are really going to add to the look of the finished aircraft.

[mirageiv]

Really enjoying this build and again another excellent update, the details and painting are all insane (the good type )!

Really like the nuke load too and they do look deceptively innocent to the unaware!

Edited June 18, 2016 by mirageiv

[Antoine]

An english word above excellent?

I'm out of words...

[trickyrich]

Thanks for the comments, it's always nice to receive them and they are greatly appreciated and I'm glad you're all enjoying this build, I'm absolutely loving it....though I won't try to build two together again, it's just to time consuming!

Ok I’m still detailing but am almost finally finished, have put away the plastic sheet and strips so hopefully no more! Not too much to show as what I have been doing was a bit time consuming plus I had other things to do today.

The main gear and wells are pretty much finished so I can finally give her a clear coat on Matt, then we’ll finally get to see what she looks like. I still plan on doing more weathering etc, but it’s pretty much done.

I ended up making new actuators for the air brakes as the kit ones, like everything else are way over scale and don’t fit.

Actually even the new ones won’t fit correctly, the problem is with the depth of the air brakes housings in the fuselage, they are too shallow. The Cutting Edge resin ones for the Su-17/22 are very similar and quite a bit deeper as on the real beast. These Eduard PE replacements are only as deep as the fuselage is thick. I should have shimmed them to make them deeper…oh well next time. As mentioned earlier these air brakes will be open but without hydraulics, so I planned to have them sagging a bit, the top ones will be almost closed the lowers almost completely open. I’ve seen just a couple of photos of them in this configuration, it’s quite uncommon, but they look so different from the usual closed or open, so that’ll do me!

While all this was going on I also started on the nose gear assembly, the nose assembly with wheel is complete (have to add some hoses but that’s all), the retraction strut is done. So all that was left was the lower actuator arm. Again the kit part was pretty horrible even after I had slimmed it down a lot, it still looked nothing like the real one. So there was nothing to do but build a new one, so some plastic strip and some glue and this is what I came up with.

Looks much better, you don’t get to see too much in the nose wheel well but it can be seen. I had to chop a small bit off either side at the base so it would fit in the mounts (I should have really ground them out…..but forgot!). All that’s left to do is make a new mount on the main part of the gear, it’s completely missing on the kit.

I’ve started on the canopy, there are lots of resin and PE bits involved with this as well as a vacfrom canopy. Though it can’t be seen at the moment the front section of the canopy has the extra resin an PE bits added to the inside of it. The masks are a 2 part set, the first is for the interior colour with black on top for the window rubber, the next set are slightly larger. So once the main camouflage colours are painted and they are removed you should have a fine black line around the windows to represent the rubber………well we shall see!!! (I can see myself with a fine black pen redoing it!!)

These are part of the canopy ducting for the main canopy, not looking forward to finally fitting them.

Well that’s it for this update, not too much to show. Tomorrow the main job will be the matt clear coat, once that’s settled down the U/C covers will go on. Things still look set for her to be finish next break, then full steam ahead for #2!

[RMP2]

Looks like a winner does this.

Regards the window seal rubbers, sure its fiddly, but if I can manage it Im damn sure you can and it sets things off nicely -

[trickyrich]

Looks like a winner does this.

Regards the window seal rubbers, sure its fiddly, but if I can manage it Im damn sure you can and it sets things off nicely -

I hope so, my main concern is that I'm painting acrylic paint onto vacform acetate, not the best recipe for good paint adhesion!!

[trickyrich]

Well I can finally say this will be the last update with photos before she, #1 is finished!

Got a lots of the fiddly bits done today.

The nose gear is in place and pretty much finished now. There were a couple of accumulators missing from the nose gear, so these were added and plumbing. It’s still a bit bare but at least she is now much closer to the original than she was! I may still add a wee be here, plus I need to add the nose gear doors and bits!

The canopy is now painted so I just have to assemble all the bits, that’s nearly a days worth of work there, and finish any wear n tear I want to add.

The main gear covers are now on….what a pain that was!!!! All I will say is, all is not what is seems….and that’s all I’ll say on the subject. Other then of cause nothing fitted as usual and the Eduard PE new bits didn’t help one bit!!!

The RATO’s are now fitted, one of the wee pins on the back of them went walkabout, a replacement was brought into service and all is good again.

The drop tanks I have to admit are complete crap! The join lines are almost impossible to get ride of unless you want the tanks to be oval! So I’ll pick the best 2 and try to get them up to standard for the Soviet Nuc. version. This baby will have a pair of rocket pods instead, not a common configuration but just right for all those pesky NATO tanks!

So that’s it, now more updates (photo’s that is) for this beasty until the final one in two weeks time. So this is how she looks at the moment with the canopies just sitting there and the weapons held in place with Blu-Tac. The Air Brakes are in their final positions, paint and weathering is nearly completed. Pitot probes and cannons on the way, plus I have to build the ladder. I may have to replace the nose serial numbers as those ones are horrible, they are just so thin and are starting to silver up!!! No big drama just a pain in the ar#e to fix!

I’m really happy with how she looks, though while I’m away for the next week I’ll review how she looks…..don’t be too surprised if I change a couple of things. Oh and I’ve started work on #2’s canopy plus may do some work on her tomorrow.