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

[trickyrich]

thanks guys, she was a fairly intensive build but hugely enjoyable. If I could find another resin cockpit i'd be very tempted to build another one, maybe a BMK version this time!

I managed to get quite a lot of work done one #2 the day before I headed back to work. Sorry no photos, I sort of got into the groove that day and didn't stop for photos....or anything really!

The air brakes will be closed on this one but when fitted in the close position there were huge gaps around them, no surprise there. These were filled with super glue and sanded back, once that was done they were re-scribed, I ended up going over most of the panels doing this plus redoing rivets as well.

I made the decision early on to not get too involved in main wheel wells of this one, so I've just tidied them up a bit so at least they sort of look right. To go any further I'd have to put holes in the fuselage which is something I don't want to do!

All the new Quickboost intakes have been fitted and well as the new Pitot probe mount....remembered to do it early this time!

I've almost finished sorting out the shape of the elevators, it was a lot harder to do this time as I had forgotten how I did it the first time!!! Anyway they're almost done, this time they'll be in their horizontal position.

I have painted Sergei and his seat, he's looking a bit blue/green at the moment (cockpit colour), I would too if I was sitting i a plastic container with a Tactical Nuc beside me!! Once he's been given a coat of clear then I start painting him, haven't painted a figure for many years....this will be interesting!

I don't have to worry about any of the details behind the ejector seat as the canopy shroud hides all this area. So once Sergei and seat are done I can close up the cockpit.

I'm hoping to get the aluminum undercoat on by Friday, so there's a good chance I'll finish painting her this next break!

I'm planning to have this one in the up and running and ready for taxiing, so I have opened up the Inlet doors as they should be with the engine running on the ground. I'm going to try and make a few accessories to go with the ladder, just to try and make it look a wee bit realistic.............well that's the plan, we'll just have to see how she turns out.

[trickyrich]

Well back to this never ending project! Well this update is an update of the last update but with photos this time……plus a new distraction!

As mentioned the airbrakes are sorted….

…it took quite a bit of super glue to fill these canyons but it did the trick and the panel lines have also been done.

For the really clever lot you may notice a rather bad boo boo in this one, I didn’t realize the mistake until yesterday but it has been fixed now.

The main wheel wells actually don’t look too bad at all just with this minor modification, I have since tidied this area up even further. I just need to add some additional details and its finished.

Here is the original and the fully modified (well it was nearly done in this photo).

The new pitot probe mount.

The seat and headless Sergei, she sits a bit low in the cockpit so I’ll have to add some spaces to lift it up to the correct height. I have since applied a wash to the seat, I now just have to do the highlights and detailing then I can start on Sergei. I’m going to try an pose him in the “ready to launch” position….or the “Cr@p I’m sitting on a Nuc and I want to run away” position, will see how it turns out!

Because I only had one exterior detail set I’m forced to make some of those details for this one. The pylon/weapon mounts are one, I’ve made these up with plastic strip. They don’t look that bad actually and are/will be much easier to work with than the PE one. I’ve done the same for the rear RATO mounts as well.

This was waiting for me when I got home, I know this is totally off subject but it is so awesome I just had to show her off.

She’s a 1/35^th G6 "Rhino" Self-Propelled 155mm Howitzer, made in South Africa in the late 80’s (hmmm it may be a little bit too far south to be eligible!!) and is considered to be one of the finest weapons systems of it’s type ever produced! This resin model is produced by a small company in South Africa and is amazing, with fully detailed interior. The detailing is wonderful though a wee bit patchy in places but that’s easy to fix.

Out of a scale of 1 – 10 for difficulty she’d rate a 7, not a first timers project, but if you have a few under your belt it would be fine. The only unfortunate thing is I bought the last one! The owner reckons he’ll be producing the next batch later in the year! Now just waiting for him to produce a Rooikat 105 or ZA-35!

I’m so tempted to abandon some of my other projects to build this!!!!! Well once I've finish this one anyway!

[mirageiv]

Very nice work again Rich, amazing the kinda gaps superglue will fill! I vote also for 'Crap, I'm sat on a nuke position!' for the pilot, not sure if the visor hinders painting a similar expression on his face though Cool howitzer too (sorry not the foggiest about tank things!)

[trickyrich]

Very nice work again Rich, amazing the kinda gaps superglue will fill! I vote also for 'Crap, I'm sat on a nuke position!' for the pilot, not sure if the visor hinders painting a similar expression on his face though Cool howitzer too (sorry not the foggiest about tank things!)

I have almost finished painting Sergei and I have to admit I'm hopeless at it!! He really does now have the look of someone strapped to a Nuc with a couple of rockets attached....wearing lipstick!

Anyway lots of progress on her and will have a big update tonight.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Step away from the Rhino!

If nothing else it doesn't look like the sort of kit that would have a big tolerance for being rushed at!

[trickyrich]

ok this update seems to be all about Sergei, so here goes.

As mentioned early I’m absolutely rubbish at painting figures, a perfect example is Sergei……who looks like he arrived home after a big night in the cross, mascara and lipstick everywhere! Anyway….

Get out of there Sergei and go to bed!!

The new seat is much better than the OEZ/Eduard hybrid which looks rubbish!

In place the Quickboost seat looks so much better. I also added some detail behind the seat as even with the canopy in place to looked a bit bare!

The ROTA’s I did a wee bit different from the first on, I found it much easier to pin the pods, the rear mounts are made of scrap plastic sheet, where is the other were from PE. They seem to fit a bit better this time.

I’ve added the heat plate to the top of the exhaust as well.

Well finally Sergei is in place and feeling a bit better today, he’s managed to loose the lipstick and mascara and seems a wee bit happier. Little does he know he’ll be sitting on a rocket with a Nuc attached….maybe he should have stayed out longer in the cross!!! With the canopy on (this is the open one I’ll be fitting the closed one) no one can hear you scream!!

Well that’s it time for the undercoat.

It looks really good in the photo….but boy does a metallic show up all the issues!!

So after re-scribing, filling, and sanding back she’s ready.

I do have to say her profile is amazing, such a sleek looking beast! With a proper radome and side intakes she would be a looker!!

Well by this time tomorrow I should have the underside one as well as at least two of the top colours. I can’t wait to see her in her final colours!

[modelling minion]

Looking really good Rich.

Your figure painting is a lot better than mine, I think you've done Sergei proud.

[whitestar12chris]

Lovely job Rich, great cockpit and sergei.

Chris

[franky boy]

Looking good Rich.

You mentioned at the top of this page about finding another resin cockpit. The big H now have them in stick for this kit. Just a quick heads up but you're probably getting sick of the sight of SU-7's by now.

James

[trickyrich]

Looking good Rich.

You mentioned at the top of this page about finding another resin cockpit. The big H now have them in stick for this kit. Just a quick heads up but you're probably getting sick of the sight of SU-7's by now.

James

Thanks for that, I know where I'm off to after this! You never get tired of these beasts, I'd like to do one more, may be a BMK version this time as I have some of the AM stuff already.

Well painting day today finally and an aweful lot of masking as well!!

The lower surfaces are painted Lt. Blue and look great, the initial top colour Stone nearly ended in disaster! I was thinning all the colours down with alcohol when I came to my brand new jar of Hr Hobby Stone, when I added the alcohol the paint went all funny, really unusual actually. I tried to stir it when I realised what I'd done. I'd bough enamel paint by mistake! After much cursing and muttering I made a quick dash into the city. Those that know Sydney would know this is not a quick task in the middle of the day!

Anyway got the right paint this time plus heaps of stuff I really didn't need to buy.

So the Stone is on, she looks great, quite pale though. Then a couple of hours of masking with Blu Tac and masking tape and the brown is done. Now it looks like a weird desert colour scheme!

I'll let it all cure overnight then I'll mash and shoot the Mid Green and with luck I might even get a chance to mask and shoot the Dk. Green as well!

I'm hoping to get all the painting done before I go back to work, that way on my next break I can finish her off....well that's the plan.

I did take photos but it's too late to sort them out and I want to go to bed......after some shopping!

[trickyrich]

Just a really quick update with the photo’s I forgot.

As mentioned after about the third attempt I finally had a surface I was happy with, so time for my usual wiggly pre-shade lines then on to painting.

First up the underside, no masking required here. I use a really thinned down mix where I can, this allows me more control over the layers of paint. Doing it this way I don’t really need to stop between coats, as by the time I’ve finish the first coat I can start the next. Plus keeping it really thin means I don’t have clogged nozzles to worry about either and the high alcohol/paint mix means it dries super quick once it’s on.

I’m really happy with the blue so on to the first top colour, Stone.

This did need some masking but only to protect the underside colour. Again multiple coats of super thin paint.

The finish is quite patchy but there is a lot of colour to go on and that will tone it down a lot!

Now the second colour and masking!!!

There’s about two hours worth of masking with tape and Blu Tac, add to this I have to do it twice more and you can see this is a complex colour scheme, now second only to that I did for the “Splinter MiG”. I don’t trust my freehand work so masking it is….for now!

The joys of Gunze Aqueous paints, the required colours are either Semi-Gloss or Matt…why can’t they just be Matt! It looks really weird with the shiny brown, more so without the masks.

So that’s where I left it last night looking quite strange in a weird desert camo scheme!

Ok this morning more masking ready for the third colour, Mid-Green. Now all the patterns have to line up, not fun, it will be even worse with the 4^th colour.

Ok that colour looks better.

It’s quite hard to tell, even with the masks off but I have also applied a really thinned coat of a lighter tint of each colour at the end of each coat…..if that makes sense. This coat is a bit lighter than the base colour for each layer and is only applied to the surfaces you can see looking straight down. This is a trick I picked up from somewhere (??? have forgotten where) and is designed to sort of duplicate the effects of the sun bleaching the exposed paint surfaces. Hence why this is really only noticeable on the very upper surfaces, the sides will always be a wee bit darker as they are less exposed to the direct sunlight. I will do more of this later once all the paintwork is complete, this time I’ll use an ultra watered down white (8-10:1, Alc to paint). This way I can control the effect even more, it needs to be very subtle. It’s hard to see well in photos but having the beast in front of you, you can really see the effect and helps make the model appear more life like I think. If the aircraft (or whatever) has spent a lot of time out in the sun then the effect is even more noticeable.

Anyway time to go and start the next masking operation.

Oh and the really pleasant thing is so far there is minimal touch up work required, just some re-aligning of the camo patterns in a couple of places.

…..and yes I did buy another Su-7 resin cockpit set, so another is planned, plus some cool decals for Su-17’s operating in Afghanistan, so an Su-17M4R is on the way!

[Arniec]

That already looks lovely. Can't wait to see the whole model after painting.

Now look what you have done!!! You have my appetite to build one. Again!!!!

Cheers,

[trickyrich]

That already looks lovely. Can't wait to see the whole model after painting.

Now look what you have done!!! You have my appetite to build one. Again!!!!

Cheers,

Well you have to now, especially now that Hannants have the resin cockpits....well one less than before!!

Ok this is a very sneak peak at the final product.

Again after lots of masking the final colour, Dk. Green. Actually this one did give me a bit of trouble, it kept going one quite thick until suddenly it was too thin. Normally you get a bit of leeway but not this time. It’s a bit light in places but that’s not an issue.

It was hard waiting until I could remove the masks to finally see what it would look like. Result, well I’m very pleased, very little over spray and really all I need to do is touch up the patterns. for such a complex scheme and masking there is very little extra work.

I don’t normally take a photo until I’ve touched everything up. But seeing this is the last update for a week I thought I’d let her be seen.

As you can see there are a few areas that need sorting out with the pattern demarcations but that part is really easy to do and a simple fix. But basically that is the final colour scheme and pattern, which I'm very pleased with.

Next break is the finishing touches and she’s done…..finally!!

[modelling minion]

No wonder you are pleased with the results Rich, she looks stunning.

It's an unusual pattern, I don't think I've seen it before but I like it, reminds me of the scheme used by the Algerian Air Force.

[mirageiv]

That looks fantastic, you must enjoy masking . The scheme and colours really break the shape up of the aircraft well almost like the Egyptian Nile schemes (though I once did an aircraft in that scheme and it broke it up too well, really plays tricks on the eyes!). Look forward to see the sun bleaching differences too and how it works out, not sure I've seen that done before!

[trickyrich]

No wonder you are pleased with the results Rich, she looks stunning.

It's an unusual pattern, I don't think I've seen it before but I like it, reminds me of the scheme used by the Algerian Air Force.

The scheme is quite unusual and different, not what you'd expect to see on a Soviet Su-7, it only appeared very late in it's life. I'll be much happier once I've fixed up the patterns.

Is the last image missing or is it just me???

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I see three.....Very nice they are too.

Bluetac masking always seems to develop a mind of its own as soon as I add a third colour to a scheme, no matter how careful I am.....I quite often brush the third colour these days.

[trickyrich]

I see three.....Very nice they are too.

Bluetac masking always seems to develop a mind of its own as soon as I add a third colour to a scheme, no matter how careful I am.....I quite often brush the third colour these days.

If I had been brave I may have attempted to freehand airbrush the pattern but so parts were just too fine, 1/32 would have been ok, 1/72 brush job!

Plus I was trying not to make the demarcation lines too sharp so I had to use thicker Blu Tec "sausages" which don't help when trying to line up patterns. Next time I may try paper masks instead.

[whitestar12chris]

Looking very good Rich.

Chris

[Arniec]

That looks great Rich. Although with all the squirls I have hot some

Now I need to wait a week before there are some decals on?!

Cheers,

[trickyrich]

That looks great Rich. Although with all the squirls I have hot some

Now I need to wait a week before there are some decals on?!

Cheers,

well while you're waiting you can get a move on with some of your builds!

gotta have something to read/look at while at work to help keep me off evilBay!

[Arniec]

well while you're waiting you can get a move on with some of your builds!

gotta have something to read/look at while at work to help keep me off evilBay!

I will try to do my best.

O, when you are on evilbay, you may find a Ju-88 to start that GB as well

You are lacking behind.

Cheers,

[trickyrich]

I have enough on my hands with the Fw-190D, trying to get two different mod kits to go together is giving me real grief!

Now if I had been allowed to build one of my Ju-388's!!!

[Arniec]

I have enough on my hands with the Fw-190D, trying to get two different mod kits to go together is giving me real grief!

Now if I had been allowed to build one of my Ju-388's!!!

I know what you mean with the 388. I was planning at that time for a 188 or was it a 488 conversion/scratchbuild in 1/48?!

Cheers,

[trickyrich]

ooo a Ju-488 got a resin one of those I have to finish one day....one wing keeps breaking off!