1/48 Kitty Hawk Sukhoi Su-17 Fitter ***FINISHED***

[Muzz]

I'll be building the new Kitty Hawk release of the Su-17 Fitter which will be built as a Polish Air Force Su-22M-4 from 8.elt. I have ordered Model Maker decals and I have the Hataka paint set specifically for this aircraft. I also have some Armour wheels, Master pitot set and a few other bits n bobs but I'm not sure what will be used yet.

 

 

 

 

 

[modelling minion]

Very, very nice. I'm in!!

Really interested to see this one go together.

 

Craig.

[Valkyrie]

I want one of these.....cant wait Muzz

[Basilisk]

Another great choice. Looks like that we are getting the whole Sukhoi swing wing family together in the GB

 

Cheers, Peter

[Hewy]

This will not help with my russian jet fetish, i want one already, massively envious, 

I will watch closely for reference, best of luck

Glynn

 

[Valkyrie]

3 hours ago, Hewy said:

This will not help with my russian jet fetish, i want one already, massively envious, 

I will watch closely for reference, best of luck

Glynn

 

Russian jet fetish....either a just as fabulous secondary group build title or sequel to from Russia with Love...either that or its some sort of condition...which I have also caught too now Hewy. Yes this kit is a must and I can't wait to see it come together...

[Muzz]

3 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

Russian jet fetish....either a just as fabulous secondary group build title or sequel to from Russia with Love...either that or its some sort of condition...which I have also caught too now Hewy. Yes this kit is a must and I can't wait to see it come together...

 

I too have the affliction, think about 80% of my builds in the last 6 years have been Mig's or Sukhoi's. I feel better now someone has put a label on it, I knew things were going down hill when I started buying books on the subject. Still with a little help and by participating in GB's like this, I think I'll get through it, be strong everyone.

[Hewy]

17 minutes ago, Muzz said:

 

I too have the affliction, think about 80% of my builds in the last 6 years have been Mig's or Sukhoi's. I feel better now someone has put a label on it, I knew things were going down hill when I started buying books on the subject. Still with a little help and by participating in GB's like this, I think I'll get through it, be strong everyone.

We may have to form a self help group

[Sobby_23]

Oh yes! Looking forward to this

[modelling minion]

3 hours ago, Hewy said:

We may have to form a self help group

I think I also have the affliction.

Hello group, my name is Craig and I'm addicted to Russian jets (and helicopters)......

[Valkyrie]

1 hour ago, modelling minion said:

I think I also have the affliction.

Hello group, my name is Craig and I'm addicted to Russian jets (and helicopters)......

this is an epidemic 

[Sobby_23]

Have to admit that my stash is predominantly USN jets and Cold War Russian and British jets.

 

The Russian delegation is slowly but surely outgrowing the special relationship

[Valkyrie]

Muzz you kicking this one off at 00:00 hrs with an all nighter, I'm that excited to see this one...

[Muzz]

11 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

Muzz you kicking this one off at 00:00 hrs with an all nighter, I'm that excited to see this one...

Ehhhhhhhhhhhh............. no!😂 I promise to have an update before the end of the weekend though!

[Muzz]

Ok, just for Valkyrie, I was a bit nervous as to how the fuselage parts went together so this was the place to start. This is what initially put me off buying this kit as a 3 part fuselage from KH sounded like trouble! 

 

Like other builds and suggestions I've seen it was a bit of a no brainer in tackling it by putting the separate fuselage sides together first. There is (or should be) a small tab of plastic running around the edge of the fuselage part which slots inside the corresponding fuselage part. On the front section this tab is only about 2 mm in length so won't provide a very strong join, on the rear section there appears to have been a bit of a short in the mold and the tab isn't really there at all! This creates basic butt join to attache the two parts which is far from ideal. There's lots of nice riveting and finely engraved detail on the fuselage surface so I wanted to make the joins as clean and tidy as possible to avoid losing any of it in the subsequent clean up of the join.

 

I used MEK and straps of Evergreen plastic to create a tab all the way around the rear section and also to strengthen the front section in parts.

 

 

You can see where the two joins are in the fuselage as indicated by the strips of Evergreen plastic used to strengthen the joins.

 

[Jabba]

A good start, very sensible with what you have done with the fuselage in joining them together beforehand and the added strength will be a bonus in the future.

[Valkyrie]

Yessssss I am foaming at the mouth! I do feel somewhat guilty making jump in as it sounds more than a tad tricky, but you seem to have a great way around it, see this is how newbies like me learn! Keep it up 

[Hewy]

It looks like this is going to be the defacto way to build these kitty hawk kits with the fuselage halves muzz ,i was telling wee beestie earlier i have the etendard ivp kit and the fuselage is in several parts on that one also , and he also gas gone this way , i shall watch closely for tips.

Glynn

 

[Muzz]

The decals arrived today from Hannants, a mixed bag and I'm a bit disappointed.

Starts of looking good........

 

 

However Model Maker Decals are cleary having difficulty printing red and white colours. I'd go as far as to say the Polish national markings are unusable and the bort numbers are just passable. Most the other end decals, some with tiny details and writing look great but it's a shame about the rest.

 

[Muzz]

Ok, so managing to get some work done on the Fitter. Started on the cockpit, there's a lot of pieces to go into it and from looking at my reference material everything's pretty accurate. Painted with Tamyia Medium Grey (lightened a wee bit) and detailed with Citadel, Akan, Tamiya and Mr Hobby Color. 

 

The main parts ready to go together......

 

 

 

[Basilisk]

The cockpit will look great when finished.

 

Cheers, Peter

[Muzz]

Cockpit pretty much done, couple of little bits to touch after seeing the photos.

 

 

[Jabba]

That cockpit does look good.

[Sobby_23]

Cockpit is looking spot on! Nice work with the detailing. 

[Hewy]

Great job muzz, it does like theres some nice detail in there, and you've captured it very well.

Glynn