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Best Su-25 in 1/72nd Scale?


Learstang

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I'm busy selling my old stash off for a new stash, and one kit that is on my list for my new stash is a good kit of the Su-25 Frogfoot ('Grach') in 1/72nd scale. Specifically I'm looking for the single-seater. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

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Currently I have the Revell Su-25 which may be the Italeri mould (which may be the Zvezda mould - with all the cross-pollination going on between different manufacturers past and present sometimes it's hard to keep track). I would suspect the Zvezda kit to be good, if it's recent, as Zvezda seem to do a decent job with their Soviet kits, being a Russian manufacturer. PC, I'll have to check out the Artmodel kit. I have their I-185 and Mig-9 (I-210), and they're decent kits. As long as their Grach is generally accurate, that's what I'm looking for, not necessarily buildability. I'm used to limited-run type kits. Thank you very much gentlemen for the information!

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

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The Italeri and Zvezda kits are the same plastic and date to around 1997.

 

The Kopro kit dates to 1988. Many have said it has better overall shape than the Zvezda kit.

 

I've had both kits and can say that the Zvezda kit had a bit stouter look to it (I think the forward fuselage is a bit short) from some angles and the Kopro fuselage looked a bit closer to right, in my eyes, to the real thing.

 

From a standpoint of details, Zvezda has more of a cockpit than Kopro gives you and gives you more weapons out of the box.

 

Zvezda has rather heavily done panel lines while the Kopro kit will have you rescribing if raised lines bother you.

 

There's a fair bit of aftermarket resin details and so forth out there for both kits and you'll want to hunt down at least a cockpit regardless of which one you choose. You can see plenty through that big canopy.

 

MasterCraft based their kit on Kopro's. However, considering the mess they made of their other Kopro based kits, I wouldn't even look at them.

 

The Revell kit dates back to Ace Hobby Kit toolings from 1988 and is typical of western kit interpretations from before the Iron Curtain fell. It looks like and Su-25 on a cursory glace but won't stand up to close scrutiny. Those toolings have been through Tsukuda's and Kangnam's hands as well as Revell's.

 

I can't speak for the Art Model kit, but this small commentary indicates it's not an easy kit and will leave you stuck for a main instrument panel:

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal14/13201-13300/gal13218-Su-25-Cvetic/00.shtm

 

The problem with getting a good model of an Su-25 is the same as getting a good model of a Buccaneer or Tomcat. There's so many compound curves and other tricky shapes associated with how the engine sections and fuselage come together that the model maker has to either cut corners in accuracy or face many sleepless nights getting it just right.

 

 

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I am slowly building an ART Model Su-28 (derivative of Su-25UB). While I have not finished with all details parts yet, I have all the main parts together and had no problems with it. I admit the engine pods need some work:

- the kit includes intake trunks (the only 1/72 kit to do so) which don't seem to fit inside the pods without removing some material

- I had to force the pods to sit flush against the fuselage

 

The clear parts could be better as there is quite a bit of distortion. Despite these issues, I think the kit is miles ahead of competition. The fit elsewhere has been fine, and while detail is somewhat soft it is better than Zvezda and tons better than Kopro.

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Again, thank you very much for the information! It sounds like the Artmodel kit is the way to go. Since I'm interested in Soviet aircraft, I'm of necessity used to kits that don't always have the best fit, so a bit of fettling and sanding doesn't scare me, as long as the dimensions and shapes are reasonable accurate. I already have some AM parts for an Su-25, so now all(!) I need is a kit to put them on/in.

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

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I would say the ArtModel Su-25K is the most accurate Rook currently available in 1/72 but it is by no means an easy build.  It’s a limited-run, mixed-media kit and that comes with some compromises in terms of fit.  Also, the plastic seemed to have an inconsistent texture in places, which made it difficult to re-scribe straight panel lines after the repeated heavy filling and sanding sessions. Nonetheless, the shape is right and there is some really nice surface detail.

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The detailing on the Revell (a.k.a. Ace rebox) is pretty good. I am not a Frogfoot expert so can't vouch on its accuracy

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/105566-revell-04354-sukhoj-su-25-frogfoot

 

I once had in my hands the Zvezda Su-39 but the panel lines were god awful. Absolute trenches. It seems like Zvezda had a streak of really wide panel lines (MiG-31) before they moved into their finer ones in their newer stuff.

 

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