lesthegringo Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Guys, doing KittyHawk's nice Su-35. There's a bit of flash here and there to remove plus some odd looking half cylinder pegs that obviously are the result of misaligned ejector pins but in general the fit is fantastic. The good fit is the reason that I am in some doubt as to the wing to fuselage join. The blended fuselage to wing shape I imagined would be a smooth step free one, however when I offer the wings up there is a small step running along the whole join. The rear 80% of the join on the fuselage side has a moulded in strip which looks like a double or reinforcement plate, or maybe even a cover for the wing to body join. I assume that the strip is supposed to be slightly proud where it exists. However it does not cover 100% of the join so I want to know whether the remaining small step needs to be eradicated. Photos on the web don't do the details I want in enough resolution for me to be able to decide, so any help from you guys is welcome as ever Cheers Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted March 17, 2018 Author Share Posted March 17, 2018 Seems (or should that be seams...? ) that I have asked a question that no-one can answer quickly! Never mind, it is only modelling and frankly the people who look at my models wouldn't even be capable of spotting Trumpeter's grossest errors, so I'm just going to take the plunge and build it how I think it should be. In common with a lot of my builds recently I have decided to attach the upper wing surface to the upper fuselage before fitting the lower fuselage and then finally the lower wings. I've found this to almost always result in a good wing to fuselage seam, which is one of the most obvious ones on any build. So, the two upper halves are on, and the result is pretty good; there is virtually no seam to deal with and the step is almost invisible; where the 'reinforcement plate' is moulded on, there is a small but discernible step that matches the step on the inner side, so I do believe that it was the intent. Forward and aft of the plate are areas where the wing skins look like they should be flush and I've achieved that. Most of the resultant seam is filled with sytrene extruded from the join during the process of glueing, a whiff of Mr Surfacer will take care of the rest. However I do have to point out that while the kit is good, there are some minor issues to be aware of. The biggest issue is where the instructions say for example 'C5 (opposite C6)'. Do not assume these are correct, because a lot of the time it is not. For example the main gear leg oleo scissor parts are completely stuffed up. Test fit and trust the diagram not the writing. Other points are - there are cut-outs on the lower fuselage parts that are there to accept the left main gear door part 42 (they got these the wrong way round too), however they are missing on the right hand side. Sprue gate placement - Have KittyHawk been taking lessons from Kinetic and Revell? Some very strange choices, and worsened by the size of some of some of the sprue gates, requiring some very finicky tidying up On the upper fuselage inboard of the slat inner ends there is a moulded on square peg, one on each side. Similarly there is a moulded in square cutout immediately below it on the lower fuselage part. One goes into he other right? Nope. No idea what either are there for, but the upper one has to be cut off if you are to be able to fit the slats. Oh, and you have to fill the lower one. The left upper wing has a moulded in strip on the underside at the outer edge of where the lower wing fits. It's there to support the lower wing outer edge at the correct height, right? Nope, it holds it proud of the surface and also there is no similar feature on the other side. In flight refueling probe - do you want it deployed or deployed? No other choice Main gear legs - you have to glue parts C40 and C41 to the main gear legs first, and to have to make sure that you get the angle right. The problem is that the boxes C61 and C62 that you glued in four steps earlier foul the assembled legs, and also make it tricky to ensure correct alignment. I would recommend assembling the gear legs before fitting those boxes so that you can use the lower fuselage mounting points to ensure alignment. You may still have to trim the back of parts C40 and C41 so you can actually fit them later. The fit of the main gear legs in the mating hole is a bit on the slack side too, however if it wasn't I suspect that you'd struggle to get the gear legs in later once the intake assemblies have been installed. The general assembly sequence is also not particularly wonderful, although anyone with a modicum of modeling experience will be able to spot obvious sequencing flaws Lastly (for now!) is the slightly disappointing detailing colour callouts during assembly. Mine's going to have some creative work applied to make it look interesting I still heartily recommend it despite these niggles. I can't comment on accuracy, I don't know the subject in any detail. It also comes with a mind boggling array of weapons and stores, 6 schemes (three distinct colour schemes). I do wonder if a kit minus the weapons and stores would come in at a more friendly price though Hope this helps someone! Cheers Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 2 hours ago, lesthegringo said: On the upper fuselage inboard of the slat inner ends there is a moulded on square peg, one on each side. Similarly there is a moulded in square cutout immediately below it on the lower fuselage part. One goes into he other right? Nope. No idea what either are there for, but the upper one has to be cut off if you are to be able to fit the slats. Oh, and you have to fill the lower one. This ?....... (left hand side middle) This is a Su-33 - but that slot (and corresponding spigot on the slat) is on all Flankers. I think it is there to lock the slat in place when it is retracted. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted March 17, 2018 Author Share Posted March 17, 2018 Yes, that looks like it! Good job I hadn't got around to cutting it off and filling it! However it is a little overscale on the model, but reduced a little it will look the part. Thanks for the feedback Ken! Cheers Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted March 18, 2018 Author Share Posted March 18, 2018 Ken, a further question if you will indulge me In front of the windscreen is a clear dome, which assume is an IR sensor or similar. KittyHawk have moulded this empty, and have also not provided any painting detail. What if anything is behind the clear dome, and what colours should they be? It's on a pretty visible part of the model so I want to at least prevent it from looking rubbish! Cheers Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacificmustang Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 (edited) A good rundown of the kit Les. I completed the kit as a review build for The Modelling news last year and quite enjoyed it If you have not seen it, there’s a good walkaround here that will answer some of your questions https://www.flickr.com/photos/100009549@N06/sets/72157685375253980/ enjoy the build Bruce Edited March 18, 2018 by pacificmustang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 It is called an Infra-Red Search and Track (IRST) ball - a rotating mirror-like device You could 'cheat' and make a red cover........ There are probably better close-ups out there - try a search for 'Flanker IRST'....... This is a good one :- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Su-27UB_cockpit.jpg/1280px-Su-27UB_cockpit.jpg .... and this :- https://indomiliter.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/su35srussia03big.jpg Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesthegringo Posted March 18, 2018 Author Share Posted March 18, 2018 great, thanks guys! Cheers Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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