Ukraine Su-25 in Splinter Camo

[Electric Indigo]

 

It’s funny how one can be totally indifferent towards a certain aircraft and then one specific paint scheme sparks the inspiration. I noticed the (mid-90s) splinter scheme on the painting instructions of an ACE decal sheet I saw online and was intrigued, then somewhat disillusioned when I saw the real colors in an Airliners.net photo, then intrigued again after I finally found some pics of the aircraft in service. Of course everyone likes the signature digital camo of the Ukrainian Air Force, but for me the older splinter scheme is just too cool.

 

 

 

 

The new Zvezda Su-25 seemed to be the perfect opportunity to implement  this project, and I was delighted that Zvezda brought their A-game to this kit; it's miles above the competition.

 

 

Cockpit interior details are very basic, but with a closed canopy and the awesome pilot in there, it won't be noticed, and the coaming & HUD are excellent. People who build this with an open canopy will want to use aftermarket parts anyway.

 

 

The surface details are great, even if the thumb-sized mushroom rivets of the original are clearly under-represented on the model and the execution of panel lines is a bit uneven in certain areas. Part fit and engineering is perfect, and lastly, you can't beat the price, which is about 40 Euros around here.

 

Fuselage construction is a multi-part affair, and I think it’s best to glue only limited sections while ensuring a proper fit. The decals (from Begemot?) are a dream to work with. There's a gazillion stencils to apply, since every panel seems to have it's own ZIP code on the original. The Ukraine markings were taken from a sheet for the Su-17 that I had around.

 

 

The kit comes with a comprehensive and well-detailed weapon set. Unfortunately, Zvezda decided not to include the clear parts for some of the missiles, so I had to improvise for the S-25 seekers.

 

I added and air duct and mirrors in the canopy and the target camera from an Eduard kit on the HUD, everyhing else is OOB state. Colors are custom mixed Tamiya acrylics and Vallejo Metal Color for the dull aluminium.

 

Thanks for watching, and C & C are welcome!

 

 

 

 

[ForestFan]

Looks great, not seen that scheme before, good to see something different 

[Shorty84]

Awesome, always thought the splinter camo would look cool and have to say it really suits the kit. Great work

 

Cheers

Markus

[Tomcat101]

Great Frogfoot I love the subtle changes in colour on the camo scheme.  Well done.

[Bertie McBoatface]

It is an interesting scheme. Looks good in flight too. Well done.

[Alpha Delta 210]

Beautifully finished model in a great scheme. 

[dragan_mig31]

awesome build.Bravo

[exhausted]

Thanks for posting this - it looks great and I had to source one for myself! Although I hate to give to Russian industry right now, I found a Latvian vendor

[Shwertt]

Great job! 

[Pin]

What scale?

[hovering]

That looks great and the simple stand and position of the aircraft work really well.

 

I went looking for your inspiration as that airliners.net photo is quite bright!

 

You've done a great job.. what paints did you use?

 

 

 

 

 

On 9/19/2022 at 6:32 AM, Pin said:

What scale?

I looked at the flickr gallery and it says 1/48 so I presume it's #4807.

[woody37]

I'm not really an admirer of the Su25 but love what you've done here, great display and finish, even caught myself admiring an Su25!

[wellsprop]

Excellent paint and weathering! 

[Ramtin]

This is really awesome. Congratiolations on this wonderfull build

[Vultures1]

That looks great! I agree with you about the Ukrainian splinter camo scheme and you have done a great job of realising it on your Frogfoot - well done 

[Electric Indigo]

Thank you all for your interest! I'm more than happy to give something back to this inspiring forum.

 

For those who want to take a shot at the scheme, I found the most photos on the Ukrainian spotters site, like here:

 

http://spotters.net.ua/file/?id=1858

 

You'll see that there's a wide range of shades of the colors across the photos, so there's room for your personal preference.

 

My receipes for this build are (all paints are Tamiya acrylics):

 

Light green (base pass): Light Blue XF23 - Flat Green XF5 - Light Grey XF66 - Black XF1 -> 2:1:4:1

Light Green (weathering pass): Light Blue - Flat Green - White X1 -> 8:2:8

 

Sand (b): Desert Yellow XF 59 - Light Grey XF66 -> 3:4

Sand (w): Desert - Light Grey - White X1 -> 6:4:5

 

Dark Green (b): Medium Blue XF18 - Deep Green XF26 -> 4:1 (Could have used a bit of black)

Dark Green (w): Medium Blue - Deep Green - White X1 -> 4:1:2

 

-

 

@exhausted It's a dilemma, right? I hope that buying Modelsvit kits can balance the Karma a bit.

 

@hovering As soon as I saw the Chriss Foss pattern on the rudder, I was hooked

 

[exdraken]

wow, very nice!

 

that is a good scheme for the Zwezda Frogfoot!

 

[Samuraiwarrior]

That looks really cool! 

Nicely done and well presented. 

Thanks for sharing. 

Kevin 

[Pete in a shed]

I think I agree with you , the splinter scheme suits the aircraft very well.

Pete

[F-32]

Very very cool