Flankerman

The decalling is now done....... .... apart from the trillions of tiny yellow 'hook here' symbols and stencil data etc... The decals are superb - perfectly readable and in register - they all went on with the minimum of fuss. I used Microsol - but probably didn't need to. A closer view of the dozens of sponsors logos along the fuselage.... Underside view.... A closer look at those logos - all individual decals a few mm in diameter...... I can't think of a reason why but not all of the decals were oriented vertically - which led to a couple of mistakes until I spotted it... Once you know about it, the decal placement artwork is just about good enough to see which way up they go..... And.... confusingly(at least to me!), the decal placement guide is not in numerical sequence - left to right it's decals 6,5,8,3,2 etc A minor issue that isn't really a problem.... Here's a couple of pics I took at MAKS 2013 - showing the real thing...... This shows how good the Modelsvit decals really are... Now to tackle all those stencil decals..... Ken

I wouldn't take that Su-33 in my pics (taken at MAKS 2007) as a guide..... AFAIK, it is a testbed retained by Suhoi - and tarted up for display pusposes - you can see the paint overspray onto the engine nacelles in this pic... I'm not even sure its airworthy??? On one of the occasions I saw it fly, Victor Pugachev did a neat trick on the runway in front of the crowd....... He taxied along the runway and entered a 360deg turn with the wings spread ..... and exited the turn with everything fold - much to the delight of the spectators !! Ken

Another new arrival on the slips - the 1/350 scale injection-moulded kit of USS Growler from Mikro-Mir...... Box art... History and paint guide...... Instructions for the hull....... Regulus I Missile and conning tower..... Final assembly.... Vertically split hull - with excellent engraved detail..... Conning tower, decking and one half of the missile..... Minor parts, missile half, decals and etched-brass..... I already have her sister-boat (USS Grayback) in my collection....... So this new kit from MikroMir should make for an interesting comparison.... Ken

Another new addition to the slipway - the Mikro-Mir injection-moulded kit of the experimental submarine USS Albacore... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Albacore_(AGSS-569) Box art.... Instructions..... The hull is split horizontally - with excellent engraved detail..... A second sprue contains the conning tower and dive planes etc... The package is finished off with a small decal sheet, etched brass propellers and a clear 'windscreen'.... This is another very welcome kit from Mikro-Mir's growing range of 1/350 scale subs. Having already built the Blue Ridge resin kit of the Albacore :- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/model_submarines_350_scale.html#USS_Albacore_AGSS-569 I may try and 'convert' the Mikro-Mir kit into an earlier configuration with vertical rudders and horizontal dive planes - as shown in the first drawing here.... Ken

Just purchased from OKB Grigorov....... http://shop.okbgrigorov.com/ A resin kit of the Royal Navy submarine R10 - launched in October 1918 - just to late for the Great War. At just14cm (5.5in) long, the hull is a single superb resin casting - with a separate conning tower and etched brass parts for the diving planes, propeller etc.. The service from OKB was great - just a week from order to delivery - although the box with the hull/brass/instructions arrived first, followed a week later by the conning tower in a separate Jiffy bag!!! The instructions are a bit simplified..... .... but the resin moulding is excellent - crisp and bubble free.... There are no painting instructions - nor decals - which is a pity - so re-creating the drop-shadow pennant number on the conning tower is going to be a pain..... Still, this is a new welcome addition to the range of British submarines, so great work OKB Grigorov. Ken

They adhered well - but they are semi-transparent (translucent brown) and I found them difficult to see to place correctly - probably due to my failing eyesight.... Re the nosegear - My instructions show the nosewheel bay inserted into the fuselage at stage 9 - the actual nose gear itself (with the 'Y' shaped strut) isn't installed until stage 33 - towards the end of the build (the same applies to the maingear btw). I hope I don't have any fit problems when I have to fit the undercarriage.... Ken

Some little progress.... she's all painted up now - ready for the decals..... Trying to hold the model whilst applying the masking, then brush painting the blue, red and black was like trying to wrestle a set of bagpipes.... Modesvit provide self-adhesive masks for the blue areas around the cockpit and the black panel on the spine - but for the the rest I used Tamiya Kabuki tape..... My masking was not very successful - I had some ragged edges and bleed under the tape in places - it's OK if you don't look too closely...... Holding it whilst applying the fuselage decals without damaging anything is going to be interesting.... Ken

Here is the Anigrand Il-102, flanked by both versions of its progenitor - the Il-40 (both kitted by Amodel)........ Ilyushin stuck with the outmoded concept of a "Jet Stormovik" - building the Il-40 in the 1950's - and dusting off the plans in the 1980's with the Il-102 The requirement was finally fulfilled by the 'Private Venture' Sukhoi Su-25..... Ken

In a totally ficticious colour scheme..... when I photographed it in 2012..... ....and in 2011..... I've made the Il-102's predecessor - the Il-40 - both versions kitted by Amodel plus the Anigrand resin Il-102 ... I have the A&A Models Il-102 in the stash, so I'll be following your build with interest Seb.... Ken

I took this screen grab from a video....... As you can see the arm extends from the mainleg - and engages with the locking mechanism inside the fuselage bulge/fairing.... I've just re-found the video - here :- https://youtu.be/bf1Pv_3BPlg The retraction sequence is at approx 0:41 Ken

I built the Modelsvit kit of the tenth prototype Flanker - T10-10 last year - see here:- http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/302047-sukhoi-t10-flanker-prototype-from-modelsvit/&tab=comments#comment-2892703 In case anyone is making the same kit, I have since added some Walkround photos of the real thing - taken by me at Lugansk, Ukraine in 2006...... The photos are here :- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/model_t10_modelsvit.html#Walkround_Photos Have a Happy Flankering New Year...... Ken

I'm afraid it has been relegated to the back burner due to other projects. I will get it finished - just not so quickly. Thanks for your interest. Ken

The parts sprue for the ejection seat has two different head boxes - parts P1, P-16 & P17 as used here and parts P-22, P-9 & P-11 which I think are for a K-36DM. I must admit to putting the side panels on wrong - I had to prise them off and re-attach them further forward - hence the gaps. So, to try and answer your question Pappy - yes, the M-55 uses the earlier style K-36 - at least that's what the instructions indicate (I think?) Are the same sprues used in Modelsvit's later Su-17M3/M4 kits ?? Anyone?? Ken

Seasons Greetings....... Some slow progress....... The K-36 ejection seat is made up from 22 Parts...... This isn't so much modelling as micro-surgery - especially at my age with failing eyesight ! It isn't helped by the fact the some of the mm-sized parts have flash to be cleaned off - anyway here's the result... Here's my ham-fisted attemp - there is an etched-brass harness still to be added !!! Meanwhile, the airframe has had a couple of coats of Halfords White Plastic Primer (from a rattle can) - followed by a misted top coat of Halfords Appliance White (rattle can)..... The lower fuselage now has to be masked off for a coat of Light Aircraft Grey (I'm using Halfords Ford Polar Grey - which is a good match)... Then it's more masking for the blue wing and tailplane leading edges plus the canopy surround, followed by the red wing and taiplane tips. Have a Great Christmas.... Ken

My Hasegawa Su-35S turned out OK....... Ken